Mouse Browser Extension

The Mouse browser extension impacts users' Chrome browsers and could lead to multiple, unwanted consequences. In general, applications of this type and PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) often display adware and browser hijacker capabilities. However, what actions they perform exactly on each system could vary.

In many cases, keeping the Mouse browser extension on your device will lead to a noticeable increase in the advertisements encountered while browsing the Internet. More importantly, the displayed advertisements may promote untrustworthy and unsafe sites or applications. Indeed, users could see advertisements leading to fake giveaways, phishing schemes, other online frauds, shady online gaming/gambling platforms, and more.

Many extensions like Mouse also may establish control over certain browser settings. By modifying the browser's homepage, new tab page, and default search engine, these applications can cause forced redirects to a specific page they are promoting. In the vast majority of cases, browser hijackers are tasked with directing artificial traffic toward a fake search engine.

Fake engines lack the functionality to generate results on their own. When users initiate a Web search, they would first be redirected to the fake engine, which, in turn, will redirect the search query to a different source. Sometimes those are legitimate engines, such as Bing, Yahoo, and Google, but, in other cases, users could be shown questionable low-quality results taken from a dubious source.