MyCouponsmart

MyCouponsmart (Adware.MacOS.CouponSmart) is classified as a potentially unwanted program by most security solutions. More specifically, it's designated adware. However, it does have some features which are more common for browser hijackers. It has an official website where MyCouponsmart is presented as an application that aims to save the user time and money by offering coupons and notifications for promotions and discounts collected from various websites. MyCouponsmart is hardly unique as there are numerous similar applications and there are reasons why most of them are categorized as potentially unwanted applications. For MyCouponsmart the main reasons are:

• It is often installed without the user's expressed knowledge and consent
• MyCouponsmart tracks browsing activity and collects private information
• Intrusive advertisements typical for adware
• MyCouponsmart tempers with browser settings to prevent the user from accessing certain websites

Once MyCouponsmart successfully infiltrates the user's Mac, it starts incessantly displaying pop-ups for coupons and other promotions. This would be what it's supposed to do, except MyCouponsmart uses tools that allow the placement of third party graphical content (banners, pop-ups, etc.) on any site. As a result, these ads often overwrite the underlying content. The worst part is that interacting with these advertisements might redirect the user to malicious or compromised websites. Clicking on a single banner on such websites could let other PUPs and even harmful malware infiltrate the user's Mac.

Another PUP checkbox MyCouponsmart ticks is tracking online activity. PUPs often collect various information about the user's online behavior like browsing history, searches, IPs and so on. The gathered data is later sold to third parties that can use it for whatever they want. The fact that MyCouponsmart is often installed without the user's consent is also a red flag. MyCouponsmart is commonly bundled with other freeware, and the user may inadvertently install it if they are not specifically looking for this infiltration method. Avoiding MyCouponsmart and other similar applications can save the user a lot of time and annoyance.