Opticaltransaction

OpticalTransaction is an intrusive application designed to monetize its presence via intrusive and annoying methods. More specifically, the application has been confirmed to belong to the AdLoad adware family and to target users' Mac devices. Furthermore, users should be warned that applications of this type are very rarely distributed through normal channels. Instead, such PUPs are more likely to be found included in shady software bundles or inside fake installers/updates claiming to be for a legitimate product.

No matter how OpticalTransaction managed to sneak its way onto the Mac, its presence there will not remain unnoticed for long. The application will attempt to run an advertising campaign that will see the device being flooded by dubious advertisements. Users could be shown advertisements for unsafe destinations, fake giveaways, shady adult-oriented sites, suspicious betting/gaming platforms and more. In addition, the advertisements could promote more PUPs by presenting them as seemingly legitimate applications.

At the same time, having a PUP lurking inside the device could mean that the user's browsing activities are being tracked, packaged and exfiltrated to a remote server. While most PUPs are primarily focused on obtaining browsing-related data, this is not always the case. Infosec experts have seen PUPs harvesting various device details (IP address, geolocation, browser type, etc.) and even trying to extract sensitive information from browsers' autofill data. Users commonly rely on this feature to automatically populate their account credentials, banking details, payment information, credit/debit card numbers and other confidential data.