'OriginalModuled Will Damage Your Computer' Message

OriginalModule is an adware and browser hijacker that takes over the user's browsers for advertising monetization. Symptomatic issues of its presence include browser redirects, pop-ups, and other unwanted advertising content, security warnings from the macOS and connection or sites loading difficulties. Most security programs that include adware-detecting functions should remove OriginalModule, although also users should verify the integrity of their browsers' settings.

The Missing Originality in Mac Adware

Although most Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) market themselves as creative and unique solutions to problems like searching the Web, the truth is so flattering rarely. For a group of adware targeting macOS users, the case is the opposite: OriginalModule and the program's dozen-plus relatives are, after analysis, clearly minor variants of each other with cosmetic differences predominantly. Even though it's derivative deeply, OriginalModule can be a security and performance risk for macOS users who might think themselves above the fray.

OriginalModule's family uses repeatedly-confirmed distribution channels that dupe users into downloading fake media player updates (possibly as part of a streaming movie tactic). The download installs Adload, a Trojan downloader for adware delivery, which installs any of countless variants of advertising software, including OriginalModule. Similar cases of adware payloads almost indistinguishable from OriginalModule's own include RecordMapper, LauncherSetup, InitialSkill, DominantPartition and numerous others.

With the installation out of the way without the user's consent or with misinformed consent, OriginalModule makes browser changes for promoting its advertising content. These consist of the following:

• Inserting advertising content with 'Ads by OriginalModule' in unrelated websites
• Redirecting users' Web searches to affiliate search sites
• Resetting most browsers' homepages and new tab pages
• Loading pop-ups and new tab-based advertising content automatically

None of these changes are direct attackers against users or their safety. Still, exposure to this advertising content represents a significant security risk and malware experts encourage keeping adware, or other PUPs rarely, for any reason besides professional analysis in controlled environments.

Unforeseen Consequences of Taking Adware Home

Users letting adware take up space on their hard drives are gambling with possible contact with ad-based phishing tactics, fraudulent updates like the one that installs OriginalModule in the first place, and, sometimes, even technical attacks like Exploit Kits. Still, OriginalModule's issues don't stop there. The adware also includes network settings changes that may unintentionally disable Internet connectivity.

As the capping point of its negative features, malware experts also note that OriginalModule causes security alerts from the macOS environment regularly. In this case, the message, 'OriginalModuled will damage your computer,' includes an additional 'd' letter in the name that's a surprisingly consistent symptom with this adware family.

OriginalModule has no ports to Windows despite the existence of years-old Adload versions attacking Windows users, too. Most anti-adware products should suffice for removing OriginalModule, but malware experts also recommend using dedicated anti-malware and anti-virus services for dealing with the related threats that install it.

OriginalModule's name is as about as honest as its installation tactics: not at all. Thanks to that duplicity, users adding software modules to their computer too freely while looking for movies are liable of ending up with even worse than OriginalModule in the long run.