ResultsTechGuide

Mac users should be on the lookout for yet another PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) that is targeting their devices. Named ResultsTechGuide, this application possesses the characteristics of both adware and a browser hijacker. It also employs underhanded distribution methods to avoid its installation being noticed by the user.

ResultsTechGuide will begin to monetize its presence by running an advertising campaign that could impact the browsing experience on the device severely. The advertisements may display various clickbait messages, in an attempt to trick users into clicking on them. Afterward, users may be taken to shady or unsafe websites, phishing pages, online tactics and more.

Meanwhile, the browser hijacker part of ResultsTechGuide will establish control over the installed Web browsers, and force them to open a promoted address. In most cases, the homepage, the new tab page, and the default search engine are among the modified settings. Browser hijackers are common vehicles for the promotion of fake search engines that would otherwise see no traffic at all. Fake engines are incapable of producing results on their own and that is why they redirect the search queries to a legitimate one such as Yahoo, Bing or Google.

However, PUPs have another nasty surprise, as nearly all of them are equipped with at least some degree of data-harvesting capabilities. Users risk having their search history, browsing history, clicked URLs, IP address, geolocation, and more, collected and uploaded to a remote server.