SkilledPanelSearch
SkilledPanelSearch is a browser hijacker that redirects the user's search results for affiliate ad revenue. SkilledPanelSearch also may display unwanted advertising or maintain constant background processes without a user interface. Although it's not a high-level threat, most users should uninstall SkilledPanelSearch with an appropriate security product as an overall improvement to their browser's safety and performance.
Software that's Skilled at Taking Choices Away
Security emphasis might be part of Apple's marketing strategy for their walled garden hardware approach, but with the right equipment, any evildoer may scale a wall. Potentially Unwanted Programs are the overall-dominant classification of potential threats to macOS user safety, clocking in at numbers that well exceed those of Trojan, spyware, worm, or virus detection alerts. For what to expect in these situations, users may consider the browser hijacker, SkilledPanelSearch.
SkilledPanelSearch is a macOS PUP that specializes in redirecting Web browsers. It limits the browser-hijacking function to sending traffic to the Yahoo Search, likely, as part of an affiliate advertising scheme. However, malware analysts point out that SkilledPanelSearch displays few to no user interface elements in Safari or other browsers. It also maintains multiple (up to three, if not more) memory processes, which users may track through Apple's default Activity Monitor utility.
Some users also report other issues with SkilledPanelSearch, including:
- SkilledPanelSearch may auto-generate new tabs or pop-up windows with unwanted advertising content
- SkilledPanelSearch may create prompts requesting the user's connecting to its service repeatedly
Yahoo Search isn't an unsafe site or, ordinarily, threatening to its traffic. However, malware experts recommend against letting third-party software take control over Web-browsing settings or Web page displays, causing unwanted content injection and other security problems. SkilledPanelSearch also may theoretically redirect users to different websites automatically, depending on any developer updates.
One Less Unnecessary Panel in a Browser
Third-party advertisements delivered through the 'help' of PUPs like SkilledPanelSearch tend to endanger their viewers through poorly-vetted content. Examples that malware researchers see very regularly include Exploit Kits, which uses scripts and vulnerabilities for drive-by-download attacks, phishing tactics that collect information under pretenses, and fake downloads like updates tricking users into installing other software. As a result, nearly all PUPs should are net security drawbacks, including SkilledPanelSearch.
Malware experts only have limited data on SkilledPanelSearch's distribution but confirm some scenarios where PUP's installation is non-consensual. A Potentially Unwanted Program can install itself through software bundles that may or may not include additional text warning the user about the browser changes. When in doubt, always download programs from trustworthy sources such as an App Store, and check reviews for any suspicious reports.
Although Mac users can close processes from inside the Activity Monitor, just like Windows users with their Task Manager, doing so doesn't stop SkilledPanelSearch's starting up again after a reboot. Permanently removing SkilledPanelSearch requires manual uninstalls (which malware experts discourage for most users) or leveraging a trusted cyber-security product, such as an anti-adware scanner or AV suite.
SkilledPanelSearch might not have the same impact as other advertising-oriented software targeting Mac, like most drops from Adload, the trojan downloader. Still, as a program that turns someone's browser into an arbitrary plaything, it's not good to have on any computer, particularly.
