SkillManager

Another PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program), SkillManager, is specifically designed to hide its installation from the user's attention. The goal of the application is to sneak its way onto users' Mac systems and then monetize its presence through different intrusive methods. This particular PUP is equipped with the capabilities of both adware and a browser hijacker.

The first sign the SkillManager is installed on their Mac that users will notice is the unfamiliar address that their Web browser has begun opening suddenly. Browser hijackers such as SkillManager will modify certain settings - homepage, new tab page, default search engine, etc, and set them to a promoted address. When users launch the affected browser, open a new tab, or initiate a search via the URL bar, it would generate artificial traffic towards the sponsored page immediately.

Typically, browser hijackers are involved in the promotion of fake search engines. These pages advertise themselves as capable engines but lack the necessary functionality to deliver any results. Instead, they take the user's search queries and redirect them through other engines. Some use legitimate ones such as Yahoo, Bing, or Google, while others may show low-quality results generated by a dubious search engine.

While SkillManager is present on the system, users also will notice a significant increase in the advertisements encountered during browsing. The annoying PUP will generate various unwanted advertisements and display them as pop-ups, banners, in-text links and more. Engaging with the advertisements could take users to unsafe third-party websites.

Finally, PUPs may have another intrusive trick up their sleeve - they may be spying on the user's browsing activities. Most PUPs are capable of siphoning the entire browsing and search histories and transmitting them to a remote server. More threatening PUPs are even capable of accessing information saved into the browser and could compromise the user's payment information, credit/debit card numbers or banking details.