Study General

Study General is a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUP) that was developed to target Mac OS platforms or macOSes. Study General cand find its way to a targeted computer via third-party free applications, which have Study General bundled or bogus Adobe Flash Player offers.

Study General belongs to a threatening family named AdLoad, which has among its members a Trojan with a browser hijacker feature, called Adload_r.AKO. Study General is the kind of application that should not be allowed on a computer because it will make unauthorized changes to the URLs of the homepage and new tab, pester the computer user with numerous advertisements that will appear no matter the website the victim is visiting, install unwanted applications and browser extensions automatically, collect information, redirect the victim to dubious and even threatening websites and much more.

Study General is known as a browser hijacking virus primarily seen on Macs. Study General for Mac makes your browser load websites and ads of sponsors instead of what you actually want. There’s no way to prevent the ads from showing either, and you have no way to control which ads appear.

All you can do is get rid of the virus and hope that it stays gone, as Study General is known to re-install itself in the right circumstances. Study General is one of the more aggressive maladvertising viruses out there and is compatible with all web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

What does Study General Do?

Study General does a lot more than just redirect your browser and force ads to appear. That alone doesn’t sound scary, but take a look at what else this malicious browser extension can do;

StudyGeneral 1.0

Permissions for "StudyGeneral":

Webpage contents
Can read sensitive information from webpages, including passwords, phone numbers, and credit cards on all webpages

Browsing history
Can see when you visit all webpages

That is the list of permissions that this app has, which is more than any kind of third-party software should be able to have. These permissions allow the virus to collect all types of information and data about you, your browsing habits, and your computer.

An ambitious threat actor could use that information for malicious purposes. They could also sell the information on the deep web to other people who have their own plans for it. Even people infected with a seemingly harmless computer virus can find themselves dealing with identity theft and money loss.

Once Study General is inside the system, it places a browser extension on the browsers installed on the computer. This change, along with some other changes, means that users are tricked and manipulated through the use of things like fake search engines – such as Safe Finder – which sends users to sponsored results.

Study General also sends people to malicious and suspicious websites outside of just displaying ads. These redirects add another element of danger as they could trick people into downloading and accessing more severe malware.

Perhaps the worst thing that Study General does is performing all of these activities so quietly. The app installation is stealthy enough that you might not even realize the app can do everything it can – assuming you even know it is installed. It’s worth conducting regular scans of your computer to spot problems like Study General.

How Does Study General Infect Macs?

This adware typically spreads through one of two ways:

  • Through fake Flash Player updates
  • Through third-party software bundles

While there are some legitimate software bundles out there, many viruses have taken advantage of Flash player in the past. Flash player has been used to install all manner of viruses and malware, and the potential dangers of Flash are something every netizen should be aware of. Other notorious malware, including Trojans, are known to spread through fake Flash updates. If you have to install Flash on your computer, be sure to use only the official Adobe website.

Final Thoughts

Browser-hijacking malware like this is more common than most people expect. These viruses are used to promote scams and unpopular products and websites. Adware generally doesn’t cause too much damage, but they still make unauthorized changes to a computer that can’t be ignored.

If you notice that your browser uses an unfamiliar default search engine or you’re getting more ads than usual, take some time to scan for adware. There’s no such thing as a completely harmless computer virus. Take steps to remove them as soon as you suspect something.

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