Vil APP
The Vil APP is a browser extension tailored for the Google Chrome browser. The extension is potentially unwanted because of the settings it modifies once it settles onto your machine, besides changing your default search engine to such alternatives as:
- s3redirect(dot)com,
- Yahoo(dot) co
- Smashapps(dot)net
- Searchpowerapp(dot)com or
- S3arch(dot)page
The Vil APP is capable of tracking browsing history, preferred websites and search habits. The reason why Vil APP siphons off such data, in particular, is to lure you into clicking on Web advertisements tailored to your specific Web searching habits. The motivation behind it is the monetization that the people using the extension will be getting whenever you click a pop-up.
However, as annoying as pop-ups may be, they are hardly as unsafe as, say, malware-laden sites on the Internet. Sadly, the latter also can serve as sources of income, albeit of a less-than-savory nature. Given the sheer number of malware-redirecting extensions and add-ons that keep popping up day after day, it is hardly surprising where you may be redirected to. Yet, you should be able to spot if the Vil APP has any unsafe behavior based on the sites it takes you to.
Granted, the application can be downloaded from the official Google Chrome store. Yet, there have been a lot of recent reports stating that users who have it do not remember ever installing it, which hints at a possible alternate distribution method being at play.
Even if the Vil APP extension might prove harmless in the end, the fact that it still landed on your PC and has modified your default settings automatically is still outright troublesome. When a browser pop-up behaves in such an uncontrolled way, you had better remove it from your system.
However, before you get there, you should try to remove it from your browser’s Extensions list. While that may work, it doesn’t always do the trick because your settings may remain unchanged even after you have removed the add-on. In this situation, make sure to use a reputable anti-malware solution to reclaim control of your machine.
