Poonama

Posted by Lisa Blanc on March 8, 2017

What is Poonama?

Poonama is a new browser extension that only works in Google Chrome for the time being. According to our malware specialists at anti-spyware-101.com, you should not have high hopes if you find this tool in your browser. First of all, it is quite possible that you do not even recall downloading and installing this application. Second, this extension may introduce you to questionable third-party web content through a risky search engine it promotes. As a matter of fact, we have categorized this threat as a potentially unwanted program, or PUP. Many users have similar programs on their system and they do not care about it because these usually seem to be quite innocent and harmless. We do not want to claim that this PUP is a great threat to your system security; yet, it is worth considering what we have to say about it. But before we dive into the lake of details, we would like to tell you that it is best for you to remove Poonama if your virtual security is important to you. test test test

Where does Poonama come from?

Our research shows that this PUP is very similar to Chipopo and Sadooma. As a matter of fact, all of these programs seem to provide the same New York address as contact information, which leads us to the assumption that they all may be created by the very same team indeed. This browser extension is promoted by its official webpage, poonama.com as well as the Chrome web store, chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/poonama/cmngimnjnegcbgjikonbnepmkmimnfmm. In fact, when you click on the “Add to Chrome” button on the webpage, you are redirected to the web store page where you can directly install this tool. User reports and our research also indicate that this PUP is mostly spread in the Philippines, we can tell you that mainly not from official channels.

The bad news is that this PUP can also be found distributed in free software bundles. In order for you to download such a bundle all you need to do is click on the wrong third-party advertisement or link. Whenever you click on questionable content while surfing the web, it is possible that you drop an infection or a package of malware threats onto your system. This is why it is essential that you try to be more cautious about your clicks. This also means that you can directly install this PUP without even realizing it if you click on corrupt pop-up ads, for example. It is clearly worse when you drop a malicious package that contains Poonama as well as a bunch of browser hijackers, fake alerts, ad-supported programs, and so on. But, if you know that this may happen when you visit shady file-sharing websites, online gambling, and porn-related pages and you click on fake buttons or ads there, you may try to avoid such pages and clicking on questionable content. Since it is also possible that your computer was formerly infected with adware only to end up with more threats on your system, we suggest that you remove Poonama and all other infections and PUPs you may identify on your PC either manually or using a proper malware scanner.

How does Poonama work?

This browser extension sets its own search engine page (search.poonama.com) as default and loads itself as your home page and new tab page. This tool provides you with a background image and a search engine, which you should not ever trust. Therefore, this extension cannot be regarded as reliable but rather redundant. In fact, this search engine forwards your search keywords to plusnetwork.com, which is totally unreliable and may show you manipulated results. This search engine may collect information about you with regard to your online activities so that customized content can be put on your screen. Such content can be inserted among the search results and the third-party advertisements. However, since there is no guarantee that all third parties are legitimate and trustworthy, it is possible that even cyber criminals can take advantage of this PUP and take you to their fake websites or simply drop more infections onto your PC. Hopefully, you see now why we recommend that you remove Poonama as soon as you can. Let us tell you now how you can accomplish this.

How can I delete Poonama?

This extension does not seem to have an uninstaller you could activate via Control Panel, but it does not mean it is complicated to eliminate this PUP. In fact, all you need to do is use your Chrome menu and the extensions list, and remove this unwanted extension. If you are not familiar with this process, you can use our guide below as a reference. This should not take more than a few seconds really and you could be free of this PUP once and for all. However, this does not mean you can kick back and relax since there could be way more risky applications on your system. If you do not feel up to the task of identifying and erasing these without leaving any unfortunate leftovers, we advise you to apply a trustworthy anti-malware program, such as SpyHunter. In addition to giving your PC one of the best automatic defense programs you can, it is also important that you keep your security software and all other programs and drivers as well regularly updated.