QuickRef

Posted by Max Lehmann on February 20, 2015

What is QuickRef?

QuickRef is advertised as a useful application that displays price comparisons on pages such as Amazon.com or Bestbuy.com, as well as various coupons, pop-ups, etc., on almost every website you visit. Undoubtedly this “useful” application falls into the category of adware, and, therefore, you should remove it at your earliest convenience. In short, this adware application has been specifically designed to display annoying and intrusive advertisements that generate income for its developers and the third parties that they promote. Our specialists at Anti-spyware-101.com have determined that the content it promotes will wreak havoc on those users who fail to delete it quickly. test test test Download Removal Tool100% FREE spyware scan and
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What does QuickRef do?

As mentioned, QuickRef is an adware application that has been purposefully developed to display advertisements created by third parties. The adware is known to convert ordinary website text into hyperlinks and to display pop-ups, coupons, banners, and so on. In addition, QuickRef is known to promote utility tools supposedly developed to help optimize the performance of your system. We urge you not to fall for such tricks because the ads might be misleading and could infect your computer with all kinds of malware. Users should watch out for advertisements labeled “Powered by QuickRef,” Ads by QuickRef”, and so on.

In addition, the adware has the ability to collect information about users and their browsing habits, which includes but is not limited to browsing history, search queries, IP address, cookies, and so forth. QuickRef does that in order to make adjustments to the content that is displayed to a particular user. Associating the ads with the interests of the user dramatically increases the chances of a click on an ad. The developers generate income by using the per-per-click system, which means they get paid for each click on an ad sponsored by QuickRef. Nevertheless, adware is often used by cyber criminals to promote fake content, various fake updates, and utilities which are aimed to lure an unsuspecting user into a trap and steal his money. It is obvious that users should not keep this application but delete it as soon as possible, because there is no telling what dangers are lurking behind that colorful advertisement.

Where does QuickRef come from?

We encourage users to stay vigilant and not to download and install any suspicious applications. Because that is how QuickRef can get on your computer. QuickRef uses software bundling to get onto your computer. Our researchers have discovered that this adware can be found on software bundles provided by download.com, softonic.com, soft32.com, and so on. Even though these websites are legitimate and distribute legitimate software, oftentimes they include various third-party applications that turn out to be adware.

Users ought to be careful not to install QuickRef because there is no way of knowing if the promoted content is legitimate. The advertisements might be fake and could infect your system with dangerous, malicious applications, ranging from adware to Trojans. Apart from that, you may also fall victim to cyber crime, because adware such as QuickRef is often used by scammers to rip you off. So, do not hesitate to remove QuickRef. Your computer will be much more secure without it.