What is Web Optimum?
At first, it might look that Web Optimum is a useful browser extension that is supposed to enhance your online experience. However, our research team says that it is a potentially unwanted program, and it means that it gets installed on target systems accidentally. Users often do not even understand how this extension enters their systems. Luckily, it is very easy to remove Web Optimum from your computer, so you should not wait any longer: Scroll down to the bottom of this description for the manual removal instructions, and then protect your system from other unwanted intruders that could be lurking right behind a figurative corner.
Where does Web Optimum come from?
Although the extension looks like it could be available at the Chrome Web Store, we have not found a page for it during our research. It seems that the Chrome Web Store already understood that the plug-in is not as desirable as it pretends to be.
So, when we do not have a direct distribution source, there is another method remaining: bundled downloads. In fact, that is the most common way for a browser hijacker, a potentially unwanted program or any other undesirable intruder to enter your system. Users often download a lot of programs from file-sharing sites without realizing the potential risks behind such practice.
Third-party installers often bundle several programs together, and users often go through the installation process blindly, without even bothering to check all the steps. Going through it blindly eventually results in adding and installing a number of potential threats on your computer. And it seems that they appeared out of nowhere, but potentially unwanted programs would not be able to enter your system without your permission. So that is also how Web Optimum entered your system, too.
What does Web Optimum do?
Web Optimum works an extension on the Chrome browser. When you add to your computer, the program also changes your default homepage to a page that looks like an official domain for EZ Search, but during our tests have found that this “search engine” cannot provide you with reliable search results. In fact, running various search queries through EZ Search eventually redirected us to a modified Yahoo! Search page. Here there is something we would like to point out so that it would be possible to avoid further misunderstandings.
Yahoo! Search has nothing to do with Web Optimum. In fact, such potentially unwanted programs often make use of popular search engines to make the impression that they are reliable and what not. The truth is quite the contrary, of course. Instead of providing you with reliable search results, Web Optimum modifies the Yahoo! Search page to host custom search results, tailored to suit your likes and preferences. The program is able to do that because it uses tracking cookies to monitor your online activity. Although the program cannot steal your credit card information or banking logins and passwords, this type of behavior is actually very intrusive and annoying.
What’s more, cyber criminals could easily make use of these program features to promote their own corrupted content. After all, Web Optimum does not generate the custom content itself: it gets it from third-party adware servers. The program also does not review the content it promotes, so if something goes wrong along this chain, you could get exposed to a website that distributes malware. From there, it would be only a matter of time until you get infected with something nasty. Thus, it is not just about this annoying extension. It is also about other potential threats that could enter your PC in the future.
How do I remove Web Optimum?
You can delete this extension via the browser’s settings or by removing the extension’s folder from the Program Files directory. As mentioned, you should also check whether there are more potential threats on-board by scanning your PC today.
Use the SpyHunter free scanner to determine whether your computer is safe. If you detect more potential threats, remove them at once automatically. After that, protect the system from similar intruders. And do not forget to stay away from unfamiliar websites that might be part of the freeware distribution network. Your web browsing habits are really important when it comes to ensuring your system’s safety!
Manual Web Optimum Removal
- Press Win+R and the Run prompt will open.
- Type %LocalAppData% into the Open box. Click OK.
- Go to Google\Chrome\User Data\Extensions.
- Remove the ikmapcaeknfgfmjlibnhcbchfablckbpa folder.
- Run a full system scan.
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