Let me start by assuring you that mistakes happen when you have a huge articles database. You can’t keep track of every single post or tutorial. That means you can never fully trust websites to protect you. Sometimes they simply have no idea about what they’re promoting.
Encounter with Malicious Software
I was searching for a program to enable hotspot on Windows 8.1, and I came across an article on LifeHacker that featured hotspot software for Windows. After I installed the hotspot software, my browsers mysteriously closed. I reopened Firefox and Chrome and found out that the home page had been changed, and the default search engine as well. I took a deeper look and found out that there was a new browser extension under the name “YouTube Accelerator” on both browsers. I was unable to deactivate them. In the task manager, I spotted four mysterious programs running. Every time I tried to force programs to change, they kept coming back. Link to the affected article at LifeHacker.
How does YouTube Accelerator work?
YouTube Accelerator (also found as YT Accelerator or YouTube Accelerator Ads) is adware, a browser hijacker, and spyware. Once YouTube Accelerator is installed on a computer and attached to an internet browser, the adware program will begin to collect user information such as browser history, bookmarks, and information users manually submit online. It will use this information to display pop-up target advertisements and other forms of advertisements it feels are relevant to the user. This program may also change internet browser settings, including the homepage and default search engine, resulting in unwanted browser redirects and startups to websites such as Conduit Search.
Bottom line: Make sure you always research programs before downloading, always have an active antivirus, and always check your PC for unusual programs and activities.
