However Couponarific can also cause problems if it's been created by someone with less than pure intentions. In this scenario, a hijacker or fraudster will attempt to install Couponarific on your computer without you knowing it. At "best" it may show you ads by Couponarific of a nature that you may find offensive (such as pornography or gambling websites or even scams created to dupe you out of your finances). At worst it can be loaded with spyware, keyloggers that monitor your keyboard usage, viruses and other malicious software such as Trojan Horse malware. The differences are huge: innocent adware gives you access to free apps while malicious adware like Couponarific can hijack your browser, redirect you to unsavory websites, monitor your correspondence.
Therefore, if you're downloading freeware or free apps, it really does pay to be careful. If adware has been designed purely as a revenue stream then it should be mentioned in the License Agreement - and you can then choose whether or not you want to continue with the download or not. (Some people find the pop up adverts so commonly used by adware developers extremely detrimental to their user experience). In addition to this, Couponarific can have a disruptive effect on your computer, interacting poorly with other installed programs, making your computer's processor run sluggishly and negatively impacting on your Internet connection speeds.
If you suddenly wind up with Couponarific on your computer and you haven't recently downloaded or installed anything, you may have been the victim of a drive by download. And chances are this is a form of undesirable adware. That's because drive by downloads operate in a stealth-like fashion, fooling you into downloading the adware, often by displaying a dialogue window that tells you that you need to download the latest version of your anti-virus software, or some other such underhand means.
So, what's the best way to protect yourself from malicious Couponarific? Make sure your anti-virus software and security patches are up to date. A good anti-virus or anti-malware program are also able to discern between rogue adware and legitimate adware meaning that you'll be protected from potential threats while still being able to enjoy free games and other apps.
To remove Couponarific and stop annoying ads, please follow the steps in the removal guide below. If you have any questions, please leave a comment down below. Good luck and be safe online!
Written by Michael Kaur, http://delmalware.blogspot.com
Couponarific Ads Removal Guide:
1. First of all, download anti-malware software and run a full system scan. It will detect and remove this infection from your computer. You may then follow the manual removal instructions below to remove the leftover traces of this malware. Hopefully you won't have to do that.
2. Remove Couponarific related programs from your computer using the Add/Remove Programs control panel (Windows XP) or Uninstall a program control panel (Windows 7 and Windows 8).
Go to the Start Menu. Select Control Panel → Add/Remove Programs.
If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, select Control Panel → Uninstall a Program.
If you are using Windows 8, simply drag your mouse pointer to the right edge of the screen, select Search from the list and search for "control panel".
Or you can right-click on a bottom left hot corner (formerly known as the Start button) and select Control panel from there.
3. When the Add/Remove Programs or the Uninstall a Program screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and remove the following:
- Couponarific
- and any other recently installed application
Simply select each application and click Remove. If you are using Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8, click Uninstall up near the top of that window. When you're done, please close the Control Panel screen.
Remove Couponarific related extensions from Google Chrome:
1. Click on Chrome menu button. Go to Tools → Extensions.
2. Click on the trashcan icon to remove Couponarific, MediaPlayerV1, HD-Plus 3.5 and other extensions that you do not recognize.
If the removal option is grayed out then read how to remove extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Remove Couponarific related extensions from Mozilla Firefox:
1. Open Mozilla Firefox. Go to Tools → Add-ons.
2. Select Extensions. Click Remove button to remove Couponarific, MediaPlayerV1, HD-Plus 3.5 and other extensions that you do not recognize.
Remove Couponarific related add-ons from Internet Explorer:
1. Open Internet Explorer. Go to Tools → Manage Add-ons. If you have the latest version, simply click on the Settings button.
2. Select Toolbars and Extensions. Click Remove/Disable button to remove the browser add-ons listed above.