PUP.Optional.GlobalAppz

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Short bio

PUP.Optional.GlobalAppz is Malwarebytes’ detection name for a family of search hijackers targeting the Chrome browser.

Type of infection

example GlobalAppz website

GlobalAppz promotion for Mega Music Search

Malicious behavior

Users may see this type of warnings during the installation of PUP.Optional.GlobalAppz extensions

permissions
changed search

and they may notice the default search engine in Chrome has been changed.

search settings

Aftermath

Users that had their browsers hijacked should have a look at our Restore Browser page to see if additional measures are needed.

Protection

Malwarebytes blocks getawesome2.com

Home remediation

Malwarebytes can detect and remove PUP.Optional.GlobalAppz without further user interaction. Removal does not require a reboot if you close Chrome before removal.

  • Please download Malwarebytes to your desktop.
  • Double-click MBSetup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
  • When your Malwarebytes for Windows installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen.
  • Click on the Get started button.
  • Click Scan to start a Threat Scan.
  • Click Quarantine to remove the found threats.
  • Reboot the system if prompted to complete the removal process.

Add an exclusion

Should users wish to keep this program and exclude it from being detected in future scans, they can add the program to the exclusions list. Here’s how to do it.

  • Open Malwarebytes for Windows.
  • Click the Detection History
  • Click the Allow List
  • To add an item to the Allow List, click Add.
  • Select the exclusion type Allow a file or folder and use the Select a folder button to select the main folder for the software that you wish to keep.
  • Repeat this for any secondary files or folder(s) that belong to the software.

Associated threats