14 DAY TRIAL // Yapbrowser, the browser that automatically redirected users to obscene and illegal websites was once again spotted roaming the internet and even though this seems to be the 2011 version, it still does the same nasty stuff as before.
At this year's Virus Bulletin conference in Barcelona, Christopher Boyd from GFI Labs shared his insight and expertise on rogue browsers with the world and, in his opinion, this is the worst.
Even though it looks to be a regular browser which offers "full protection from virus attacks," it's actually filled with mechanisms that serve all kinds of malicious elements.
"Your computer will be free from viruses breeding online...There is a 100% guarantee no system infection will occur when using our software," reads a message in the new variant of the application.
The improved version looks very much the same, but unlike the old one, it comes with two versions, each more destructive than the other.
“Not only is there a '2011' notice at the bottom, there's a link to the Yapbrowser executable,” Boyd revealed.
Further comparisons to the old variant showed that most of the elements, including the official website, EULA and other elements are unchanged, which hints that we might be talking about the same mastermind.
“Seeing this site lurch back into life, looking identical to how it did back in 2006 and with the browser download following close behind is quite a shock. I imagine anyone else who researched this one will be feeling much the same, and given the history of this program coupled with the (still) nonsensical claims of security and virus evasion it would be quite the leap of faith to want to download and use this program,” the researcher concluded.
We've recently seen that not even the popular web applications such as Mozilla or Chrome are completely secured, but they're certainly much safer to use than any browser you might see advertised in a lost corner of the web.
If you're feeling like experimenting, make sure you do a little digging before installing something that no one has heard of, as you never know what pieces of malware you might end up with.