Microsoft has removed adware that hijacked the browser and showed advertisements from nearly 7 million Windows computer. The adware is called PriceFoundation (also known as PriFou) and is bundled with other software.
Earlier versions of the adware were installed as browser extension but the latest version injects itself in the browser process. It is able to do so in both Internet Explorer and Firefox. Once it becomes active it shows advertisements based on search queries. Loading the advertisements considerably delayed website load times, according to Microsoft.
The adware also adds scheduled tasks to automatically execute, and, check and download updates.
The software giant found the adware on 6.8 million computers worldwide and as part of its initiative against potentially unwanted applications the PriceFountain adware was removed. For removal of the adware Microsoft used it Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT). This tool received new definitions during yesterday's Patch Tuesday which included instructions on how to detect and remove the PriceFountain adware.
