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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: ifcsystems on August 21, 2020, 12:28:42 AM

Title: "Protect My Search" malware is not detected
Post by: ifcsystems on August 21, 2020, 12:28:42 AM

For past couple of weeks, I have been getting a page opened in Chrome asking me to update my "Protect My Search" extension (which I have not done).  A brief check thru Google indicates this is a piece of malware that has been installed on computer.  Why doesn't an Avast scan find this malware?  it appears to have been around for some time.

Title: Re: "Protect My Search" malware is not detected
Post by: Asyn on August 21, 2020, 06:58:03 AM

Start a topic in V&W and post your logs there: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?action=post;board=4
Instructions (basic diagnostic logs): https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=194892.0

Title: Re: "Protect My Search" malware is not detected
Post by: DavidR on August 21, 2020, 11:27:27 AM

Quote from: ifcsystems on August 21, 2020, 12:28:42 AM

For past couple of weeks, I have been getting a page opened in Chrome asking me to update my "Protect My Search" extension (which I have not done).  A brief check thru Google indicates this is a piece of malware that has been installed on computer.  Why doesn't an Avast scan find this malware?  it appears to have been around for some time.

By all accounts this is classed as a Potentially Unwanted program (PUP), so you would also have  to have PUP scanning enabled in avast.  That said as it is a browser add-on, I don't know if that is an area scanned in the regular avast scans.

You might want to read this article:
https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/257888-removal-instructions-for-protect-my-search-daily/