UpdateChecker by Mysoftpack Scam - How to remove

There are many legitimate processes and programs with the name “UpdateChecker”. This article does not talk about legitimate and safe UpdateCheckers and it should not reflect badly on any of them.

We are talking about UpdateChecker by Mysoftpack. Below, UpdateChecker stands for UpdateChecker by Mysoftpack.

UpdateChecker is supposedly a tool to download software updates. In reality, it’s a scam: it offers to download free programs and updates and then asks for money. Using UpdateChecker to install programs may lead to more malware infections. On top of all that, UpdateChecker might not delete itself when you uninstall it.

About UpdateChecker:

Classification	Scam, trojan.
How UpdateChecker is dangerous	Deceptive ads that waste people’s time, users might be tricked into paying money for free programs and into revealing private information, UpdateChecker’s desktop application recommends potentially dangerous download sites.
The progression of the scam	UpdateChecker uses Google Chrome’s likeness, shows a fake installation setup process, once it’s installed, recommends potentially dangerous download sites, opens sites that ask for your phone number and password.
How to remove UpdateChecker	Use an anti-malware program, such as Spyhunter, Malwarebytes, or others to detect and remove UpdateChecker, manually find UpdateChecker’s installation folder and delete it.

UpdateChecker scam program and sites

Dangers of the UpdateChecker scam

The name UpdateChecker has been known for years to belong to a malicious program. I was surprised to find that it is still being distributed. Although, UpdateChecker is not so much malware as it is a scam:

• It offers free programs but asks for money for them.
• It leads to sites that ask for your phone number and password – data that could be stolen and abused by cybercriminals and marketers.

If you downloaded UpdateChecker, don’t stress too much – it’s not the most serious malware. Still, it is undoubtedly a deceptive and predatory program and anti-malware programs flag UpdateChecker as adware and malware: VirusTotal. When I downloaded it, my Chrome also flagged it.

UpdateChecker’s business model is to get people to pay for free programs.

In addition, UpdateChecker tries to get people’s phone numbers and maybe even their passwords. These can be sold and used by various scammers and marketers. If you typed your phone number when a random site asked for it, that could be a problem.

Also, UpdateChecker promotes shady download sites. Such sites often spread malware disguised as reputable programs. Using UpdateChecker to download updates and programs results in more infections.

How UpdateChecker tricks people

UpdateChecker being a scam, it uses social engineering – manipulation – to trick people.

Let me walk you through my experience with UpdateChecker.

Bad search engine ads

I first encountered UpdateChecker in search result ads on an alternative search engine – on one of those search arbitrage sites, like Info.com or Informationvine.com. These sites look a lot like Google.com but with no features, a lot more ads, and many sponsored results that aren’t labeled as ads.

If you’ve ever clicked on a search ad on Google or another site and then got redirected to a page full of search results, that was a search arbitrage site. Check your browser extensions, you might have an ad injector.

Anyway, I was searching for “Chrome” and got four ads. Clicked on the second ad that said “Latest version” and was taken to a UpdateChecker site. It was on Chr.ceciliux[.]club, but you can also find this scam on Allyoursoft.club or Updatelive.club.

Fake Windows installation

Seeing a Download button, I clicked on it. UpdateChecker’s icon is similar enough to Chrome’s that it’s easy to get confused. Besides, sometimes, UpdateChecker really does show Google Chrome’s icon instead of its own.

Scammers use Chrome’s image all the time. For example, there’s the Chrome Update Center scam, a fake giveaway “Congratulations, Chrome user!”, and a tech support scam Google Chrome Critical ERROR.

After clicking on the Download button, I was greeted with a Windows setup process – which was confusing as I was on a Mac at the time.

UpdateChecker was actually showing a webpage that was carefully put together to look like a setup wizard. I could click on its buttons and grab it and move it around like a real window. I could not drag it out of UpdateChecker’s webpage, though, which made it obvious that the window was fake.

I clicked through until the end and it all looked pretty realistic – until the last page where UpdateChecker asked me to send an SMS and pay 5.79 EUR. That’s nonsense! Google Chrome is free.

But UpdateChecker fakes a setup process so well. People who have little experience installing programs might not realize the problem. Not everyone knows where to best download programs, which programs are free, and how to tell a scam. UpdateChecker preys on those vulnerable people.

If you encounter a suspicious installation process like that, just end it. Click the Cancel button or, in this case, close the webpage.

Malicious program

I downloaded UpdateChecker (without paying). There were a few red flags:

• My browser warned me that the file was potentially dangerous.
• Windows warned me that it could not verify the publisher.
• The installer was flagged by a few anti-malware programs.

Any one of these red flags should stop you from installing a program.

Once installed, UpdateChecker enumerates the programs that are installed on the computer. It promises to show needed updates but it does not. So, that feature was a lie.

UpdateChecker has a list of recommended programs. This list is an assortment of popular programs, browser extensions, and mobile apps. Some of those programs are commercial, some are non-profit, most of them are free or have free trials.

UpdateChecker is offering these programs and then redirecting to an unofficial site to download them from. This is a very bad idea. Unofficial download sites take free programs from official distributors, bundle them with junkware, and then encourage people to download them.

How to remove UpdateChecker and avoid the scam

If you installed UpdateChecker by Mysoftpack, you might have difficulties uninstalling it because it keeps all the files on the computer. I recommend using an anti-malware program.

I tried using the control panel as described in the guide below, which is the usual way of removing a program from Windows. But though UpdateChecker’s entry disappeared from the list of installed programs, it was still running and its files were still present. I could even run it again.

The reason for this is probably that UpdateChecker downloaded Google Chrome’s genuine installer. Remember, this is how the whole scam started – with a deceptive ad for Google Chrome.

My version of UpdateChecker (or Update Checker) was installed in C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\Apps, which is a hidden folder. Other versions of UpdateChecker on other computers might install in other folders. You can find the location by right-clicking on UpdateChecker while it’s running and click on the option to show the file’s location.

I strongly recommend you run an anti-malware scan. Use a program that you trust, such as Spyhunter, Malwarebytes, or another tool. Scan your computer and then remove the items that were detected. Even if you delete UpdateChecker manually, run a scan to make sure that you deleted all the files.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove UpdateChecker by Mysoftpack Scam using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like UpdateChecker by Mysoftpack Scam install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to UpdateChecker by Mysoftpack Scam . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make UpdateChecker by Mysoftpack Scam easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.