Video Chimp adware - How to remove

Malicious Chrome extensions is not a new discovery, but an inveterated issue that Google has been fighting against for a while. Luckily, Video Chimp adware is one of the easiest plugins to get rid of, so if you follow our guidelines there should be no issue when cleaning your PC/Mac. While Video Chimp application has all the alluring factors which would make the unaware users want to download the product voluntarily, it has been noticed that at times this program appears on computers without a warning, almost out of nowhere. If that happened to you, then it indicates that there might be some other malware, which could have caused this issue, and which you’ll need to remove as well. Therefore without further waiting, let’s get to the point on how to solve Video Chimp adware infection.

What does Video Chimp adware do

Understanding why and how a program is harming your computer is a first and a very crucial step towards a clean system, and for the prevention in the future. Technically we can’t call Video Chimp plugin a virus, because it lacks a lot of powerful and dangerous qualities typical for other malware, furthermore, mentions in their Privacy Policy about all the negative behavior that all users should expect, yet the demonstrated actions allow to place this program into an adware category. This means that Video Chimp adware uses online marketing tricks on their users to make up their revenue and keep the application running for free.

The Video Chimp adware developing company from Izrael ‘Tabatoo LTD’, has already attracted some negative attention from the other similar products they’ve released in the past (Maps2Go, PDF King), so there is no surprise that this application has shady characteristics. It seems that Video Chimp program was originally designed not only to be a plugin for the browser, but also an app for Mac computers, yet for some reason the latter version is not yet available.

Just like the predecessors, after installation Video Chimp adware is able to make changes in the websites and the content you see online. While the compromised browser is not fully hijacked and the homepage, search engine stays the same, there will be a shift in the number of advertisements, promotions, pop-ups and etc. you’ll be seeing. Each time you View it, click on it or purchase something from such offer, Tabatoo will get their commissions, because the links are Affiliate links, and companies are paying Video Chimp to spread their services/products. On top of that, this small application will be tracking your personal and browsing data, which later will be sold to marketing corporations and other third-parties for extra income.

Here are the policies of Video Chimp which state that:

HOW WE COLLECT THE INFORMATION

Tabatoo may collect information you provide when contacting the technical support of Video Chimp. Tabatoo may collect information from your computer concerning your browser, the operating system, hardware or upon the detection of any other software on your system and your IP address without the last 3 digits. Tabatoo may also collect information using common internet technology, such as web beacons, cookies and other similar technologies.

THE PURPOSE OF THE COLLECTION

Tabatoo may use the information in order to validate that your use of Video Chimp is according to its license, offer upgrades to Video Chimp or other products. Should Tabatoo offer you a third party product or service, any use of it will be subject to the third party’s terms and policies. The information may be used to perform internal statistical and analytical purposes, evaluating and enhancing the user experience. Tabatoo may use the information in order to contact you regarding Video Chimp, changes to it or regarding other Tabatoo products and services.

WITH WHOM WE SHARE THE INFORMATION

Except as specifically described in this Privacy Policy, your personal information will not be shared with third parties without obtaining your consent. Tabatoo may share the information with its subsidiaries and affiliated companies who have undertaken to protect your privacy in accordance with the Policy. Tabatoo may share the information with authorized service providers that were hired to provide certain services (e.g., cloud computing services, digital purchasing services) for Tabatoo and are under the strict confidentiality and privacy obligations. Tabatoo may be required to disclose collected information when required by law or in circumstances that Tabatoo deems in good faith the disclosure is necessary to comply with a judicial proceeding or to protect Tabatoo and its users or third parties rights.

Very obviously Tabatoo reveals what Video Chimp app is capable of and because you continue on using this product, this means that automatically you agree with these rules and you acknowledge risks. However, there’s no way you can know what Third-parties are going to buy the data and what kind of information is going to be collected about you. A lot of companies track users’ online activities to improve advertising, however, there is a lot of sensitive data that goes through compromised browsers as well, such as credit card numbers, logins, and passwords, SSN, private conversations and etc, which can be leaked by Video Chimp as well. That is why you should consider an immediate elimination of Video Chimp adware.

How does Video Chimp adware distribute

Video Chimp adware plugin can distribute in several ways. Right now the extension has an official website, which promotes this video converter as one of the best tools you can come across online, therefore, it’s no surprise that users are willing to install the plugin voluntary by believing the sugar-coated words. On the other hand, based on experience with other browser viruses, such as SpecialSearchOption, Dailyfileconverter.co, MySearchPlus.co, we can assume that the biggest part of the traffic comes either from online redirects to the installation site or from adware viruses, which help tiny extensions like Video Chimp to proliferate.

While redirects to the main Video Chimp adware site bother mainly those who browse shady pages and simply click on infected promotional banners, if users experience pop-ups linking to this extension’s Chrome Web Store, for example, every single time they open their browser and no matter what URL they go to, that means that it’s the greater virus, like adware, which is causing such issues. This virus could have sneaked in compiled in a Bundle of other programs that users get from freeware sites, torrents and other questionable sources. Although you can prevent additional unwanted programs like Video Chimp adware to install in your system by opting-out from their installation in Custom/Advanced SetUp Assistant’s mode, at times there is no option for selection and they get in automatically without a warning. Therefore always get software from trustworthy places.

How to remove Video Chimp extension

In order to fully get rid of the Video Chimp adware plugin is to combine both manual and automatic removal techniques. The first thing you should do is to eliminate the malicious extension from your browser or an app from Mac’s Applications section. This way you’ll delete the bigger part of the unwanted files, giving your system a break from all the excessive pop-ups, ads and etc., also prevent Video Chimp from interrupting further termination processes. For readers that are having troubles completing this task, we have guidelines below that will help with challenging aspects.

Unfortunately, simply uninstalling Video Chimp extension from the system does not mean that your computer is completely safe to use again, that is why you need to run a thorough system scan with either Spyhunter or Combo Cleaner (for Mac). These programs are sophisticated anti-spyware products, which are developed to deal with all kinds of malware, so finding leftover data and secondary infections is what they are going to help you with because we all know that threats make the system’s protection vulnerable and so other viruses can invade such compromised machines much easier.