Name: Altnet Category: Browser Plug-in Alias: Altnet TopSearch, TopSearch, Altnet P2P Network, PeerEnabler Advice: Remove Risk: Moderate Risk Moderate threats may profile users online habits or broadcast data back to a server with 'opt-out' permission. In most cases this type of threat is more along the lines of commercial type adware that offer a premium service in exchange for tracking your user online performance. Signatures: opSearch, TopSearch, Altnet P2P Network, PeerEnabler Threat type: Browser Plug-in - Adware is generally software that displays advertisements. Some advertisers may covertly install adware on your system and generate a stream of unsolicited advertisements that can clutter your desktop and affect your productivity. The advertisements may also contain pornographic or other material that you might find inappropriate. The extra processing required to track you or to display advertisements can tax your computer and hurt your system performance. Advice: Remove Threat risk: Moderate Risk Moderate threats may profile users online habits or broadcast data back to a server with 'opt-out' permission. In most cases this type of threat is more along the lines of commercial type adware that offer a premium service in exchange for tracking your user online performance. Description: Topsearch is a .dll file that acts as a search engine and runs inside Internet Explorer as a Browser helper Object (BHO). It can supply advertising content to KaZaA users. "Altnet TopSearch displays premium content to users in search results in the form of gold icons, and Altnet PeerPoints gives users redeemable points (like frequent flyer points) for sharing premium files. The Topsearch component regularly downloads an index of available Altnet content through your Internet connection. This index contains a list of available rights managed files which can be displayed in your search results. Altnet TopSearch may share your personally identifiable information with third parties, including e-commerce partners, who assist Altnet by providing services to users of the Altnet Features. Altnet has partnered with third parties to redeem points provided to users through the Altnet Features and to manage Altnet contests and sweepstakes. Altnet has to provide these third parties participants’ information so they may administer the contests or sweepstakes, notify winners and/or redeem points. If you have “opted in” to participate in such contests or sweepstakes, Altnet will provide your email address or other required personal information to these third parties for such purposes. To become a sweepstakes and contest partner or a points redemption partner, a third party must agree that it will not use Altnet users’ personally identifiable information, including email addresses, for any marketing or other purposes which do not relate to contest and sweepstakes administration. Regardless, Altnet may share your personally identifiable information at any time in order to comply with any applicable law or valid legal process." "Through Altnet’s exclusive relationships with Kazaa and other major P2P networks & search engines, Altnet-distributed files are given preferred search listing placement. This is similar in operation to sponsored search listings seen in Google, Yahoo and other major internet search engines. Users searching for files using specific search words see Altnet files listed first, at the top of the results window, as gold icons indicating they are legal to download, virus free, and high quality. A user clicks the gold icons to download the files. TopSearch™ keywords can include specific terms such as a title of a song or a name of a band. TopSearch keywords can also be generic terms such as “music”, “reggae”, etc. The GoldFiles™ in the picture below are rights-protected by Altnet. Altnet responds to more than 120 million search queries every day. Type: Browser Plug-in - Adware is generally software that displays advertisements. Some advertisers may covertly install adware on your system and generate a stream of unsolicited advertisements that can clutter your desktop and affect your productivity. The advertisements may also contain pornographic or other material that you might find inappropriate. The extra processing required to track you or to display advertisements can tax your computer and hurt your system performance.