{
  "family": "whiteclick",
  "sample_count": 1,
  "category": "ransomware",
  "description": "<h3>Executive Summary</h3>\nWhiteclick (often detected as Adware.Whiteclick or PUP.Whiteclick) is an intrusive Adware application and \"Clicker\" malware. It is designed to aggressively monetize a user's web browsing by injecting unsolicited advertisements and invisibly simulating user clicks on affiliate marketing links and banner ads, generating fraudulent revenue for the malware operators while severely degrading system performance.\n\n<h3>Infection Vector and Technical Capabilities</h3>\nWhiteclick is almost exclusively distributed via software bundling (pay-per-install networks). Users typically encounter this threat when downloading \"free\" software (like media converters or download managers) from untrustworthy third-party portals, where the adware is silently installed alongside the intended application.\n\nUpon execution, it deeply integrates into the operating system and web browsers:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Browser Hijacking:</strong> Whiteclick installs malicious extensions or Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) into major web browsers. It frequently alters the default homepage and search engine to route traffic through monetization gateways.</li>\n<li><strong>Ad Injection and Click Fraud:</strong> The core functionality combines visible ad injection (pop-ups, highlighted keywords) with invisible \"Clicker\" routines. The malware runs hidden browser instances in the background, automatically navigating to specific URLs and simulating mouse clicks on ads to artificially inflate traffic and generate pay-per-click revenue.</li>\n<li><strong>System Performance Impact:</strong> Because the software is constantly rendering hidden web pages and processing advertisements, it often causes severe system slowdowns, high CPU and memory utilization, and browser instability.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<h3>Threat Assessment</h3>\nWhile Whiteclick is not inherently destructive like ransomware, it is highly undesirable. The constant ad injection and invisible click fraud consume significant system bandwidth and resources. Furthermore, the injected advertisements often lead to deceptive technical support scams or \"malvertising\" networks that distribute severe secondary malware.\n\n<h3>Remediation and Eradication</h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Application Uninstallation:</strong> The primary remediation step is to locate and uninstall \"Whiteclick\" (or similarly named recent installations) via the Windows Control Panel (Programs and Features).</li>\n<li><strong>Browser Reset:</strong> Because adware fundamentally alters browser configurations, the most effective cleanup method is to perform a full reset of all installed web browsers to their factory defaults, which automatically removes malicious extensions and tracking cookies.</li>\n<li><strong>Anti-Malware Scan:</strong> Utilize a reputable enterprise anti-malware solution to scan for and remove lingering registry keys and orphaned files associated with the click fraud routines.</li>\n</ul>",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.",
  "aliases": [
    "Adware.Whiteclick",
    "PUP.Whiteclick",
    "Trojan.Clicker"
  ],
  "enrichment_level": "insufficient_information",
  "faq": [],
  "faq_count": 0,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1185",
    "T1176",
    "T1546.015"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-07-01T17:27:35Z",
  "type": "Adware / Clicker",
  "target_industries": [
    "Global / Opportunistic"
  ],
  "motivation": "Opportunistic",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ]
}