Downloadhelper
Overview
downloadhelper is classified as adware or a potentially-unwanted program associated with intrusive advertising or bundling. It has one or more associated MITRE ATT&CK technique references (linked on this page) that document the behaviors observed for it. We have not yet published a hand-verified detailed profile for this family; the MITRE references below are the authoritative source for its documented techniques.
Known aliases
Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
This family has been observed using the following ATT&CK techniques: T1176 T1112
Generated Detections (Boilerplate)
These YARA and Sigma rules are auto-generated based on the family name and aliases. They must be heavily tuned before deployment in a production environment.
YARA Rule
rule MALWARE_WIN_DOWNLOADHELPER {
meta:
description = "Detects Downloadhelper (adware)"
author = "SystemHelpdesk Boilerplate Generator"
date = "2026-07-06"
strings:
$s1 = "downloadhelper" ascii wide nocase
$s2 = "pup.downloadhelper" ascii wide nocase
$s3 = "adware.downloadhelper" ascii wide nocase
$s4 = "win32/downloadhelper" ascii wide nocase
$s5 = "webvideoextension" ascii wide nocase
condition:
uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}Sigma Rule
title: Suspicious Downloadhelper Activity
id: 0f3fe9fed82f481ad010483681c8d257
status: experimental
description: Detects generic indicators of the downloadhelper malware family.
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection:
Image|endswith:
- '\cmd.exe'
- '\powershell.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- "*downloadhelper*"
- "*pup.downloadhelper*"
- "*adware.downloadhelper*"
- "*win32/downloadhelper*"
- "*webvideoextension*"
condition: selection
level: mediumReferences & External Analysis
- Search "downloadhelper" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I learn more about downloadhelper?
Refer to the linked MITRE ATT&CK technique pages, which document the behaviors associated with this family.
How do I remove the Downloadhelper Adware from Windows?
Manual removal of Downloadhelper is highly discouraged as it may leave persistence mechanisms intact. We recommend disconnecting the device from the internet and utilizing a professional incident response service or enterprise-grade EDR software to conduct a full forensic sweep.
Is Downloadhelper a virus or a Adware?
Downloadhelper is classified as a Adware. Unlike traditional viruses that infect files, modern malware like Downloadhelper typically operates as a standalone payload designed to compromise systems, steal data, or deploy secondary stage implants.
What are the main symptoms of a Downloadhelper infection?
Symptoms of Downloadhelper can include unexpected system slowness, unauthorized outbound network traffic to unknown IP addresses, disabled security software, and suspicious background processes running from AppData or Temp directories.
Related Families (Category: adware)
Explore other malware families in the same category:
Protect Your Network Against Adwares
Want to prevent Downloadhelper and similar threats from compromising your organization? Read our comprehensive defensive guide: Adware & PUP Protection.
Machine-readable
Get this profile as JSON: https://jordan123234-malware-families-explorer.static.hf.space/api/downloadhelper.json
Ecosystem & Interactive Environments
This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.