PocketRebates

Posted by Max Lehmann on March 17, 2016

What is PocketRebates?

The PocketRebates official website provides the installer that might be bundled with browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs (PUP), and other doubtful software. Our research team at Anti-Spyware-101.com tested the application and believes it should be considered adware because its primary goal is to display lots of pop-ups, sponsored links, and other kinds of ads. You may have noticed that some of the ads look rather suspicious, and it is possible that they could lead you to untrustworthy websites. For example, these sites could use various technologies to collect your private information and later use it for any purpose. Therefore, if you interact with the ads, it is possible that your privacy could be violated. No doubt that any user would like to avoid such situations, so it would be better to delete the software. If you do not know where to begin, you might want to check our step by step instructions, which will appear when you scroll down. test test test

How does PocketRebates work?

Every time you launch the program, it should open a separate browser window and load a website, e.g. interest6.valuedinformation.com. You should know that the displayed pop-ups, sponsored links, and other ads are from a third party, which is not considered a very reliable source. Also, keep it in mind that the application or a third party could gather information that identifies you and it could be personal or not. Of course, they cannot learn your telephone number, name or email address if you do not provide it yourself, but you may reveal it while registering on a website, submitting it for free services, and other various reasons. A particular part of the program’s Privacy Policy says that “We will share your personal information with third parties, including but not limited to our advertisers, BigRewards.com, ShoppingBag.com and HotSurveys.com <…>” It states that they can share the collected information for any reason they choose, but most likely it will be used for marketing purposes since the software’s End User License Agreement says that if you install the application, “You agree to receive email advertising and other forms of advertising from Pocket Rebates. At times, we may share your information with interested third parties.” It seems like you might receive much more advertising and it could get on your nerves. Even though PocketRebates offers you an opportunity to save a little money, there are less irritating and more certain ways to do it.

Where does PocketRebates come from?

The adware is presented on PocketRebates.com where you can also download it, but it is not a very good idea because the installer might be full of additional suggestions. To be precise, it will offer you to install PUPs or browser hijackers, e.g. MyPcBackUp, System Healer, Sweet-page.com, and so on. The problem is that many users tend to overlook such suggestions on the installation wizard. As a result, they end up with suspicious or even harmful programs in their system. Similarly, this adware could have been in another installer bundled with some software, so you might have installed it unknowingly.

How to remove PocketRebates?

To conclude, mostly the application provides links to e-shops you might trust, but pop-ups and ads could lead you to questionable sites too. It seems like the best solution is to add secure e-shop websites to your bookmarks if you like them and remove the program alongside with the irritating ads. Good news is that you can get rid of this adware in a few ways. For instance, you could take a look at the instructions provided below the article and erase it manually. Also, you can leave this job for a security tool that you can trust. Simply install it and let it scan your system till it locates the unwanted program. It should show a list of all malware that it found and with only one mouse click it will be removed automatically.