PUP.Optional.PCVARK

Short bio

PUP.Optional.PCVARK is Malwarebytes’ detection name for a large family of installers for potentially unwanted programs targeting both Windows and Mac systems.

Symptoms

The Windows installers for PUP.Optional.PCVARK usually start with a screen similar to this one:

installer PUP.Optional.PCVARK

Type and source of infection

PUP.Optional.PCVARK comes in many forms, but the majority are so-called system optimizers that try to convince users that their system has problems which their software can solve. But only if you buy the software. The programs often prominently display a helpdesk phone number. We have had reports of people that felt they had been scammed after calling these numbers.

Protection

Malwarebytes protects users from PUP.Optional.PCVARK by using real-time protection.

Malwarebytes blocks PUP.Optional.PCVARK

Remediation

Malwarebytes can detect and remove PUP.Optional.PCVARK without further user interaction.

Please download Malwarebytes to your desktop.
Double-click MBSetup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
When your Malwarebytes for Windows installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen.
Click on the Get started button.
Click Scan to start a Threat Scan.
Click Quarantine to remove the found threats.
Reboot the system if prompted to complete the removal process.

Add an exclusion

Should users wish to keep this program and exclude it from being detected in future scans, they can add the program to the exclusions list. Here’s how to do it.

Open Malwarebytes for Windows.
Click the Detection History
Click the Allow List
To add an item to the Allow List, click Add.
Select the exclusion type Allow a file or folder and use the Select a folder button to select the main folder for the software that you wish to keep.
Repeat this for any secondary files or folder(s) that belong to the software.

If you want to allow the program to connect to the Internet, for example to fetch updates, also add an exclusion of the type Allow an application to connect to the internet and use the Browse button to select the file you wish to grant access.