PUP.Optional

Short bio

PUP.(Optional) is a category of Malwarebytes detections that applies to potentially unwanted programs (PUPs). To learn more about PUPs, read our related blog content.

Type and source of infection

Detections categorized as PUPs are not considered as malicious as other forms of malware, and may even be regarded by some as useful. Malwarebytes detects potentially unwanted programs for several reasons, including:

They may have been installed without the user’s consent.
They may be supported by aggressive advertisements.
They may be bundlers or part of a bundle.
They may be misleading or offer a false sense of security.

Protection

Malwarebytes protects users from PUPs by using real-time protection.

Remediation

Malwarebytes can detect and remove PUPs without further user interaction.

1. Please download Malwarebytes to your desktop.
2. Double-click MBSetup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
3. When your Malwarebytes for Windows installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen.
4. Click on the Get started button.
5. Click Scan to start a Threat Scan.
6. Click Quarantine to remove the found threats.
7. 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.