Avoid installation of apps advertised through the tutonhamon scam site
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is Tutonhamon?
Tutonhamon is a deceptive, scam website designed to advertise a potentially unwanted application (PUA) called Smart Mac Booster. To trick people into downloading and installing this program, scammers designed the site to display a fake virus alert notification.
The alert states that the computer is infected with a virus that can be removed with this particular app. Do not trust deceptive websites and/or applications advertised through these alerts.
When opened, this deceptive site displays a pop-up window stating that it has found a virus. According to the pop-up, the computer was infected with this virus through a website that the user visited earlier. Visitors are encouraged to start the 'virus removal process' immediately.
Another page relating to this scam encourages users to run a full system scan and displays device information (such as MacOS, browser name and version, IP address, name of Internet Service Provider and location). To scan their systems, visitors must supposedly click the "Scan Now" button, which then starts a fake scan.
This 'detects' a virus called "Bankworm". To remove it, people are encouraged to click the "REMOVE VIRUS NOW" button. This leads to a download page of the Smart Mac Booster application. Never download or install apps advertised through deceptive websites such as tutonhamon.
If a browser opens this or another, similar page, ignore the site and close it. Many users are forced to visit these websites by PUAs that are installed on browsers or operating systems.
Generally, PUAs force people to visit dubious websites, collect information, and/or display unwanted, intrusive advertisements. PUAs collect user-system information such as IP addresses, geolocations, URLs of visited pages, entered search queries and other details.
PUAs can also record personal data. In any case, the people who develop these apps share the information with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it to generate revenue. Furthermore, many PUAs feed users with intrusive advertisements.
They display coupons, banners, surveys, and other ads that, if clicked, redirect to potentially malicious websites or run scripts that download/install further unwanted apps. If a PUA is installed on your computer or browser, remove it immediately. PUAs can lead to problems with privacy, browsing safety, and are even used to steal users' identities.
| Name | tutonhamon pop-up |
| Threat Type | Mac malware, Mac virus |
| Fake Claim | This scam page claims that the computer is infected with a virus that should be removed as soon as possible. |
| Promoted Unwanted Application | Smart Mac Booster |
| Related Domain | best6664.tutonhamon61[.]live |
| Serving IP Address | 92.63.192.135 |
| Detection Names (best6664.tutonhamon61[.]live) | Fortinet (Spam), Spamhaus (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Symptoms | Your Mac becomes slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you are redirected to dubious websites. |
| Distribution methods | Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers, torrent file downloads. |
| Damage | Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites, loss of private information. |
| Malware Removal (Mac) | To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. |
Tutonhamon is very similar to other deceptive web pages such as Truefalserdr, Checkingforward, and Fastsearchday. Generally, these pages claim that the computer is infected with a malicious program and encourage visitors to install a potentially unwanted application.
Do not trust these websites. The same applies to PUAs, which are often the reason why people visit websites of this type. Typically, developers advertise them as legitimate apps that supposedly provide 'useful features'. Generally, PUAs do not operate as promised and merely cause problems.
How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?
Typically, people download and install apps of this type through intrusive ads that they click, or when software developers use a deceptive marketing method called "bundling". Bundling is used to trick people into downloading/installing unwanted apps with other software through the download or installation set-ups.
They achieve this by hiding information about additionally-included apps in "Custom", "Advanced", and other options of download or installation set-ups. They succeed when people download/install their programs without checking the settings - in this way, they unintentionally grant permission for PUAs to be downloaded and installed with regular software.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
Download programs from official, trusted websites. Do not download from dubious pages, using third party downloaders, Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule), or other similar channels. Do not use third party installers to install programs. Check "Custom", "Advanced", and other similar settings that are available in the download or installation setup.
Dismiss offers to download or install unwanted apps, and only then complete the setup. Clicked intrusive ads often open untrustworthy websites. Typically, these ads are displayed on pages relating to gambling, adult dating, pornography, and so on.
If unwanted ads or redirects occur often, check the operating system for unwanted, suspicious programs and the browser for unwanted extensions, add-ons, and plug-ins. Remove unwanted entries immediately. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.
Text presented in the pop-up:
VIRUS FOUND
A website you visited today has infected your Mac with a virus.
Press OK to begin the repair process.
Screenshot of the second Tutonhamon scam page:
Text in this page:
VIRUS FOUND
A website you have visited today has infected your Mac with a virus. A full system scan is now required to find and remove harmful files or applications from your Mac OS X 10_14_6 device.
DEVICE INFORMATION
Brand: Apple
Device: Mac OS X 10_14_6
Browser: Safari 12.1.2
IP: -
Provider: -
Location: - LT
Scan Now
Screenshot of the third Tutonhamon scam page:
Text in this page:
DOWNLOAD REQUIRED
Please download the Advanced Mac Cleaner application to remove Bankworm from your Mac.
VIRUS INFORMATION
Virus Name: Bankworm
Risk: HIGH
Infected File: /os/apps/worm.icv
VIRUS REMOVAL
Application: Advanced Mac Cleaner
Rating: 9.9/10
Price: Free
REMOVE VIRUS NOW
Appearance of Tutonhamon scam (GIF):
Smart Mac Booster download website:
Smart Mac Booster application:
Instant automatic Mac malware removal:
Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac
By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.
Quick menu:
- What is tutonhamon pop-up?
- How to identify a pop-up scam?
- How do pop-up scams work?
- How to remove fake pop-ups?
- How to prevent fake pop-ups?
- What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?
How to identify a pop-up scam?
Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.
While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.
Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:
- Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
- Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
- Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
- Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
- Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.
Example of a pop-up scam:
How do pop-up scams work?
Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.
Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.
How to remove fake pop-ups?
In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.
In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.
How to prevent fake pop-ups?
To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.
To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS.
What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?
This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.
- If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
- If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
- If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
- Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.
Outstanding!
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