InstallCore
InstallCore (stylized as installCore) was an installation and content distribution platform created by ironSource, including a software development kit (SDK) for Windows and Mac OS X.[1] The program allowed those using it for distribution to include monetization by advertisements or charging for installation, and made its installations invisible to the user and its anti-virus software.[2] The platform and its programs have been rated potentially unwanted programs (PUP) or potentially unwanted applications (PUA) by anti-malware product vendors since 2014,[3] and by Windows Defender Antivirus since 2015.[4] The platform was primarily designed for efficient web-based deployment of various types of application software. As of August 2012[update], InstallCore was managing 100 million installations every month, offering services for paid, unpaid, and free software by using the SDK version.[5] HistoryThe InstallCore team introduced the first version of the SDK at the beginning of 2011.[6] The SDK was a fork of the FoxTab installer and had only basic Installation features. InstallCore was discontinued as part of a company flotation in late 2020.[7] Criticism and malware classificationInstallCore and its software packages have been classified as potentially unwanted programs (PUP) or potentially unwanted applications (PUA), by anti-malware product vendors[3] and Windows Defender Antivirus[4] from 2014–2015 onwards, with many stating that it installs adware and other additional PUPs.[8] Malwarebytes identified the program as "a family of bundlers that installs more than one application on the user's computer".[9] It has been described as "crossing the line into full-blown malware" and a "nasty Trojan".[10]
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