windows defender says problem app but no other info

Hello, I am on Windows 10 (2004) and Windows defender has had a yellow triangle warning on it a few days. It says, "Reputation-based protection...Potentially unwanted app found. Your device may perform poorly". When I click the Review button it says, "no recent actions". I don't want to click dismiss yet, or until I know everything is ok. I've scanned my laptop with McAfee and no problems found so I'm confused and decided to ask in here is anyone knew how to check out what Windows Defender is talking about? Thanks.

Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus and threat protection > Protection history

Thank you so much. Sorry about that. I haven't used a windows OS in years and re-learning.

I found the app that it says I may not want. It's called, "App:Realistic _Media_Browser_Assistant " and says it's threat is "Low".

Is this something most of you have dealt with in Windows Defender? Do you think Windows needs it and it's harmless? I'm at a loss at what I should do about this. McAfee didn't pick it out in any scans.

PUP or potentially unwanted programs are not usually a significant threat. They are thrown into this category so they don't fall into the bigger and more scary category of malware. You could technically call anything that is classified as PUP malware but the reason there are different categories is so a distinction can be made. That distinction is made purely on severity. Potentially unwanted programs is a low severity threat. It can be anything from your typical freeware software that tends to come bundled with bloatware (stuff you don't need but somehow get duped into installing) to software which has a sketchy reputation (hence why the reputation based protection feature was triggered in your case). Even then the reputation 'score' can be sketchy in and of itself. Some people use software that others consider trash everyday. Some software has genuine functionality while also being sketchy. You nearly always have very little to worry about when dealing with stuff like this.

On a scale from 1 to 100 these category of 'malware' is around 1-5. Again it's not technically malware. It's only given such a connection because software can often mutate into stuff that we might once have liked on our system and now is basically devil spawn. This happens when developers sell out their projects, when they partner up with other entitites that push a darker direction or when the developers simply no longer have their users best interests at heart. And when this happens that close connection can simply be reinforced and PUP becomes malware. Until then, and most of the time, that doesn't happen. If anything look at software that gets flagged as PUP as "meh". In a breath it could become something far worse but it's also likely to remain credible and safe to use. Always keep your wits about you though. You shouldn't trust any software 100%. Even the most popular software often leaks buckets on the heads of their users. I mean, look at Windows and it's many thousands of vulnerabilities. Also look at the sketchy history of Microsoft and it's varied anti-trust escapades. Look at how Microsoft came to prominence, barely a story of innocence. That isn't to say Microsoft nor Windows is the enemy. But you should never assume the software you use nor the people who make it resemble the image of perfection perhaps even God himself. This nearly always leads to upset and it's often when people find themselves putting way too much trust into what they see on their computer screen.

Just remember the weakest link in the chain is yourself. You're the one most likely to lead to your computer becoming infected. When you train yourself you become a form of protection in and of yourself. So using your smarts/common sense and learning along the way is a big part of remaining protected in this digital world.

Thank you, that has made me feel better and more cautious (at the same time). I googled the app's name and found some bad stuff about it and deleted it in windows defender. Then I did a quick scan with Windows Defender and it was back! Over and over again. I was on a website that talked about downloading a tool to get rid of that specific app (trojan horse as it calls it) but I'm scared to download anything like that from a website I've never heard of. I'm doing a "complete scan" with McAfee right now so I'll see if it flags it. I guess I'll go to McAfee's website to see what they say about that app. This is a brand new laptop, I've had it for about 2 weeks now. There has been 2 times that a website froze and the laptop had to restart itself. When it booted back up it was on a special page. It wasn't bios or safe mode but it gave all kind of info that was over my head. Like my fan speed and other stuff. I had the option to go into bios or safe mode but there wasn't anything about a virus on that page so I continued to boot up normally. I'm wondering if that could be from this. I guess i'll find out as time goes by. I have my anti-virus on and running on all fronts so hopefully that will pick up anything as fast as it rears its head! I get so much spam but I don't click on any of the links inside the spam messages. I wonder if just opening the spam email itself causes viruses?? Sometimes I open them to see if it's something I need to see. But I'm very careful about not clicking any of the links in the email messages. Is that ok? Or is opening the email a way to get a virus??..

It's been identified as a trojan browser hijacker by Malwarebytes -

https://blog.malwarebytes.com/detect...rassistant-ps/

McAfee found it and got rid of it. I did another full scan afterwards and it didn't come back up so maybe I got rid of it. I'm going to be watching out for it from now on and staying away from clicking random links!

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Thanks for sticking with me and helping me OldNavyGuy! I appreciate your help!! Maybe this will fix everything. Hope you have a great week.

No problem.

Good to hear you got it.

I would suggest looking into the browser extension uBlock Origin.

GitHub - gorhill/uBlock: uBlock Origin - An efficient blocker for Chromium and Firefox. Fast and lean.