Traffic Exchange

When computer security experts warn users about potential cyber crime issues everyone can face, they seldom mention such programs as Traffic Exchange. Mainly, the focus is on Trojans, ransomware applications, exploits, browser hijackers, and so on. But potentially unwanted programs like Traffic Exchange can also be considered potential threats if all the necessary constituents fall into place. Needless to say, this program has to be removed from your PC if you did not intend to have it. Also, you should consider scanning your PC with a security tool because you are bound to have more potential threats on-board, and if that is really true, you have to get rid of them all.

There are at least two websites associated with this application. Those are online.io and traffic.io. Normally, when a program has an official website, it should be possible to download that program from the said website. However, neither of the given pages have direct download links available. What’s more, the main website traffic.io does not even have the privacy policy. To read the privacy policy, you need to go to online.io. So this type of situation is rather suspicious, and any user who is interested in their computer security would know better than to trust a program that has a dysfunctional homepage.

So now that we know this program cannot come from a direct source, how does it manage to find its way to your computer? Naturally, if you are reading this article, you did not want to have Traffic Exchange on-board, and you are looking for the way to get rid of it. However, before you terminate the program, you should also know how it enters target computers so that you would be able to avoid similar apps in the future. The point is that users download and install such programs willingly, even if they are not aware of that.

We are talking about software bundles here. Software packages can be downloaded from third-party websites. Users often download programs from third-party file-sharing sites without realizing that those third-party installers might carry several applications, not just the one they need. So if you go through the installation process automatically, without checking the steps, it is very likely that you will install more than one program. We believe that this is how Traffic Exchange enters most of the target systems, and for a while, the users may not even notice that they have this application on-board.

Supposedly, this program should help you maintain and monitor your online traffic, but it is rather doubtful whether you need such a function if you are not a website master or you have a cap-less broadband internet. So there is no need to keep a program that cannot provide you with anything useful. What’s more, you may want to know about the potential side effects associated with utilizing Traffic Exchange.

If we take a look at the program’s EULA, it says that the program may collect sensitive data and it could be sold to third parties. What data does this program have in mind? Most probably information about your system, your online activity, the websites you frequent, and your most commonly used search queries. This information makes it easier to target custom advertising at you, especially when the third parties know your likes and preferences. What we are concerned about is the fact Traffic Exchange does not check the third party content that gets advertised to you. So, if the third parties in question are cyber criminals, then it would be possible to get infected with malware or get your money stolen after having interacted with the advertised content.

All of that may start with a simple interaction with Traffic Exchange. So you should weigh all pros and cons, and decide what you should do about this application. Of course, we strongly recommend that you remove Traffic Exchange right now.

You can uninstall Traffic Exchange manually, but it would be a lot better if you scanned your PC with a security application and terminated all the potential threats automatically. It is a lot more efficient than dealing with each and every intruder individually. Not to mention that with a security tool of your choice, you will be able to safeguard your PC against other uninvited applications.

How to Delete Traffic Exchange

1. Press Win+R and the Run prompt will open.
2. Type %PROGRAMFILES(x86)% in the Open box and click OK.
3. Remove the Microleaves folder and press Win+R.
4. Enter %PROGRAMFILES% into the Open box and click OK.
5. Remove the Microleaves folder from the directory and press Win+R.
6. Type %WINDIR% into the Open box and click OK.
7. Open the Installer folder and delete the {438465C5-D78D-4958-B31D-60374B5042F4} file.
8. Press Win+R and type regedit into the Open box. Click OK.
9. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node.
10. Ender Wow6432Node, right-click and delete the Microleaves key.
11. Go back to SOFTWARE and remove the Microleaves key there as well.
12. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall.
13. Under Uninstall, remove the {438465C5-D78D-4958-B31D-60374B5042F4} key.
14. Exit Registry Editor and press Win+R again.
15. Type %WINDIR% and press Enter. Navigate to System32/Tasks.
16. Remove the Traffic Exchange task.
17. Go back to the main %WINDIR% directory and remove the Traffic Exchange task.