Astromenda
from installCore
What is Astromenda?
Astromenda/Astromendario may change your default search engine to add Astromenda's (or any of Astromenda's affiliates) search engine; Astromenda's search engine is provided free of charge, and provides you with great search results. is an adware (advertising support) web browser application that is designed to display banner ads as well as contextual link ads (such as hyperlinks the user will see underlined). The ads are injected by the web browser plugin (IE, FF and Chrome) and will display on any web site, even those not associated or affiliated with the publisher. The application is usually bundled by 3rd-party download managers that utilize deceptive advertising techniques in order to install the software on the user's computer. In addition to advertisements being displayed, the app will also modify the browser settings which could include lowering the normal security settings of the browser as well as changing the home page and search provider (known as hijacking).
From the EULA:
"Astromenda develops and offers you the downloadable Software and relates Services as detailed below, which are all governed by this Agreement. The Software and Services provided to you may include some or all of the following Software and/or Services:
Astromenda adds a new tab screen to your browser that includes your favorite websites, 3rd party content (such as your favorite RSS feeds, information or stock quotes) and other information you provided to Astromenda. You may customize your NewTab page, add specific widgets or pages and other 3rd party content.
You may add specific search services, such as IMDB and other services, where such services will be provided to you directly from those 3rd parties. Some of the search enhancements may be automated or sponsored.
Astromenda may change your new tab page on any of your browsers to add the Astromenda new tab application or page. Astromenda may change your default search engine to add Astromenda's (or any of Astromenda's affiliates) search engine; Astromenda's search engine is provided free of charge, and provides you with great search results."
About (from installCore)
Astromenda's toolbar allows you to retrieve 3rd party content, such as radio stations, games, stock quotes and other information, as well as perform search queries and launch your social network's chat. The Toolbar may contain plugins from 3rd party software vendors who have separate licenses and agreements. This fea... Read more
Overview
- Possible malware installed by this program
- Automatically starts with Windows
- Loads into the web browser
- Typically distributed through a pay-per-install bundle
- Injects advertisements unassociated with the underlying web page
- Hijacks the web browser's home page
- Hijacks the browser's default search provider
- The wisdom of the crowd agrees, you should remove it!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in Astromenda.
| astromenda.exe (66f739f9a09f49164e1b99023884298a) has been flagged by the following 12 scanners: |
| Anti-Virus software | Version | Detection |
| Lavasoft Ad-Aware |
806 |
Trojan.Generic.11662053 |
| AegisLab |
1.5 |
W32.Sality |
| Bitdefender |
1.0.20.1620 |
Trojan.Generic.11662053 |
| Emsisoft Anti-Malware |
8.14.11.20.09 |
Trojan.Generic.11662053 |
| F-Secure |
11.2014-20-11_5 |
Trojan.Generic.11662053 |
| G Data |
14.11.24 |
Trojan.Generic.11662053 |
| McAfee |
5600.6940 |
Artemis!66F739F9A09F |
| McAfee-GW-Edition |
7.6940 |
BehavesLike.Win32.Sality.bh |
| MicroWorld-eScan |
15.0.0.972 |
Trojan.Generic.11662053 |
| nProtect |
14.10.31.01 |
Trojan.Generic.11662053 |
| Rising Antivirus |
23.00.65.141118 |
PE:Trojan.Win32.Generic.17697D6F!392789359 |
| Symantec |
11/20/2014 rev. 5 |
WS.Reputation |
Astromenda has been found to be bundled with 3rd party software. If you have not purposefully installed this, you should be safe uninstalling it.
Program details
Displayed publisher: Astromenda
URL: www.astromendabarand.com
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\Astromenda
Uninstaller: "C:\Program Files2\ASTROM~1\\uninstall.exe"
Estimated size: 1.25 MB
Files installed by Astromenda
| Program executable: | dpinst32.exe |
| Name: | Driver Package Installer (DPInst) |
| Driver Package Installer |
| Path: | C:\Program Files\DIFX\277d1c50d2b49142\dpinst32.exe |
| MD5: | 30a0afee4aea59772db6434f1c0511ab |
Additional files:
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Adobe AIR Updater.exe (by Adobe Systems) - Adobe AIR (Adobe AIR Installer)
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airappinstaller.exe (by Adobe Systems) - Adobe AIR Application Installer
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NPSWF32.dll - Shockwave Flash (Shockwave Flash 11.1 r102)
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template.exe
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WebKit.dll - WebKit DLL used by Adobe AIR (WebKit dynamic link library)
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AdobeCP15.dll - AdobeCP Dynamic Link Library
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AdobeCP.dll - adobecp
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(Malware detected) astromenda.exe (by Fried Cookie) - Astromenda
Behaviors exhibited
Google Chrome Plugin
- NPSWF32.dll is loaded in the Google Chrome web browser as 'NPSWF32.dll'.
Mozilla Plugin
- NPSWF32.dll is loaded into Mozilla Firefox under the product name 'Adobe Flash Player 10.1 Plugin' with a plugin key of '@adobe.com/FlashPlayer' for all users of the PC.
Startup File (User Run)
- astromenda.exe is loaded in the current user (HKCU) registry as an auto-starting executable named 'GoogleChromeAutoLaunch_66A9FFFA7C06621DBED36799B4F4B04F' and executes as "C:\users\user\appdata\Local\Astromenda\Application\astromenda.exe" --no-startup-window.
How do I remove Astromenda?
You can uninstall Astromenda from your computer by using the Add/Remove Program feature in the Window's Control Panel.
- On the Start menu (for Windows 8, right-click the screen's bottom-left corner), click Control Panel, and then, under Programs, do one of the following:
- Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall a Program.
- Windows XP: Click Add or Remove Programs.
- When you find the program Astromenda, click it, and then do one of the following:
- Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall.
- Windows XP: Click the Remove or Change/Remove tab (to the right of the program).
- Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Astromenda.
- If for some reason uninstallation fails, please install Microsoft's uninstall fixer utility which will help fix problems with programs that can't be uninstalled at support.microsoft.com.
How do I reset my web browser?
If your web browser homepage and search settings have been modfied by Astromenda you can restore them to their previous default settings.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Open Internet Explorer and click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
- Click the Advanced tab, and then click Reset. Select the Delete personal settings check box if you would also like to remove search providers, Accelerators and home pages. When Internet Explorer finishes applying default settings, click Close, and then click OK.
- The changes will take effect the next time you open IE.
Mozilla Firefox
- At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help sub-menu and select Troubleshooting Information.
- To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens. It will close and be reset.
- When it's done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish and Firefox will open.
Google Chrome
- Open Chrome and click the Chrome menu on the browser toolbar.
- Select Settings. In the "Search" section, click Manage search engine. Check if (Default) is displayed next to your preferred search engine. If not, mouse over it and click Make default. Mouse over any other suspicious search engine entries that are not familiar and click X to remove them.
- When the "Show Home button" checkbox is selected, a web address appears below it. If you want the Homepage button to open up a different webpage, click Change to enter a link.
- Restart Google Chrome.
OS VERSIONS
Win 7 (SP1) 49%
Win XP 0%
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WHEN IT STARTS
Auto-starting? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
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USER ACTIONS
 |
Uninstall it 79%
Keep it 21%
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Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
| Windows 7 |
52.62% |
|
| Windows 10 |
38.48% |
|
| Windows Vista |
6.28% |
|
| Windows XP |
2.62% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
| Windows 7 Home Premium |
28.08% |
|
| Windows 8.1 |
22.05% |
|
| Windows 7 Ultimate |
11.81% |
|
| Windows 7 Professional |
10.76% |
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| Windows 8 |
7.09% |
|
| Windows Vista Home Premiu... |
3.67% |
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Geography
65.14% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
| United States |
65.14% |
| France |
5.71% |
| United Kingdom |
5.71% |
| Canada |
3.62% |
| Brazil |
3.43% |
| India |
2.48% |
| Italy |
2.10% |
| Germany |
1.90% |
| Spain |
1.52% |
| Netherlands |
1.14% |
| Sweden |
0.95% |
| DK |
0.95% |
| Mexico |
0.76% |
| Chile |
0.57% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
| Hewlett-Packard |
34.53% |
|
| Acer |
19.06% |
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| Dell |
16.19% |
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| Toshiba |
10.79% |
|
| ASUS |
8.99% |
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| Samsung |
3.24% |
|
| Lenovo |
2.16% |
|
| Intel |
1.80% |
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| Gateway |
1.08% |
|
| Alienware |
0.72% |
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| American Megatrends |
0.72% |
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| GIGABYTE |
0.72% |
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Common models |
| HP Pavilion g7 Notebook P... |
5.45% |
|
| HP 2000 Notebook PC |
3.64% |
|
| TOSHIBA Satellite C55-A |
3.03% |
|
| HP Pavilion TS 15 Noteboo... |
2.42% |
|
| Dell Inspiron 1545 |
1.82% |
|
| Dell Inspiron 530 |
1.82% |
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