Should I remove Hotspot Shield?
What percent of users and experts removed it?
60% remove it40% keep it
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #17,057
United States Rank #19,618
Reach 0.0147%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 12.75 days
376.06 days >
Average installed length: 197.59 days
Versions
Version | Distribution |
2.88 |
100.00% |
|
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Hotspot Shield 2.88
What is Hotspot Shield?
Hotspot Shield bundles a branded version of the Conduit Toolbar, which delivers search based advertising and results. During installation the user is presented in some cases with the option to install the toolbar (on by default). Once accepted, the packaged executable, ConduitInstaller.exe, will download and install the necessary components for the Conduit Toolbar.
About (from AnchorFree Inc)
Hotspot Shield is the world's most popular Virtual Private Network (VPN) that secures your browsing session, detects and blocks malicious websites, makes you private and anonymous online, and allows you to access any blocked content. Hotspot Shield allows you to Secure your Web session, data, online shopping, and perso... Read more
Overview
Upon being installed, the software adds a Windows Service which is designed to run continuously in the background. Manually stopping the service has been seen to cause the program to stop functing properly. It adds a background controller service that is set to automatically run. Delaying the start of this service is possible through the service manager. It adds a Browser Helper Object (BHO) to Internet Explorer. The primary executable is named HssSrv.exe. The setup package generally installs about 31 files and is usually about 15.17 MB (15,908,827 bytes).
- Integrates into the web browser
- Installs a Windows Service
- Known to include offers within the setup
Hotspot Shield has been seen bundling various 3rd party software during the installation process. Make sure to check for and remove unused programs.
Program details
Displayed publisher: AnchorFree Inc.
URL: www.hotspotshield.com
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield
Uninstaller: C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\Uninstall.exe
Estimated size: 15.17 MB
Files installed by Hotspot Shield 2.88
Program executable: | HssSrv.exe |
Path: | C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\HssWPR\HssSrv.exe |
MD5: | 7321bca90dd53cc46efdf1d4d44964e1 |
| Hotspot Shield allows you to create a VPN, or virtual private network, so you can transfer your data securely. When you access the Internet through such connections, you risk having your computer or mobile infected by a virus or even an... |
Additional files:
-
af_proxy_cmd.exe
-
fbw.exe
-
HssIE.dll
-
HssInstaller.exe
-
HssSrv.exe
-
openvpnas.exe
-
openvpntray.exe
-
Uninstall.exe
-
af_proxy.dll
-
cfghlp.dll
-
ConduitUninstaller.exe (by Conduit)
-
FBWMgr.exe
-
ffinst.exe
-
gui-ara.dll
-
gui-bur.dll
-
gui-chi.dll
-
gui-eng.dll
-
gui-fre.dll
-
hssfixme.exe
-
hssinst.dll
-
HSSTrayService.exe
-
hsswd.exe
-
libeay32.dll
-
libpkcs11-helper-1.dll (by OpenSC Project) - pkcs11-helper (pkcs11-helper - An easy way to access PKCS#11 modules)
-
libssl32.dll
-
NetworkRep.dll
-
openvpn.exe
-
tapinstall.exe (by Windows (R) Codename Longhorn DDK provider) - Windows (R) Codename Longhorn DDK driver (Windows Setup API)
-
vistahlp.dll
-
wddll.dll
-
zlib1.dll (by Zlib) - Zlib (Zlib: general purpose data compression / decompression library)
Behaviors exhibited
Internet Explorer BHO
- HssIE.dll is installed in Internet Explorer as a BHO (Browser Helper Object) under the name 'Hotspot Shield Class' with the class of {F9E4A054-E9B1-4BC3-83A3-76A1AE736170}.
4 Services
- openvpnas.exe runs as a service named 'hshld'.
- HssSrv.exe runs as a service named 'HssSrv'.
- hsswd.exe runs as a service named 'HssWd'.
- HSSTrayService.exe runs as a service named 'HssTrayService'.
Resource utilization averages
Show technical details
HssSrv.exe |
Memory: | 2.65 MB | |
Total CPU: | 0.0016914770% | |
Kernel CPU: | 0.00115251% | |
User CPU: | 0.00053897% | |
CPU cycles/sec: | 345,905 | |
Switches/sec: | 9 | |
I/O reads/min: | 163 Bytes | |
openvpnas.exe |
Memory: | 5.03 MB | |
Total CPU: | 0.0007849909% | |
Kernel CPU: | 0.00055511% | |
User CPU: | 0.00022988% | |
CPU cycles/sec: | 8,161,766 | |
Switches/sec: | 3 | |
I/O reads/min: | 24.82 KB | |
I/O writes/min: | 23 Bytes | |
openvpntray.exe |
Memory: | 32.02 MB | |
Total CPU: | 0.0009005477% | |
Kernel CPU: | 0.00045466% | |
User CPU: | 0.00044589% | |
CPU cycles/sec: | 3,520,715 | |
I/O reads/min: | 236 Bytes | |
I/O writes/min: | 205 Bytes | |
How do I remove Hotspot Shield?
You can uninstall Hotspot Shield 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 Hotspot Shield 2.88, 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 Hotspot Shield.
- 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 Hotspot Shield 2.88 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) 63%
Win Vista (SP1) 0%
|
|
HOW IT RUNS
Windows Service? Yes
(Installs a service)
|
|
USER ACTIONS
|
Uninstall it 60%
Keep it 40%
|
|
Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
Windows 7 |
76.21% |
|
Windows 10 |
12.76% |
|
Windows XP |
8.28% |
|
Windows Vista |
2.76% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
Windows 7 Ultimate |
35.07% |
|
Windows 7 Home Premium |
31.60% |
|
Microsoft Windows XP |
8.33% |
|
Windows 7 Professional |
6.94% |
|
Windows 8 Pro |
4.86% |
|
Windows Vista Home Premiu... |
2.08% |
|
Geography
33.03% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
United States |
33.03% |
Iran |
13.46% |
Germany |
9.79% |
Saudi Arabia |
4.59% |
United Kingdom |
3.67% |
United Arab Emirates |
2.14% |
Indonesia |
2.14% |
Pakistan |
2.14% |
Canada |
1.83% |
Turkey |
1.83% |
Italy |
1.53% |
Spain |
1.22% |
Croatia |
1.22% |
Brazil |
0.92% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Dell |
25.00% |
|
Acer |
17.05% |
|
Hewlett-Packard |
16.48% |
|
ASUS |
13.07% |
|
GIGABYTE |
6.25% |
|
Toshiba |
6.25% |
|
Lenovo |
5.11% |
|
Intel |
3.98% |
|
Alienware |
1.70% |
|
Samsung |
1.70% |
|
American Megatrends |
1.14% |
|
Medion |
1.14% |
|
Common models |
ASUSTeK K53SD |
3.03% |
|
HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook ... |
3.03% |
|
HP ProBook 4530s |
3.03% |
|
Dell Inspiron N5110 |
2.27% |
|
Acer Aspire 5742 |
2.27% |
|
HP Pavilion g6 Notebook P... |
2.27% |
|
About AnchorFree Inc
AnchorFree provides online privacy and security solutions for Web users, advertisers, and publishers.
Publisher URL: www.anchorfree.com