84,488,480 programs installed

Should I remove V-bates?

What percent of users and experts removed it?
85% remove it15% keep it
Overall Sentiment
Bad
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #36,017
United States Rank #28,942
Reach 0.0032%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 3.01 days
88.83 days >
Average installed length: 46.67 days

Versions

VersionDistribution
2.0.0.444 100.00%

Other programs by Wajam

V-bates 2.0.0.444

What is V-bates?

This Wajamu toolbar/web browser extension is ad/search-supported that is typically installed as an optional offer, users generally have this bundled with 3rd party software. During setup, this toolbar will modify the home page and new tab pages to an affiliate search portal using a primary search engine in order to collect shared search revenue. It will also modify the default search provider as well. This add-on is silently installed into Firefox and Chrome, in violation of the Add-on Guidelines.

Overview

Upon installation and setup, it defines an auto-start registry entry which makes this program run on each Windows boot for all user logins. 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 main program executable is guardsvc.exe. Typically most users end up uninstalling this just after a few days. The software installer includes 16 files and is usually about 4.32 MB (4,534,008 bytes). ExtensionUpdaterService.exe is the automatic update component of the software designed to download and apply new updates should new versions be released.
  • Possible malware installed by this program
  • Starts automatically
  • Loads into the web browser
  • Adds a background Windows Service
  • Installed as part of a co-bundle
  • Hijacks the web browser's home page
  • Hijacks the browser's default search provider
  • The experts agree, you should remove it!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in V-bates.
guardsvc.exe (3ab02dd88106380eeef7efa376d3c570) has been flagged by the following 8 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareVersionDetection
Lavasoft Ad-Aware 893 Adware.SearchGuard.B
Bitdefender 1.0.20.1185 Adware.SearchGuard.B
Emsisoft Anti-Malware 8.14.08.25.12 Adware.SearchGuard
F-Secure 11.2014-25-08_2 Adware.SearchGuard.B
G Data 14.8.24 Adware.SearchGuard
MicroWorld-eScan 15.0.0.711 Adware.SearchGuard.B
nProtect 14.08.24.01 Adware.SearchGuard.B
TrendMicro-HouseCall 7.2.237 Suspicious_GEN.F47V0729
ExtensionUpdaterService.exe (b5780edbb66097b744b253273aeb6e2d) has been flagged by the following 15 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareSoftware versionDetection
AVG 14.0.0.4040 Generic.D4B
Baidu-International 3.5.1.41473 PUA.Win32.BitCocktail.BB
CAT-QuickHeal 14.00 TrojanDownloader.Agent.r5
ESET-NOD32 10551 a variant of Win32/Toolbar.BitCocktail.B
G Data 24 Win32.Adware.Wajamu.F
IKARUS anti.virus T3.1.7.8.0 PUA.Toolbar.BitCocktail
Kaspersky 12.0.0.1225 Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Agent.hexg
Malwarebytes 1.75.0.1 PUP.Optional.SweetPacks.A
McAfee 6.0.5.614 Artemis!B5780EDBB660
McAfee-GW-Edition v2014.2 Artemis
NANO AntiVirus 0.28.2.62483 Trojan.Win32.Agent.dgiait
Symantec 20141.1.0.330 WS.Reputation.1
Tencent 1.0.0.1 Win32.Trojan-downloader.Agent.Pezg
TrendMicro-HouseCall 9.700.0.1001 Suspicious_GEN.F47V0807
Zillya 2.0.0.1952 Downloader.Agent.Win32.222341
notifier.exe (0927e7b5bf7b3bbfa371f217050dac6d) has been flagged by the following 13 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareSoftware versionDetection
Lavasoft Ad-Aware 12.0.163.0 Adware.PassionFruit.A
AVG 14.0.0.4040 Generic.D4B
Bitdefender 7.2 Adware.PassionFruit.A
CAT-QuickHeal 14.00 TrojanDownloader.Agent.r5
Emsisoft Anti-Malware 3.0.0.600 Adware.PassionFruit.A (B)
F-Secure 11.0.19100.45 Adware.PassionFruit.A
G Data 24 Adware.PassionFruit.A
Kaspersky 12.0.0.1225 Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Agent.hexg
MicroWorld-eScan 12.0.250.0 Adware.PassionFruit.A
nProtect 2014-10-26.01 Adware.PassionFruit.A
Symantec 20141.1.0.330 WS.Reputation.1
Tencent 1.0.0.1 Win32.Trojan-downloader.Agent.Eep
TrendMicro-HouseCall 9.700.0.1001 Suspicious_GEN.F47V0825
Extension32.dll (ec37abe84e5f4b6ee19773764b0a9be7) has been flagged by the following 2 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareSoftware versionDetection
Symantec 20141.1.0.330 WS.Reputation.1
TrendMicro-HouseCall 9.700.0.1001 Suspicious_GEN.F47V0817
       View all 38 all detections
V-bates has been found to be bundled with 3rd party software. If you have not purposefully installed this, you should be safe uninstalling it.

Program detailsProgram details

Displayed publisher: Wajamu
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\V-bates\
Uninstaller: "C:\Program Files\V-bates\unins000.exe"
Estimated size: 4.32 MB

Program filesFiles installed by V-bates 2.0.0.444

Program executable:guardsvc.exe (Malware detected)
Name:Search Guard
Path:C:\Program Files\V-bates\guardsvc.exe
MD5:3ab02dd88106380eeef7efa376d3c570
Additional files:
  • (Malware detected) notifier.exe - Notifications (Notications)
  • Extension32.dll
  • Extension64.dll
  • (Malware detected) ExtensionUpdaterService.exe
  • InstallerHelper.dll
  • libapi2hook.dll
  • libinject2.dll
  • libredir2.dll
  • libwinhook.dll
  • NMHClient.exe

Program behaviorsBehaviors exhibited

2 Internet Explorer BHOs
  • Extension64.dll is installed in Internet Explorer as a BHO (Browser Helper Object) under the name 'V-bates' with the class of {21EAF666-26B3-4a3c-ABD0-CA2F5A326744} (V-bates Helper).
  • Extension32.dll is installed in Internet Explorer as a BHO (Browser Helper Object) under the name 'V-bates' with the class of {21EAF666-26B3-4a3c-ABD0-CA2F5A326744} (V-bates Helper).
2 Services
  • guardsvc.exe runs as a service named 'Mext Guard' (Mext Guard).
  • ExtensionUpdaterService.exe runs as a service named 'V-bates Updater' (V-bates Updater).
Startup File (All Users Run)
  • notifier.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'V-bates' which loads as C:\Program Files\V-bates\notifier.exe.

How do I remove V-bates?

You can uninstall V-bates from your computer by using the Add/Remove Program feature in the Window's Control Panel.
  1. 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.
  2. When you find the program V-bates 2.0.0.444, 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).
  3. Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove V-bates.
  4. 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 V-bates 2.0.0.444 you can restore them to their previous default settings.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome

OS VERSIONS
Win 7 (SP1) 48%
Win Vista 3%
 
HOW IT STARTS
Automatically starts? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
 
USER ACTIONS
Uninstall it 85%
Keep it 15%

Windows OS versionsWindows

Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
Windows 7 57.14%
Windows 10 36.51%
Windows Vista 6.35%
Which OS releases does it run on?
Windows 7 Home Premium 33.33%
Windows 8.1 14.29%
Windows 7 Ultimate 12.70%
Windows 7 Professional 9.52%
Windows 8 6.35%
Windows 8.1 Pro 6.35%

Distribution by countryGeography

60.49% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
  United States 60.49%
  Brazil 17.28%
  Canada 12.35%
  Australia 2.47%
  Germany 2.47%
  United Kingdom 2.47%
  France 1.23%
  India 1.23%

OEM distributionPC manufacturers

What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Hewlett-Packard 36.00%
Acer 22.00%
Dell 12.00%
Lenovo 8.00%
ASUS 6.00%
Samsung 6.00%
Alienware 4.00%
GIGABYTE 4.00%
American Megatrends 2.00%
Common models
Samsung 300E4C/300E5C/300... 3.77%
Alienware Alienware 14 3.77%
TOSHIBA Satellite C75D-A 1.89%
TOSHIBA SATELLITE C670D-1... 1.89%
TOSHIBA Satellite C650D 1.89%
Sony SVF15415CDW 1.89%

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