84,488,480 programs installed

Should I remove Windows Core Toolbar?

What percent of users and experts removed it?
66% remove it34% keep it
Overall Sentiment
Bad
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #42,761
United States Rank #40,698
Reach 0.0021%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 451.50 days
1190.23 days >
Average installed length: 625.37 days

Versions

VersionDistribution
1.0.1 100.00%

Other programs by Search Core Systems

Windows Core Toolbar

What is Windows Core Toolbar?

Windows Core Toolbar is an adware web browser extension designed to take control of the user's browser in order to redirect web searches and inject advertising. In Internet Explorer the program run as a Browser Helper Object. The add-in performs a number of behaviors that will hijack advertising on non-associated web sites as well as inject its own advertising in the form of contextual link ads, banner ads, popups and pop-overs including the hijacking of known ad serving sites. This malware is typically bundled with various third party unwanted applications as well as through web browser exploits. Although the program comes packaged with an uninstaller and is listed in the Windows Add/Remove Programs, fully removing this could be very difficult and an anti-malware product might be required.

Overview

During setup, the program registers itself to launch on boot through a Windows Schedule Task in order to automatically start-up (this is typically done to avoid any UAC prompts). The program adds a toolbar to Microsoft Internet Explorer. The primary executable is named wcoretb.dll. Many users end up uninstalling this after less than a month of it being installed. The setup package generally installs about 6 files and is usually about 2.98 MB (3,121,268 bytes).
  • Malware detected in the program
  • Automatically starts with Windows
  • Integrates into the web browser
  • This program has a poor reputation
  • The wisdom of the experts agree, if you don't use it you should remove it!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in Windows Core Toolbar.
wcoretb.dll (9bad26cb736bff0b2a7ca06e998512db) has been flagged by the following 2 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareVersionDetection
Comodo Security 13679 UnclassifiedMalware
ESET-NOD32 7.7524 Win32/Adware.Bonzuna.A
browserhelper.dll (77235f8358cb31f44c052e7a899532d1) has been flagged by the following 8 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareSoftware versionDetection
Comodo Security 16877 UnclassifiedMalware
ESET-NOD32 8760 Win32/Adware.Bonzuna.A
Fortinet FortiGate 5.1.147.0 Riskware/Bonzuna
McAfee 5.600.0.1067 Artemis!77235F8358CB
McAfee-GW-Edition 2013 Artemis!77235F8358CB
Sophos 4.91.0 Mal/BHO-J
Symantec 20131.1.5.61 WS.Reputation.1
TrendMicro-HouseCall 9.700.0.1001 TROJ_GEN.R06H1D4
wcthelper.exe (04ab6e74a2918d62d23f94c43845bc42) has been flagged by the following 4 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareSoftware versionDetection
Comodo Security 13738 UnclassifiedMalware
ESET-NOD32 7543 Win32/Adware.Bonzuna.A
Jiangmin 13.0.900 Trojan/StartPage.nrn
TrendMicro-HouseCall 9.700.0.1001 TROJ_GEN.F47V0927
wcupdt.exe (b24f747e3a7a1c17971116b56819df18) has been flagged by the following 4 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareSoftware versionDetection
Comodo Security 13738 UnclassifiedMalware
Emsisoft Anti-Malware 5.1.0.11 Adware.Win32.Bonzuna.AMN!A2
eSafe 7.0.17.0 Win32.Trojan
ESET-NOD32 7543 Win32/Adware.Bonzuna.A
       View all 18 all detections

Program detailsProgram details

Installation folder: C:\Program Files\Search Core Systems\Windows Core Toolbar\
Uninstaller: MsiExec.exe /X{66E21DF1-1031-4297-B2C4-741AA435B583}
(The Windows Installer is used for the installation, maintenance, and removal.)
Estimated size: 2.98 MB
Language: English (United States)

Program filesFiles installed by Windows Core Toolbar

Program module:wcoretb.dll (Malware detected)
Name:Windows Core Toolbar
Path:C:\Program Files\Search Core Systems\Windows Core Toolbar\wcoretb.dll
MD5:9bad26cb736bff0b2a7ca06e998512db
Additional files:
  • (Malware detected) wcupdt.exe - Search Core Updater
  • (Malware detected) browserhelper.dll - WCT BHO (Windows Core Toolbar BHO)
  • (Malware detected) wcthelper.exe - Windows Core Toolbar Helper
  • iewrk.dll
  • sqlite3.dll

Program behaviorsBehaviors exhibited

Internet Explorer BHO
  • browserhelper.dll is installed in Internet Explorer as a BHO (Browser Helper Object) under the name '&Windows Core Toolbar BHO' with the class of {ACC01A56-70E3-472E-9C4F-83B1DA817DD8}.
Internet Explorer Toolbar
  • wcoretb.dll is loaded as Internet Explorer Toolbar with the name '&Windows Core Toolbar' with the class of {3A6BE320-DC9B-4D24-A6E8-621B81544F4B}.
2 Scheduled Tasks (Boot/Login)
  • wcupdt.exe is automatically launched at startup through a scheduled task named Windows Core Toolbar Updater.
  • wcthelper.exe is automatically launched at startup through a scheduled task named Windows Core Helper.

How do I remove Windows Core Toolbar?

You can uninstall Windows Core Toolbar 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 Windows Core Toolbar, 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 Windows Core Toolbar.
  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 Windows Core Toolbar you can restore them to their previous default settings.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome

OS VERSIONS
Win 7 (SP1) 74%
Win 7 5%
 
HOW DOES IT RUN?
Plugs into Internet Explorer
 
USER ACTIONS
Uninstall it 66%
Keep it 34%

Windows OS versionsWindows

Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
Windows 7 78.57%
Windows Vista 7.14%
Windows XP 7.14%
Windows 10 7.14%
Which OS releases does it run on?
Windows 7 Home Premium 54.76%
Windows 7 Ultimate 11.90%
Microsoft Windows XP 7.14%
Windows Vista Home Premiu... 4.76%
Windows 7 Starter 4.76%
Windows 7 Home Basic 4.76%

Distribution by countryGeography

44.23% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
  United States 44.23%
  United Kingdom 9.62%
  Mexico 3.85%
  Philippines 3.85%
  Spain 3.85%
  Ireland 3.85%
  MK 1.92%
  CY 1.92%
  South Africa 1.92%
  Thailand 1.92%
  RS 1.92%
  Finland 1.92%
  India 1.92%
  Indonesia 1.92%

OEM distributionPC manufacturers

What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Hewlett-Packard 25.64%
Dell 20.51%
Toshiba 20.51%
Acer 12.82%
Lenovo 7.69%
GIGABYTE 5.13%
Sony 2.56%
American Megatrends 2.56%
ASUS 2.56%
Common models
Dell Inspiron N5110 7.69%
Toshiba NB200 2.56%
TOSHIBA Satellite L775D 2.56%
TOSHIBA Satellite L550D 2.56%
TOSHIBA Satellite L505 2.56%
TOSHIBA Satellite L500 2.56%

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