Should I remove AVG Search App powered by Ask?
What percent of users and experts removed it?
62% remove it38% keep it
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #35,174
Reach 0.0033%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 5.60 days
165.10 days >
Average installed length: 86.75 days
Versions
Version | Distribution |
12.45.1.1342 |
3.03% |
|
12.45.1.1250 |
3.03% |
|
12.40.6.866 |
3.03% |
|
12.40.3.4062 |
1.52% |
|
12.38.0.3436 |
1.52% |
|
12.38.0.3325 |
3.03% |
|
12.37.0.2920 |
6.06% |
|
12.35.0.2634 |
1.52% |
|
12.35.0.2474 |
6.06% |
|
12.34.1.2237 |
3.03% |
|
12.29.0.1668 |
6.06% |
|
12.29.0.1537 |
7.58% |
|
12.28.1.1334 |
7.58% |
|
12.27.0.937 |
3.03% |
|
12.27.0.936 |
16.67% |
|
12.24.1.283 |
7.58% |
|
12.21.0.3831 |
3.03% |
|
12.21.0.3815 |
9.09% |
|
12.19.0.3590 |
7.58% |
|
Rankings
- #35,169 BIONICLE Heroes by Eidos Interactive Limited
- #35,170 Amelie's Cafe by Alawar Entertainment
- #35,171 H&R Block New York 2010 by HRB Technology,
- #35,172 Oniken by JoyMasher
- #35,173 Boris Continuum Complete 9 OFX for Sony (64-Bit)
- #35,174 AVG Search App powered by Ask by APN
- #35,175 Deep Shredder 12 UCI by Stefan Meyer-Kahlen
- #35,176 Blubster 3.1.1 by MP2P Technologies
- #35,177 Personal Video Database 0.9.9.21 by Nostradamus
- #35,178 Nightly 23.0a1 (x64 en-US) by Mozilla
- #35,179 ThreatExpert Memory Scanner 1.0
AVG Search App powered by Ask
from APN, LLC
Overview
AVG Search App powered by Ask is a software program developed by APN. The most common release is 12.27.0.936, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. During setup, the program creates a startup registration point in Windows in order to automatically start when any user boots the PC. The software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds a Windows Firewall exception in order to do so without being interfered with. In the Google Chrome browser, it will add an extension. Many users end up uninstalling this after less than a month of it being installed. The setup package generally installs about 12 files and is usually about 540 KB (552,960 bytes). Relative to the overall usage of users who have this installed on their PCs, most are running Windows 7 (SP1) and Windows 10. While about 31% of users of AVG Search App powered by Ask come from Germany, it is also popular in the United States and Australia.
- Malware detected in the program
- Automatically starts with Windows
- 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 AVG Search App powered by Ask.
tbnotifier.exe (f332813cc013d6af5c5a0c32a3aed725) has been flagged by the following 4 scanners: |
Anti-Virus software | Version | Detection |
Baidu-International |
4.0.3.15817 |
Adware.Win32.Asktoolbar.45 |
ESET-NOD32 |
9.12098 |
a variant of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Ask.M potentially unsafe |
K7 AntiVirus |
13.2016900 |
Unwanted-Program |
K7GW |
13.2016900 |
Unwanted-Program ( 004c42951 ) |
Program details
Help link: apnstatic.ask.com/static/toolbar/everest/documents/faq/index.html
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\askpartnernetwork\toolbar\updater\idc
Uninstaller: MsiExec.exe /X{41564753-502D-4C53-00A7-A758B70C1500}
(The Windows Installer is used for the installation, maintenance, and removal.)
Estimated size: 540 KB
Files installed by AVG Search App powered by Ask
-
tbnotifier.exe - Ask TBNotifier (Ask Toolbar Notifier)
-
aaaafcoidllgdaafcdgcdmfcilndeifk.crx
-
apnnativemsghost.exe - APN Native Messaging Host
-
com.apn.native_messaging_host_aaaafcoidllgdaafcdgcdmfcilndeifk.json
-
tbnhlpr_x64.exe - APN Toolbar Notifier Helper
Behaviors exhibited
Scheduled Task (Boot/Login)
- tbnotifier.exe is automatically launched at startup through a scheduled task named ApnTBMon.
Startup File (All Users Run)
- tbnotifier.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'ApnTBMon' which loads as "C:\Program Files\AskPartnerNetwork\Toolbar\Updater\TBNotifier.exe".
Windows Firewall Allowed Program
- tbnotifier.exe is added as a firewall exception for 'C:\Program Files\AskPartnerNetwork\Toolbar\Updater\TBNotifier.exe'.
How do I remove AVG Search App powered by Ask?
You can uninstall AVG Search App powered by Ask 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 AVG Search App powered by Ask, 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 AVG Search App powered by Ask.
- 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 AVG Search App powered by Ask 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) 48%
Win XP 2%
|
|
HOW IT STARTS
Automatically starts? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
|
|
USER ACTIONS
 |
Uninstall it 62%
Keep it 38%
|
|
Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
Windows 7 |
48.48% |
|
Windows 10 |
42.42% |
|
Windows XP |
6.06% |
|
Windows Vista |
3.03% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
Windows 7 Home Premium |
25.76% |
|
Windows 8.1 |
19.70% |
|
Windows 10 Home |
12.12% |
|
Windows 7 Ultimate |
9.09% |
|
Windows 7 Professional |
7.58% |
|
Windows 8.1 Pro |
6.06% |
|
Geography
31.17% of installs come from Germany
Which countries install it?
Germany |
31.17% |
United States |
20.78% |
Australia |
14.29% |
Netherlands |
6.49% |
Brazil |
5.19% |
Mexico |
3.90% |
DK |
2.60% |
New Zealand |
2.60% |
Russia |
2.60% |
India |
1.30% |
South Africa |
1.30% |
Switzerland |
1.30% |
Japan |
1.30% |
Romania |
1.30% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Acer |
25.45% |
|
ASUS |
21.82% |
|
Hewlett-Packard |
14.55% |
|
Medion |
9.09% |
|
Dell |
7.27% |
|
Lenovo |
5.45% |
|
Sony |
5.45% |
|
Toshiba |
3.64% |
|
American Megatrends |
1.82% |
|
Samsung |
1.82% |
|
MSI |
1.82% |
|
Intel |
1.82% |
|
Common models |
ASUSTeK K43U |
3.51% |
|
ASUS All Series |
1.75% |
|
Acer Aspire E1-571 |
1.75% |
|
Acer Aspire E1-531 |
1.75% |
|
Sony SVE14A15FBS |
1.75% |
|
Samsung 270E5G/270E5U |
1.75% |
|