84,488,480 programs installed

Should I remove Hotspot Shield?

What percent of users and experts removed it?
60% remove it40% keep it
Overall Sentiment
Bad
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

VersionDistribution
2.88 100.00%

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 detailsProgram 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

Program filesFiles 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)

Program behaviorsBehaviors 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'.

Program resource utilizationResource utilization averages

HssSrv.exe
Memory:2.65 MB
21.09 MB average
Total CPU:0.0016914770%
0.031193% average
Kernel CPU:0.00115251%
0.016088% average
User CPU:0.00053897%
0.015104% average
CPU cycles/sec:345,905
8,062,084 average
Switches/sec:9
70 average
I/O reads/min:163 Bytes
435.61 KB average
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.
  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 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).
  3. Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Hotspot Shield.
  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 Hotspot Shield 2.88 you can restore them to their previous default settings.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
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 OS versionsWindows

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%

Distribution by countryGeography

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%

OEM distributionPC 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

commentsComments

user comment
No one has commented yet. Help others learn more about this software, share your comments.