Should I remove Hotspot Shield?
What percent of users and experts removed it?
53% remove it47% keep it
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #17,034
United States Rank #20,957
Reach 0.0148%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 16.59 days
489.41 days >
Average installed length: 257.15 days
Versions
| Version | Distribution |
| 2.93 |
100.00% |
|
Other programs by AnchorFree Inc
Rankings
- #17,029 Dell Precision Optimizer
- #17,030 SlimDX Redistributable (March 2009)
- #17,031 Autodesk Revit 2017
- #17,032 Medieval Engineers by Keen Software House
- #17,033 EarthView by DeskSoft
- #17,034 Hotspot Shield 2.93 by AnchorFree Inc
- #17,035 Easy Tune 6 B12.0912.1 by GIGABYTE
- #17,036 VAIO - Active Clip by Sony
- #17,037 HP TouchSmart Calendar by Hewlett-Packard
- #17,038 PaperPort Anywhere 1.1.4310.24706 powered by OfficeDrop
- #17,039 TwelveKeys Music Transcription Software by NCH Software
Hotspot Shield 2.93
What is Hotspot Shield?
The software is typically bundled with third party installers such as Open Candy. "Offer users the ability to browse the web anonymously to protect their privacy as well as gain access to region-restricted content portals like Hulu, Netflix and more. Note: This product may block advertisements on websites and/or the desktop."
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
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 HssSrv.exe. The software installer includes 41 files and is usually about 14.98 MB (15,709,028 bytes).
- Loads into the web browser
- Connects to a server over the Internet
- Installs a Windows Service
- Displays unwanted advertisements
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: 14.98 MB
Files installed by Hotspot Shield 2.93
| Program executable: | HssSrv.exe |
| Name: | Hotspot Shield 2.93 |
| Path: | C:\Program Files\Hotspot Shield\HssWPR\HssSrv.exe |
| MD5: | fda5e88be1333b69bed57aadaa16991f |
Additional files:
-
af_proxy_cmd.exe - Hotspot Shield 2.93
-
fbw.exe
-
HssInstaller.exe
-
HssSrv.exe
-
openvpnas.exe
-
openvpntray.exe
-
HssIE.dll
-
HssIE_64.dll
-
HssInstaller64.exe
-
Uninstall.exe
Behaviors exhibited
2 Internet Explorer BHOs
- HssIE_64.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}.
- 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}.
Service
- HssSrv.exe runs as a service named 'Hotspot Shield Routing Service' (HssSrv).
Network connections
- HssSrv.exe connects to 68.68.107.160 (port 80).
Resource utilization averages
Show technical details
| HssSrv.exe |
| Memory: | 2.82 MB | |
| Total CPU: | 0.0010994016% | |
| Kernel CPU: | 0.00077759% | |
| User CPU: | 0.00032181% | |
| CPU cycles/sec: | 276,264 | |
| Switches/sec: | 21 | |
| I/O reads/min: | 58 Bytes | |
| openvpnas.exe |
| Memory: | 3.61 MB | |
| Total CPU: | 0.0023308132% | |
| Kernel CPU: | 0.00195354% | |
| User CPU: | 0.00037727% | |
| CPU cycles/sec: | 40,254 | |
| I/O reads/min: | 258 Bytes | |
| I/O writes/min: | 11 Bytes | |
| fbw.exe |
| Memory: | 38.54 MB | |
| Total CPU: | 0.0161000041% | |
| Kernel CPU: | 0.00806712% | |
| User CPU: | 0.00803288% | |
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 2.93, 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 2.93 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) 68%
Win XP 0%
|
|
HOW IT RUNS
Windows Service? Yes
(Installs a service)
|
|
USER ACTIONS
 |
Uninstall it 53%
Keep it 47%
|
|
Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
| Windows 7 |
75.34% |
|
| Windows 10 |
15.41% |
|
| Windows Vista |
5.14% |
|
| Windows XP |
4.11% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
| Windows 7 Home Premium |
29.41% |
|
| Windows 7 Ultimate |
26.30% |
|
| Windows 7 Professional |
11.76% |
|
| Windows 8 Pro |
6.23% |
|
| Windows 7 Home Basic |
4.84% |
|
| Microsoft Windows XP |
4.15% |
|
Geography
31.05% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
| United States |
31.05% |
| Germany |
7.84% |
| Turkey |
7.52% |
| United Kingdom |
5.23% |
| Iran |
5.23% |
| Saudi Arabia |
3.27% |
| United Arab Emirates |
2.61% |
| Canada |
2.29% |
| TN |
2.29% |
| Indonesia |
1.96% |
| France |
1.63% |
| India |
1.63% |
| Netherlands |
1.63% |
| Japan |
1.31% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
| Hewlett-Packard |
19.90% |
|
| Dell |
18.91% |
|
| Acer |
18.41% |
|
| ASUS |
12.44% |
|
| GIGABYTE |
7.46% |
|
| Toshiba |
6.97% |
|
| Samsung |
5.97% |
|
| Lenovo |
2.49% |
|
| Apple |
1.49% |
|
| Intel |
1.49% |
|
| MSI |
1.49% |
|
| Alienware |
1.00% |
|
Common models |
| HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook ... |
6.40% |
|
| HP Pavilion g6 Notebook P... |
4.80% |
|
| HP Pavilion dv7 Notebook ... |
2.40% |
|
| ASUSTeK K52F |
1.60% |
|
| Dell Inspiron N5040 |
1.60% |
|
| Dell Inspiron N5010 |
1.60% |
|
About AnchorFree Inc
AnchorFree provides online privacy and security solutions for Web users, advertisers, and publishers.
Publisher URL: www.anchorfree.com