84,488,480 programs installed

Should I remove SW-Booster?

What percent of users and experts removed it?
84% remove it16% keep it
Overall Sentiment
Bad
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #19,653
United States Rank #30,267
Reach 0.0113%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 16.06 days
473.82 days >
Average installed length: 248.95 days

Versions

VersionDistribution
4.3.0.1911 0.45%
4.3.0.1822 0.45%
4.3.0.1743 0.45%
4.3.0.1650 0.45%
4.3.0.1604 0.45%
4.3.0.1505 0.45%
4.3.0.1405 0.45%
4.3.0.1300 0.45%
4.3.0.1211 0.45%
4.3.0.1192 0.45%
4.3.0.1113 0.45%
4.3.0.1110 0.45%
4.2.0.1945 0.45%
4.2.0.1770 0.45%
4.2.0.1733 0.45%
4.2.0.1663 0.45%
4.2.0.1536 0.45%
4.2.0.1487 0.45%
4.2.0.1472 0.45%
4.2.0.1456 0.45%
4.2.0.1442 0.45%
4.2.0.1440 0.45%
4.2.0.1403 0.45%
4.2.0.1373 0.45%
4.2.0.1144 0.45%
4.2.0.1025 0.90%
4.2.0.1015 0.45%
4.2.0.1002 0.45%
4.1.0.1971 0.45%
4.1.0.1963 0.45%
4.1.0.1817 0.45%
4.1.0.1793 0.45%
4.1.0.1722 0.45%
4.1.0.1715 0.45%
4.1.0.1603 0.45%
4.1.0.1505 0.45%
4.1.0.1414 0.45%
4.1.0.1360 0.45%
4.1.0.1346 0.45%
4.1.0.1325 0.45%
4.1.0.1273 0.45%
4.1.0.1056 0.45%
4.1.0.1026 0.45%
4.0.0.1517 0.45%
4.0.0.1483 0.45%
4.0.0.1477 0.45%
4.0.0.1331 0.45%
4.0.0.1195 0.45%
4.0.0.1194 0.45%
4.0.0.1076 0.45%
4.0.0.1068 0.45%
222 versions

SW-Booster

What is SW-Booster?

Bundled with various adware installations via the WebPick Internet Holdings bundle, SW Booster (also known as SK Enhancer) is an adware extension that injects various types of advertising in the user's web browser. This particular program is a protector module and is designed specifically to prevent the supporting web browser extensions that performs the ad-injection from being removed by the end user or other software. If the adware it is protecting is removed, the SW.Booster program will re-enable the removed software. The software is installed typically with bundles signed by a developer of WebPick.

As a note, WebPick uses its developers to obtain and sign the files in order to prevent users from knowing the file is distributed via the WebPick InstalleRex platform. This adware/malware also goes under the following names: ws-enabler sk.enhancer ws-enabler optimizerpro sw-booster

Overview

The most common release is 4.2.0.1025, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. 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 primary executable is named SW-Booster.exe. A majority of users end up uninstalling this less than a week of it being installed. The setup package generally installs about 2 files and is usually about 760.48 KB (778,733 bytes).
  • Malware detected in the program
  • Starts automatically
  • Delivered through a thrid-party offer
  • This program has a poor reputation
  • Most users and experts agree, you should remove it!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in SW-Booster.
SW-Booster.exe (deba33db167548f8bbac30f5d78eb168) has been flagged by the following 43 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareVersionDetection
Lavasoft Ad-Aware 807 Trojan.GenericKD.1867152
Agnitum Outpost 7.1.1 PUA.Downware
AhnLab-V3 2014.11.19 PUP/Win32.Downloader
Antiy-AVL 1.0.0.1 Trojan[Downloader]/Win32.Agent
AVG 2015.0.3285 Downloader.Generic14
Avira 7.11.187.66 Adware/InstallRex.73153
AVware 1.5.0.21 Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT
Baidu-International 4.0.3.141120 PUA.Win32.InstallCore.81
Bitdefender 1.0.20.1620 Trojan.GenericKD.1867152
CAT-QuickHeal 11.14.14.00 TrojanDownloader.Agent.r4
Clam AntiVirus 0.98/21511 Win.Trojan.Agent-795744
Comodo Security 20130 UnclassifiedMalware
Dr.Web 9.0.0.0324 Adware.Downware.8561
Emsisoft Anti-Malware 8.14.11.20.02 Trojan.GenericKD.1867152
ESET-NOD32 8.10747 Win32/TrojanDownloader.Agent.ACF
Fortinet FortiGate 11/20/2014 W32/Agent.ACF!tr.dldr
F-Prot v6.4.7.1.166 W32/A-a81f4aca
F-Secure 11.2014-20-11_5 Trojan.GenericKD.1867152
G Data 14.11.24 Trojan.GenericKD.1867152
IKARUS anti.virus t3scan.1.8.3.0 Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Agent
K7 AntiVirus 13.185.14057 Trojan-Downloader
K7GW 13.185.14064 Trojan-Downloader ( 0048c92d1 )
Kaspersky 14.0.0.2919 Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Agent
Malwarebytes v2014.11.20.02 Trojan.Downloader
McAfee 5600.6941 RDN/Generic Downloader.x!la
McAfee-GW-Edition 7.6941 BehavesLike.Win32.Downloader.bc
MicroWorld-eScan 15.0.0.972 Trojan.GenericKD.1867152
NANO AntiVirus 0.28.6.63474 Riskware.Win32.Downware.dfhshr
Norman 10.20141120 Troj_Generic.VXEQZ
nProtect 14.11.18.01 Trojan-Downloader/W32.Agent.773632.B
Qihoo-360 1.0.0.1015 Trojan.Generic
Rising Antivirus 23.00.65.141118 PE:Trojan.Win32.Generic.175192FA!391222010
Sophos 4.98 Troj/Agent-AJEL
SUPERAntiSpyware 10227 Trojan.Agent/Gen-Graftor
Symantec 11/20/2014 rev. 5 SecurityRisk.Downldr
Tencent 1.0.0.1 Win32.Trojan-downloader.Agent.Wvuo
The Hacker 6.8.0.5.496 Trojan/Downloader.Agent.acf
Total Defense 37.0.11288 Win32/Tnega.NEHXPEC
Trend Micro 10.465.20 TROJ_SPNR.0BJ314
TrendMicro-HouseCall 7.2.324 TROJ_SPNR.0BJ314
Vba32 AntiVirus 3.12.26.3 TrojanDownloader.Agent
ViRobot 2011.4.7.4223 Trojan.Win32.A.Downloader.773632.A
Zillya 2.0.0.1986 Downloader.Agent.Win32.223830
       View all 43 all detections
SW-Booster 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: SW-Booster
Installation folder: C:\ProgramData\trusted publisher\sw-booster
Uninstaller: "C:\ProgramData\trusted publisher\sw-booster\sw-booster.exe" /uninstall
Estimated size: 760.48 KB

Program filesFiles installed by SW-Booster

Program executable:SW-Booster.exe (Malware detected)
Path:C:\ProgramData\trusted publisher\sw-booster\SW-Booster.exe
MD5:deba33db167548f8bbac30f5d78eb168
  • (Malware detected) SW-Booster.exe

Program behaviorsBehaviors exhibited

Scheduled Task (Boot/Login)
  • SW-Booster.exe is automatically launched at startup through a scheduled task named GS-Booster-S-3168119747.

How do I remove SW-Booster?

You can uninstall SW-Booster 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 SW-Booster, 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 SW-Booster.
  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.

OS VERSIONS
Win 7 (SP1) 55%
Win Vista 0%
 
HOW IT STARTS
Scheduled task? Yes
(Runs on Windows boot)
 
USER ACTIONS
Uninstall it 84%
Keep it 16%

Windows OS versionsWindows

Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
Windows 7 63.84%
Windows 10 31.70%
Windows XP 2.68%
Windows Vista 1.79%
Which OS releases does it run on?
Windows 7 Ultimate 26.82%
Windows 7 Home Premium 16.36%
Windows 7 Professional 14.09%
Windows 8.1 8.18%
Windows 8.1 Pro 5.91%
Windows 8 Pro 5.45%

Distribution by countryGeography

18.22% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
  United States 18.22%
  Indonesia 6.36%
  India 5.51%
  DZ 3.39%
  Malaysia 2.97%
  Philippines 2.97%
  United Kingdom 2.97%
  Italy 2.54%
  IQ 2.54%
  Germany 2.12%
  Chile 2.12%
  France 2.12%
  Israel 2.12%
  MA 2.12%

OEM distributionPC manufacturers

What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Hewlett-Packard 26.42%
Acer 20.75%
Dell 16.98%
ASUS 10.06%
Lenovo 8.81%
Toshiba 7.55%
GIGABYTE 5.66%
Samsung 1.89%
Intel 0.63%
Sony 0.63%
American Megatrends 0.63%
Common models
HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook ... 3.54%
HP Pavilion g6 Notebook P... 2.65%
HP Pavilion dv4 Notebook ... 1.77%
ASUSTeK S451LB 1.77%
Acer Aspire V3-571 1.77%
HP Pavilion dv7 Notebook ... 1.77%

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