Serif Toolbar
Overview
Serif Toolbar is a software program developed by Ask.com. During setup, the program creates a startup registration point in Windows in order to automatically start when any user boots the PC. Many users end up uninstalling this after less than a month of it being installed. The setup package is about 3.63 MB (3,807,232 bytes) when donwloaded. The installed file updater.exe is the auto-update component of the program which is designed to check for software updates and notify and apply them when new versions are discovered. Relative to the overall usage of those who have this installed, most are running it on Windows 7 (SP1). While about 71% of users of Serif Toolbar come from the United States, it is also popular in Germany and United Kingdom.
- Automatically starts with Windows
- Integrates into the web browser
- Connects to the Internet
- The wisdom of the experts agree, if you don't use it you should remove it!
Program details
Help link: about.ask.com/en/docs/about/index.shtml
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\ask.com\assets\oobe
Uninstaller: MsiExec.exe /X{86D4B82A-ABED-442A-BE86-96357B70F4FE}
(The Windows Installer is used for the installation, maintenance, and removal.)
Estimated size: 3.63 MB
Files installed by Serif Toolbar
-
updater.exe (by Ask) - Updater (Ask Updater)
Behaviors exhibited
Startup File (All Users Run)
- updater.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'ApnUpdater' which loads as "C:\Program Files\Ask.com\Updater\Updater.exe".
Network connections
- updater.exe connects to a23-67-250-91.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.250.91 port 80).
Resource utilization averages
Show technical details
| updater.exe |
| Memory: | 3.68 MB | |
| Total CPU: | 0.0091227712% | |
| Kernel CPU: | 0.00551148% | |
| User CPU: | 0.00361129% | |
| CPU cycles/sec: | 1,896,826 | |
| Switches/sec: | 3 | |
| I/O reads/min: | 26 Bytes | |
How do I remove Serif Toolbar?
You can uninstall Serif Toolbar 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 Serif 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).
- Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Serif Toolbar.
- 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 Serif Toolbar 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.
HOW IT STARTS
Automatically starts? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
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USER ACTIONS
 |
Uninstall it 66%
Keep it 34%
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MOST USED OS
~99%
Windows 7 (SP1)
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Geography
71.43% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
| United States |
71.43% |
| Germany |
14.29% |
| United Kingdom |
14.29% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
| Toshiba |
50.00% |
|
| Dell |
50.00% |
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About Ask.com
Ask focuses on search traffic through various methods, the number being installation of its toolbars through a lot of bundle and rebrand programs.
Publisher URL: www.ask.com