Sopcast Ask Toolbar
What is Sopcast Ask Toolbar?
Sopcast Ask Toolbar, powered by ASK, is a web-browser add-on that can appear as an extra bar added to the browser's window and/or menu. It is often installed (sometimes without warning) during the installation of other software. The Ask Toolbar and other applications are increasingly being bundled with programs; most notably freeware. It's usually installed during the installation of a program, and it's easy to miss the step where you can uncheck the Ask Toolbar option. Ask.com has entered into partnerships with some software security vendors, whereby they are paid to distribute the toolbar alongside their software. When you use the Toolbar to submit a query, the Toolbar forwards such query information to Ask servers. Ask.com uses this information to process your web search requests and to return a search results page to you. During installation, the user might be given the option to modify the home and search pages, however this is often checked by default and overlooked.
About (from Ask.com)
Ask Toolbar lets you perform a search from wherever you are on the Web. It's free to download and fits right in your browser. No matter what site you're visiting, simply go to the Ask Toolbar already in your browser, and type in your search. Additional features include map information, the latest headlines, financial s... Read more
Overview
- Malware detected in the program
- Automatically starts with Windows
- Integrates into the web browser
- Connects to the Internet
- The experts agree, you should remove it!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in Sopcast Ask Toolbar.
| updater.exe (b33be1ccbc5c9fe20c639c734454b211) has been flagged by the following 4 scanners: |
| Anti-Virus software | Version | Detection |
| Antiy-AVL |
1.0.0.1 |
Trojan[Downloader]/Win32.Agent |
| Baidu-International |
4.0.3.141121 |
PUA.Win32.AskToolbar.45 |
| ESET-NOD32 |
8.10564 |
a variant of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Ask.G |
| TrendMicro-HouseCall |
7.2.325 |
Suspicious_GEN.F47V0924 |
Program details
URL: sp.ask.com/toolbar
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: 3.7 MB
Files installed by Sopcast Ask Toolbar
| Program executable: | updater.exe |
| Name: | Updater |
| Ask Updater |
| Path: | C:\Program Files\ask.com\updater\updater.exe |
| MD5: | a1b303e029ee731119b1d985677ffad2 |
| The Ask Toolbar is a free browser add-on that allows you to search the Web using the Ask.com search engine directly from the Internet Explorer browser. The Ask Toolbar is integrated with the 3rd party software downloads. During the... |
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".
Windows Firewall Allowed Program
- updater.exe is added as a firewall exception for 'C:\Program Files\Ask.com\Updater\Updater.exe'.
Network connections
- updater.exe connects to 165.254.35.120 (port 80).
- updater.exe connects to 63.116.243.51 (port 80).
- updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-105.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.105 port 80).
- updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-107.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.107 port 80).
- updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-33.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.33 port 80).
- updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-40.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.40 port 80).
- updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-57.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.57 port 80).
Resource utilization averages
Show technical details
| updater.exe |
| Memory: | 3.99 MB | |
| Total CPU: | 0.0015588601% | |
| Kernel CPU: | 0.00071959% | |
| User CPU: | 0.00083927% | |
| Switches/sec: | 88 | |
How do I remove Sopcast Ask Toolbar?
You can uninstall Sopcast Ask 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 Sopcast Ask 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 Sopcast Ask 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 Sopcast Ask 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.
OS VERSIONS
Win 7 (SP1) 61%
Win XP 2%
|
|
HOW IT STARTS
Automatically starts? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
|
|
USER ACTIONS
 |
Uninstall it 75%
Keep it 25%
|
|
Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
| Windows 7 |
75.81% |
|
| Windows XP |
14.52% |
|
| Windows Vista |
6.45% |
|
| Windows 10 |
3.23% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
| Windows 7 Home Premium |
37.70% |
|
| Windows 7 Ultimate |
27.87% |
|
| Microsoft Windows XP |
14.75% |
|
| Windows 7 Professional |
6.56% |
|
| Windows Vista Home Premiu... |
4.92% |
|
| Windows 7 Starter |
3.28% |
|
Geography
18.57% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
| United States |
18.57% |
| Russia |
7.14% |
| Germany |
5.71% |
| United Kingdom |
5.71% |
| MA |
4.29% |
| Finland |
4.29% |
| Sweden |
4.29% |
| Romania |
4.29% |
| Spain |
4.29% |
| MK |
2.86% |
| Taiwan |
2.86% |
| Australia |
2.86% |
| Netherlands |
2.86% |
| United Arab Emirates |
2.86% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
| Hewlett-Packard |
26.42% |
|
| Acer |
22.64% |
|
| Dell |
13.21% |
|
| ASUS |
9.43% |
|
| Toshiba |
7.55% |
|
| Samsung |
5.66% |
|
| GIGABYTE |
3.77% |
|
| Intel |
3.77% |
|
| American Megatrends |
3.77% |
|
| Alienware |
1.89% |
|
| Lenovo |
1.89% |
|
Common models |
| HP Pavilion dm4 Notebook ... |
4.00% |
|
| HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook ... |
4.00% |
|
| TOSHIBA SATELLITE C660 |
4.00% |
|
| TOSHIBA Satellite L655 |
2.00% |
|
| HP ProBook 4340s |
2.00% |
|
| HP Pavilion g6 Notebook P... |
2.00% |
|
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