84,488,480 programs installed

Should I remove Sopcast Toolbar?

What percent of users and experts removed it?
79% remove it21% keep it
Overall Sentiment
Bad
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #13,884
United States Rank #45,810
Reach 0.0213%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 6.07 days
179.09 days >
Average installed length: 94.10 days

Versions

VersionDistribution
12.45.1.1303 0.24%
12.40.6.1008 0.24%
12.40.4.478 0.24%
12.40.3.4131 0.24%
12.38.0.3410 0.71%
12.35.0.2458 0.24%
12.29.0.1595 0.24%
12.29.0.1529 1.19%
12.28.1.1262 0.95%
12.27.0.769 0.24%
12.27.0.753 0.48%
12.24.1.292 0.24%
12.23.0.92 0.24%
12.21.0.4175 0.24%
12.21.0.4170 0.24%
12.21.0.4069 4.29%
12.19.0.3597 1.19%
12.18.0.3120 0.95%
12.17.1.2785 0.24%
12.17.1.2559 1.67%
12.16.2.2102 0.24%
12.16.2.2099 0.48%
12.16.2.1967 2.14%
12.16.1.1556 0.48%
12.16.0.1410 0.24%
12.16.0.1357 0.48%
12.15.5.967 2.14%
12.15.3.817 0.71%
12.15.0.260 0.24%
12.15.0.256 0.24%
12.15.0.178 7.14%
12.10.6.5129 0.24%
12.10.6.5128 0.48%
12.10.6.5038 10.00%
12.10.3.4641 5.95%
12.10.3.4636 0.24%
12.10.2.4525 0.24%
12.10.2.4308 2.62%
12.10.0.3616 0.71%
12.10.0.3507 0.71%
12.10.0.2954 0.48%
12.10.0.2915 10.24%
12.7.0.2401 10.95%
12.6.0.1780 0.71%
12.6.0.1685 5.24%
12.5.1.1554 2.86%
12.3.0.1058 0.24%
12.3.0.856 6.19%
12.3.0.840 5.71%
12.3.0.838 7.38%

Other programs by APN

Sopcast Toolbar

What is Sopcast Toolbar?

Sopcast Toolbar is a web browser toolbar and extension that modifies the browsers search and home pages as well as delivers contextual based advertising. This toolbar currently supports Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome. In order to provide search advertising revenue, the software is designed not only to modify the search provider but to protect it so that it remains the default browser search engine. It is typically installed via a co-bundled offer within a third-party software distribution.

- Modifies the user's search engine and search provider.
- Changes the user's browser home page.
- Adds search functionality from the address bar.
- Displays contextual search advertising.

About  (from APN)

Your installation of a Search Application may be facilitated by APN’s or an APN partner’s installer technology which: (i) downloads the files necessary to install the software; and (ii) scans your computer for specific files and registry settings to ensure compatibility with your operating system and other software ins...  Read more
Overview
  • Possible malware installed by this program
  • Automatically starts with Windows
  • Loads into the web browser
  • Typically distributed through a pay-per-install bundle
  • Hijacks the web browser's home page
  • Hijacks the browser's default search provider
  • The wisdom of the crowd agrees, you should remove it!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in Sopcast Toolbar.
tbnotifier.exe (f332813cc013d6af5c5a0c32a3aed725) has been flagged by the following 4 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareVersionDetection
Baidu-International 4.0.3.15817 Adware.Win32.Asktoolbar.45
ESET-NOD32 9.12098 a variant of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Ask.M potentially unsafe
K7 AntiVirus 13.2016900 Unwanted-Program
K7GW 13.2016900 Unwanted-Program ( 004c42951 )
Sopcast Toolbar 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: APN, LLC
URL: apn.ask.com
Help link: apnstatic.ask.com/static/toolbar/everest/documents/faq/index.html
Installation folder: C:\Windows\Installer\{53504356-3700-A76A-76A7-A758B70C0300}
Uninstaller: MsiExec.exe /X{53504356-3700-A76A-76A7-A758B70C0300}
(The Windows Installer is used for the installation, maintenance, and removal.)
Estimated size: 507 KB

Program filesFiles installed by Sopcast Toolbar

Program executable:ToolbarIcon.exe
Path:C:\Windows\Installer\{53504356-3700-A76A-76A7-A758B70C0300}\ToolbarIcon.exe
MD5:7db6cc0bb3bff06848ac83ebfc9653f4
Additional files:
  • (Malware detected) tbnotifier.exe - Ask TBNotifier (Ask Toolbar Notifier)
  • vntldr.exe - Virtual New Tab (Virtual New Tab Loader)
  • vntsrv.dll - Virtual New Tab Server
  • apnnativemsghost.exe - APN Native Messaging Host
  • idcldr.exe - IDC (IDC Loader)
  • idcsrv.dll - IdcSrv (IDC Server)
  • idcsrvstub.dll - IDC Server Stub
  • idcldr_x64.exe
  • idcsrv_x64.dll
  • idcsrvstub_x64.dll
  • com.apn.native_messaging_host_aaaajccikcnncidhbokfncpooceanool.json

Program behaviorsBehaviors exhibited

Scheduled Task
  • tbnotifier.exe is scheduled as a task with the class '{2A74CAE7-C98C-44C6-9E9E-155D069D857D}' (runs on registration).
Scheduled Task (Boot/Login)
  • tbnotifier.exe is automatically launched at startup through a scheduled task named 1.
Startup File (User Run)
  • vntldr.exe is loaded in the current user (HKCU) registry as an auto-starting executable named 'VNT' and executes as "C:\Program Files\VNT\vntldr.exe".
2 Startup Files (All Users Run)
  • tbnotifier.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'ApnTBMon' which loads as "C:\Program Files\AskPartnerNetwork\Toolbar\Updater\TBNotifier.exe".
  • vntldr.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'VNT' which loads as "C:\Program Files\VNT\vntldr.exe".
Windows Firewall Allowed Program
  • tbnotifier.exe is added as a firewall exception for 'C:\Program Files\AskPartnerNetwork\Toolbar\Updater\TBNotifier.exe'.

Program resource utilizationResource utilization averages

tbnotifier.exe
Memory:8.53 MB
21.09 MB average
Total CPU:0.0040020302%
0.031193% average
Kernel CPU:0.00265204%
0.016088% average
User CPU:0.00134999%
0.015104% average
I/O reads/min:39 Bytes
435.61 KB average
I/O writes/min:7 Bytes
105.02 KB average
vntldr.exe
Memory:1.29 MB
Total CPU:0.0009148031%
Kernel CPU:0.00002577%
User CPU:0.00088903%
CPU cycles/sec:67,009
I/O reads/min:19.23 KB

How do I remove Sopcast Toolbar?

You can uninstall Sopcast Toolbar 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 Sopcast 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).
  3. Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Sopcast Toolbar.
  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 Sopcast Toolbar you can restore them to their previous default settings.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome

OS VERSIONS
Win 7 (SP1) 57%
Win 8 0%
 
HOW IT STARTS
Automatically starts? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
 
USER ACTIONS
Uninstall it 79%
Keep it 21%

Windows OS versionsWindows

Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
Windows 7 65.95%
Windows 10 24.29%
Windows XP 6.43%
Windows Vista 3.33%
Which OS releases does it run on?
Windows 7 Ultimate 27.95%
Windows 7 Home Premium 21.69%
Windows 7 Professional 12.05%
Microsoft Windows XP 6.27%
Windows 8 Pro 4.58%
Windows 8.1 4.58%

Distribution by countryGeography

13.30% of installs come from Romania
Which countries install it?
  Romania 13.30%
  United Kingdom 7.18%
  Germany 5.32%
  Vietnam 5.32%
  Spain 5.05%
  MA 5.05%
  United States 4.79%
  Russia 4.52%
  Italy 4.52%
  Sweden 3.19%
  Thailand 3.19%
  Poland 2.66%
  Netherlands 2.66%
  Hong Kong 1.86%

OEM distributionPC manufacturers

What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Hewlett-Packard 26.39%
Acer 19.33%
Dell 17.84%
ASUS 11.90%
GIGABYTE 7.06%
Toshiba 5.95%
Lenovo 4.46%
Samsung 3.72%
American Megatrends 2.60%
Sahara 0.74%
Common models
HP Pavilion g6 Notebook P... 6.43%
HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook ... 5.00%
Acer Aspire E1-571 2.86%
TOSHIBA SATELLITE P850 2.14%
HP G62 Notebook PC 2.14%
Dell Inspiron N5010 2.14%


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