84,488,480 programs installed

Should I remove Strongvault Online Backup?

What percent of users and experts removed it?
64% remove it36% keep it
Overall Sentiment
Bad
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #4,720
United States Rank #2,087
Reach 0.1106%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 779.76 days
1618.97 days >
Average installed length: 850.64 days

Versions

VersionDistribution
2.4.6.0 1.06%
2.1.4.0 41.40%
2.1.1.0 11.06%
2.0.0 16.98%
1.0.1.0 29.51%

Strongvault Online Backup

What is Strongvault Online Backup?

Strongvault is the free version of the Stronghold online backup utility. The free version however is typically installed as a bundled product through various modified installers that are known to distribute potentially unwanted applications. While the program itself is not considered adware and provides many useful features, this particular version uses somewhat deceptive methods to install itself on a user's PC (if you do not actively use Strongvault you can safely remove it). Some 3rd party programs that install this include VLC Media Player bundle.

About  (from Stronghold.com)

Within our multi-million dollar facility, Stronghold Data provides a secure and worry-free environment for businesses to store their valuable data. Automated, remote data backups remove the hassle factor, and our security measures exceed the expectations of even our most stringent clients. In the event of any type of f...  Read more

Overview

The most used version is 2.1.4.0, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. Upon installation, it defines an auto-start registry entry which allows the program run on each boot for the user which installed it. The main program executable is SMessenger.exe. A vast majority of those who have this installed end up removing it just after a couple weeks. The software installer includes 28 files and is usually about 14.14 MB (14,831,279 bytes). updater.exe is the automatic update component of the software designed to download and apply new updates should new versions be released.
  • Possible malware installed by this program
  • Automatically starts with Windows
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in Strongvault Online Backup.
ext2.exe (00d0249cac1e093e7154c2ae7c9be0c8) has been flagged by the following 24 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareVersionDetection
Lavasoft Ad-Aware 1119 Adware.Agent.NNP
AVG 2015.0.3597 SmartShopper.K
Baidu-International 4.0.3.14112 Trojan.Win32.Agent.ANS
Bitdefender 1.0.20.60 Adware.Agent.NNP
Bkav FE 1.3.0.4613 HW32.CDB
Dr.Web 9.0.0.012 Trojan.Crossrider.1
Emsisoft Anti-Malware 8.14.01.12.06 Adware.Agent.NNP
ESET-NOD32 8.9271 Win32/Toolbar.CrossRider.B
G Data 14.1.22 Adware.Agent.NNP
IKARUS anti.virus t3scan.2.2.29 AdWare.Agent
K7 AntiVirus 13.175.10794 Trojan
K7GW 13.175.10794 Trojan ( 0048c1901 )
Kingsoft AntiVirus 331020.49267 VIRUS_UNKNOWN
McAfee 5600.7253 Artemis!00D0249CAC1E
McAfee-GW-Edition 7.7253 Heuristic.BehavesLike.Win32.Suspicious-SFX.O
MicroWorld-eScan 15.0.0.36 Adware.Agent.NNP
NANO AntiVirus 0.28.0.57029 Trojan.Win32.Plugin.crbipj
Norman 10.20140112 Agent.AUXLD
nProtect 14.01.09.01 Adware.Agent.NNP
Rising Antivirus 23.00.65.14110 NS:PUF.SilenceInstaller!1.9DDF
Symantec 1/12/2014 rev. 1 WS.Reputation
TrendMicro-HouseCall 7.2.12 TROJ_GEN.R0CBOH0L813
Vba32 AntiVirus 3.12.24.3 Trojan.Agent
VIPRE Antivirus 25262 Crossrider (fs)
       View all 24 all detections
Strongvault Online Backup 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: Strongvault
URL: www.strongvaultfree.com
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\Strongvault Online Backup\
Uninstaller: MsiExec.exe /X{3002C8EB-2A7E-419B-B77F-5AD7E9F54A5A}
(The Windows Installer is used for the installation, maintenance, and removal.)
Estimated size: 14.14 MB
Language: English (United States)

Program filesFiles installed by Strongvault Online Backup

Program executable:SMessenger.exe
Name:Stronghold Messenger
StrongholdMessenger
Signed by:stronghold.com
Path:C:\Program Files\Strongvault Online Backup\SMessenger.exe
MD5:fbfdd0dbd3a5551dd978f4804d53d596
StrongholdMessenger for Strongvault is an ad-supported online backup program that is typically bundled though various third party software installations. StrongVault by StrongHold which markets the exact same software under a different name...
Additional files:
  • updater.exe - Strongvault Online Backup (updater 1.0.1.0 © Strongvault, Inc, 2012)
  • SMessenger.exe - Stronghold Messenger (StrongholdMessenger)
  • ClientMessenger.exe - Client Messaging
  • BackupLauncher.exe - Backup Launcher
  • (Malware detected) ext2.exe
  • Environment.Identification.dll - Environment.Identification
  • InitialBackup.exe - SOSInitialBackup
  • BuildVersion.dll - BuildVersion

Program behaviorsBehaviors exhibited

Startup File (User Run)
  • SMessenger.exe is loaded in the current user (HKCU) registry as an auto-starting executable named 'Messenger' and executes as "C:\Program Files\Strongvault Online Backup\SMessenger.exe".

Program resource utilizationResource utilization averages

SMessenger.exe
Memory:19.05 MB
21.09 MB average
Total CPU:0.0099032525%
0.031193% average
Kernel CPU:0.00563523%
0.016088% average
User CPU:0.00426802%
0.015104% average
CPU cycles/sec:47,784
8,062,084 average
Switches/sec:6
70 average
I/O reads/min:901 Bytes
435.61 KB average

How do I remove Strongvault Online Backup?

You can uninstall Strongvault Online Backup 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 Strongvault Online Backup, 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 Strongvault Online Backup.
  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) 84%
Win Server 2003 0%
 
WHEN IT STARTS
Auto-starting? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
 
USER ACTIONS
Uninstall it 64%
Keep it 36%

Windows OS versionsWindows

Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
Windows 7 88.17%
Windows Vista 4.77%
Windows 10 3.81%
Windows XP 3.21%
Windows Server 2003 0.05%
Which OS releases does it run on?
Windows 7 Home Premium 71.93%
Windows 7 Professional 8.59%
Windows 7 Ultimate 6.19%
Windows Vista Home Premiu... 3.83%
Microsoft Windows XP 3.19%
Windows 10 Home 2.40%

Distribution by countryGeography

96.01% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
  United States 96.01%
  United Kingdom 1.90%
  Iran 0.37%
  Germany 0.19%
  Canada 0.13%
  PR 0.11%
  Pakistan 0.08%
  Sweden 0.08%
  United Arab Emirates 0.05%
  Mexico 0.05%
  Ireland 0.05%
  Brazil 0.05%
  Hong Kong 0.05%
  Italy 0.05%

OEM distributionPC manufacturers

What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Hewlett-Packard 37.84%
Dell 26.14%
Acer 12.92%
Toshiba 11.03%
ASUS 5.36%
Lenovo 2.19%
Samsung 1.46%
GIGABYTE 1.40%
Intel 0.61%
Sony 0.55%
Alienware 0.49%
Common models
HP Pavilion dv7 Notebook ... 5.83%
HP Pavilion g6 Notebook P... 5.20%
HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook ... 5.09%
HP Pavilion g7 Notebook P... 3.61%
Dell Inspiron N5110 3.08%
TOSHIBA Satellite C655 3.08%

About (from Stronghold.com, LLC)

The integrity of the Strongvault system goes beyond simply keeping data safe. You'll find excellence throughout your experience.
Publisher URL: strongvaultfree.com

comments2 comments

user comment
expert comment
Jeremy (Expert)over a year ago
I have seen it packaged with several freeware utilities and once you install your program then Strong Vault embeds itself on your computer. It then gets you to try to install additional components like toolbars, and other utilities. Eventually your computer starts slowing down to crawl and you are getting dozens of popups that you can’t get rid of.
expert comment
R.Lees (Expert)over a year ago
I suddenly found this "strongvault" program on my computer after installing "VLC Media Player". It has caused havoc. Anybody know what I can do about this. Why don't the people at "Strongvault" or Stronghold, or whoever they are have a large box asking whether you want to install their program before allowing it to just try to commandeer your system.