84,488,480 programs installed

Should I remove Updater?

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?
Reach 0.0011%

Versions

VersionDistribution
1.4.3.42067 4.55%
1.4.1.34141 4.55%
1.4.1.29403 4.55%
1.4.0.25589 9.09%
1.3.0.23930 4.55%
1.2.6.44892 4.55%
1.2.5.42081 4.55%
1.2.4.35882 4.55%
1.2.3.33066 4.55%
1.2.3.30498 4.55%
1.2.3.30496 4.55%
1.2.2.23821 18.18%
1.2.1.23037 4.55%
1.2.1.22229 13.64%
1.2.0.20007 9.09%

Other programs by Ask.com

Updater

What is Updater?

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.

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

The most used version is 1.2.2.23821, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. Upon installation and setup, it defines an auto-start registry entry which makes this program run on each Windows boot for all user logins. The software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds a Windows Firewall exception in order to do so without being interfered with. The main program executable is Updater.exe. Typically most users end up uninstalling this just after a few days. The software installer includes 1 files and is usually about 1.53 MB (1,604,325 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
  • Connects to a server over the Internet
  • Typically distributed through a pay-per-install bundle
  • The wisdom of the crowd agrees, you should remove it!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in Updater.
Updater.exe (31b522014fc560c122cdfa72d47ca940) has been flagged by the following 2 scanners:
Anti-Virus softwareVersionDetection
Baidu-International 4.0.3.1486 PUA.Win32.AskToolbar.81
ESET-NOD32 8.10201 a variant of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Ask.G
Updater 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

URL: sp.ask.com/toolbar
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\ask.com\updater
Uninstaller: Updater\Updater.exe -uninstall
Estimated size: 1.53 MB

Program filesFiles installed by Updater

Program executable:Updater.exe
Name:Updater
Ask Updater
Path:C:\Program Files\ask.com\updater\Updater.exe
MD5:1ca034e7feb38fb4f3484aec092c403f
Ask Updater runs in the background of Windows and automatically starts up when your PC boots. It checks for software udpates and automatically downloads and installs them if found.
  • Updater.exe (by Ask) - Updater (Ask Updater)

Program behaviorsBehaviors exhibited

Startup File (All Users Run)
  • Updater.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'Updater.exe' 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).
  • Updater.exe connects to a23-67-250-91.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.250.91 port 80).

Program resource utilizationResource utilization averages

Updater.exe
Memory:3.63 MB
21.09 MB average
Total CPU:0.1111757247%
0.031193% average
Kernel CPU:0.05682382%
0.016088% average
User CPU:0.05435190%
0.015104% average
CPU cycles/sec:1,851,160
8,062,084 average
Switches/sec:4
70 average
I/O reads/min:167 Bytes
435.61 KB average
I/O writes/min:62 Bytes
105.02 KB average

How do I remove Updater?

You can uninstall Updater 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 Updater, 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 Updater.
  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 XP 45%
Win 7 5%
 
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 XP 45.45%
Windows 7 27.27%
Windows 10 18.18%
Windows Vista 9.09%
Which OS releases does it run on?
Microsoft Windows XP 42.86%
Windows 7 Professional 9.52%
Windows 7 Ultimate 9.52%
Windows 7 Home Premium 9.52%
Windows 8 4.76%
Windows Vista Home Premiu... 4.76%

Distribution by countryGeography

50.00% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
  United States 50.00%
  Germany 12.50%
  United Kingdom 6.25%
  Hungary 6.25%
  Romania 3.13%
  Thailand 3.13%
  Brazil 3.13%
  Finland 3.13%
  Belgium 3.13%
  Lithuania 3.13%
  Portugal 3.13%
  Russia 3.13%

OEM distributionPC manufacturers

What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
Samsung 23.53%
Dell 17.65%
Toshiba 17.65%
Lenovo 11.76%
American Megatrends 11.76%
Hewlett-Packard 5.88%
GIGABYTE 5.88%
Sahara 5.88%
Common models
TOSHIBA Satellite A110 6.25%
Samsung 300E4C/300E5C/300... 6.25%
ECS A740GM-M 6.25%
Dell Vostro 1520 6.25%
LENOVO 3493EQG 6.25%
IBM 8183KGD 6.25%

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

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