aTube Toolbar
What is aTube Toolbar?
aTube Toolbar is a web browser extension and Browser helper Object (for Internet Explorer) that delivers contextual based advertising to the web browser. In addition it will modify the user's browser home and search pages as well as 'New Tab' pages to push advertising and search. The software is typically defined as a unwanted application by various malware vendors.
About (from Ask.com)
Ask Toolbar was specifically designed to provide a great user experience free of spyware, adware, data collection or other similar activities. The Ask Toolbar is a free browser add-on that allows you to search the Web using the Ask.com search engine directly from Internet Explorer , Google Chrome , or Firefox browsers.... Read more
Overview
The most common release is 1.15.15.0, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. During setup, the program creates a startup registration point in Windows in order to automatically start when any user boots the PC. 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 primary executable is named updater.exe. Many users end up uninstalling this after less than a month of it being installed. The setup package generally installs about 1 files and is usually about 2.22 MB (2,330,624 bytes). 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.
- Malware detected in the program
- 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!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in aTube 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
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: 2.22 MB
Files installed by aTube Toolbar
| Program executable: | updater.exe |
| Name: | Updater |
| Ask Updater |
| Path: | C:\Program Files\ask.com\updater\updater.exe |
| MD5: | 2aa7dbda264cfdf55880a9e729914b5c |
| 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).
- 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: | 3.99 MB | |
| Total CPU: | 0.0015588601% | |
| Kernel CPU: | 0.00071959% | |
| User CPU: | 0.00083927% | |
| Switches/sec: | 88 | |
How do I remove aTube Toolbar?
You can uninstall aTube 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 aTube 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 aTube 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 aTube 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) 60%
Win XP 1%
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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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Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
| Windows 7 |
73.75% |
|
| Windows XP |
16.25% |
|
| Windows Vista |
7.50% |
|
| Windows 10 |
2.50% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
| Windows 7 Home Premium |
26.25% |
|
| Windows 7 Ultimate |
21.25% |
|
| Windows 7 Starter |
16.25% |
|
| Microsoft Windows XP |
16.25% |
|
| Windows Vista Home Premiu... |
6.25% |
|
| Windows 7 Professional |
6.25% |
|
Geography
25.26% of installs come from Brazil
Which countries install it?
| Brazil |
25.26% |
| United States |
24.21% |
| Italy |
13.68% |
| Czech Republic |
6.32% |
| Colombia |
4.21% |
| Ecuador |
3.16% |
| Peru |
3.16% |
| France |
3.16% |
| Portugal |
3.16% |
| Spain |
2.11% |
| AO |
2.11% |
| Chile |
2.11% |
| Canada |
1.05% |
| Paraguay |
1.05% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
| Acer |
23.08% |
|
| Hewlett-Packard |
17.31% |
|
| Dell |
9.62% |
|
| GIGABYTE |
7.69% |
|
| American Megatrends |
7.69% |
|
| Lenovo |
7.69% |
|
| Samsung |
7.69% |
|
| ASUS |
5.77% |
|
| Sony |
5.77% |
|
| Sahara |
3.85% |
|
| Toshiba |
3.85% |
|
Common models |
| LENOVO 20080 |
2.82% |
|
| HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook ... |
2.82% |
|
| HP G62 Notebook PC |
2.82% |
|
| Positivo Informatica S/A ... |
2.82% |
|
| TOSHIBA Satellite L500 |
1.41% |
|
| TOSHIBA Satellite A500 |
1.41% |
|
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