BabyNameReady Toolbar

Threat Scorecard

Ranking: 5,741
Threat Level: 10 % (Normal)
Infected Computers: 9,681
First Seen: January 31, 2014
Last Seen: September 12, 2023
OS(es) Affected: Windows

The BabyNameReady Toolbar from h[tt]p://free.babynameready[.]com/index.jhtml is promoted as a new tab replacement aimed at couples that are exploring names for their baby. The BabyNameReady New Tab includes information from h[ttp]s://www.ssa[.]gov/OACT/babynames that is publicly available. The BabyNameReady Toolbar is published as a free program by a company called Mindspark Interactive Network Inc.

The BabyNameReady software is deployed as an ad-supported product under the IAC Applications (Iacapps[.]com) brand name. Mindspark is a subdivision of IAC Applications as are Ask Application, SlimWare utilities and Apalon. Mindspark is well known for releasing new tab replacements like HolidayPhotoEdit, the Your TV Shows, EasyEmailSuite and many others. The BabyNameReady Toolbar is designed to change the user's new tab in Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox to a customized version of h[tt]p://hp.myway[.]com that is a proprietary search service maintained by Mindspark. We have seen the BabyNameReady Toolbar change the new tab to:

h[tt]p://hp.myway[.]com/babynameready/ttab02chr/index.html?p2=%5ECXB%5Echr999%5ETTAB02%5E&n=7848bd13&st=tab&ptb=[unique installation ID

Installing the BabyNameReady app (Chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/babynameready/lpneoooheppillcmgbkaddjamlgegofp ) in Chrome is preceded by a pop-up that says:

'Add "BabyNameReady"?
It can:
• Read and change all your data on the websites you visit.
• Replace the page you see when opening a new tab.
• Read and change your browsing history.
• Manage your apps, extensions, and themes.
• Manage your downloads.'

The BabyNameReady add-on is known to request the following rights in Mozilla Firefox:

  • Access your data for all websites.
  • Exchange messages with programs programs other than Firefox.
  • Monitor extension usage and manage themes.
  • Access browser tabs.
  • Access browser activity during navigation.

The search bar on the BabyNameReady New Tab is powered by Myway[.]com and produces results at:

h[tt]ps://int.search.myway[.]com/search/GGmain.jhtml?p2=&ptb=&n=&cn=US&ln=bg&si=&tpr=hpsb&trs=wtt&brwsid=86d98483-b3a4-4419-9be7-f5039200fbe9&searchfor=[search terms]&st=tab&enableSearch=true

The BabyNameReady Toolbar is deemed as a Potentially Unwanted program (PUP) that takes advantage of a wide range of rights to track the user's activity on the Internet. The BabyNameReady Toolbar is used to collect usage statistics from Web surfers and built a detailed profile about the user's favoritism. The collected data does not include personally identifiable information. However, parameters like your IP address allows companies to detect your approximate geographical location while your Internet history, preferred pages, recent downloads, bookmarks, and software configuration help ad publishers push targeted commercials materials on your screen.

The EULA and Privacy Policy for the BabyNameReady Toolbar can be found at h[tt]ps://eula.mindspark[.]com/eula/. PC users th not comfortable with the tracking technologies employed by Mindspark should remove the BabyNameReady Toolbar and use a trusted anti-spyware instrument to clean their machines. AV engines are known to flag files associated with the BabyNameReady Toolbar as:

  • Adware.AdLoadCRT.Win32.544
  • GrayWare/Win32.StartPage.gen
  • MyWebSearch.J (v) (not malicious)
  • PUP.MindSpark/Variant
  • PUP.Optional.MindSpark
  • PUP.WebToolbar.MyWebSearch
  • Riskware/Agent
  • Win32.Trojan.Falsesign.Pdcd
  • Win32:UnwantedSig [PUP]
  • not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Win32.Agent.gen

SpyHunter Detects & Remove BabyNameReady Toolbar

Registry Details

BabyNameReady Toolbar may create the following registry entry or registry entries:
Software\BabyNameReady
Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStorage\babynameready.dl.myway.com
Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStorage\babynameready.dl.tb.ask.com
Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\DOMStorage\babynameready.dl.myway.com
Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\DOMStorage\babynameready.dl.tb.ask.com

Directories

BabyNameReady Toolbar may create the following directory or directories:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BabyNameReadyTooltab

Trending

Most Viewed

Loading...