Social Search Toolbar

Social Search Toolbar Description

The Social Search Toolbar claims to help computer users manage their social media presence and carry out online searches directly from their Web browser toolbar. In fact, the Social Search Toolbar is part of a browser hijacker attack meant to generate revenue from online advertisements. Typically, the Social Search Toolbar is installed after a computer user has installed a freeware program that is bundled with Social Search Toolbar. It is recommended to avoid the Social Search Toolbar and other, similar Web browser toolbars and to use a reliable anti-malware application. It is important to remember that Social Search Toolbar is not a reliable program.

The Social Search Toolbar Changes Your Web Browser Settings

The Social Search Toolbar inserts sponsored links into search results on legitimate search engines. The Social Search Toolbar has the capacity to gather information about the victim's online activities, using this information to deliver advertisements. It is important to understand that the Social Search Toolbar is not a virus or Trojan but a PUP, which stands for Potentially Unwanted Program. There are numerous symptoms associated with the Social Search Toolbar and similar threats. These include the following:

  1. The Social Search Toolbar makes changes to the infected Web browser's settings in order to expose the computer user to specific websites containing advertisements. One of the initial symptoms detected on an infected computer will be the unauthorized changing of the infected Web browser's homepage and search engine.
  2. The Social Search Toolbar has been connected with browser redirects to these types of websites. The Social Search Toolbar may cause the infected Web browser to display pop-up windows and advertisements.
  3. The Social Search Toolbar may cause a variety of performance problems on the infected computer. The Social Search Toolbar may cause the infected computer to run slowly and freeze frequently.

Technical Information

Registry Details

Social Search Toolbar creates the following registry entry or registry entries:
Directory
%TEMP%\CT3185123
%TEMP%\ct3239904

Site Disclaimer

Enigmasoftware.com is not associated, affiliated, sponsored or owned by the malware creators or distributors mentioned on this article. This article should NOT be mistaken or confused in being associated in any way with the promotion or endorsement of malware. Our intent is to provide information that will educate computer users on how to detect, and ultimately remove, malware from their computer with the help of SpyHunter and/or manual removal instructions provided on this article.

This article is provided "as is" and to be used for educational information purposes only. By following any instructions on this article, you agree to be bound by the disclaimer. We make no guarantees that this article will help you completely remove the malware threats on your computer. Spyware changes regularly; therefore, it is difficult to fully clean an infected machine through manual means.

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By GoldSparrow in Malicious Toolbars
Threat Scorecard
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The ESL Threat Scorecard is an assessment report that is given to every malware threat that has been collected and analyzed through our Malware Research Center. The ESL Threat Scorecard evaluates and ranks each threat by using several metrics such as trends, incidents and severity over time.

In addition to the effective scoring for each threat, we are able to interpret anonymous geographic data to list the top three countries infected with a particular threat. The data used for the ESL Threat Scorecard is updated daily and displayed based on trends for a 30-day period. The ESL Threat Scorecard is a useful tool for a wide array of computer users from end users seeking a solution to remove a particular threat or security experts pursuing analysis and research data on emerging threats.

Each of the fields listed on the ESL Threat Scorecard, containing a specific value, are as follows:

Ranking: The current ranking of a particular threat among all the other threats found on our malware research database.

Threat Level: The level of threat a particular computer threat could have on an infected computer. The threat level is based on a particular threat's behavior and other risk factors. We rate the threat level as low, medium or high. The different threat levels are discussed in the SpyHunter Risk Assessment Model.

Infected Computer: The number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular threat detected on infected computers retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter's Spyware Scanner.

% Change: The daily percent change in the frequency of infected computers of a specific threat. The formula for percent changes results from current trends of a specific threat. An increase in the rankings of a specific threat yields a recalculation of the percentage of its recent gain. When a specific threat's ranking decreases, the percentage rate reflects its recent decline. For a specific threat remaining unchanged, the percent change remains in its current state. The % Change data is calculated and displayed in three different date ranges, in the last 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days. Next to the percentage change is the trend movement a specific malware threat does, either upward or downward, in the rankings. Each level of movement is color coded: a green up-arrow (∧) indicates a rise, a red down-arrow (∨) indicates a decline, and a brown equal symbol (=) indicates no change or plateaued.

Top 3 Countries Infected: Lists the top three countries a particular threat has targeted the most over the past month. This data allows computer users to track the geographic distribution of a particular threat throughout the world.
Ranking: N/A
Threat Level: 5
Infected Computers: 15