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Microsoft Security Intelligence
Published Jun 29, 2016 | Updated Jul 11, 2017

PUA:Win32/AskToolbar

Detected by Microsoft Defender Antivirus

Aliases: not-a-virus:WebToolbar.Win32.Agent.byv (Kaspersky) Generic Malware.nl!ats (McAfee) a variant of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Ask.M potentially unsafe application (ESET) DataApp Installer (Sophos) PUA_AdToolbar (Trend Micro) Worm.Chir!1.A2F3 (Rising AV) Win32.Worm.Nimda.O (BitDefender) Bloodhound.MalPE (Symantec)

Summary

This application was stopped from running on your network because it has a poor reputation. This application can affect the quality of your computing experience. We have seen this leading to the following potentially unwanted behaviors on PCs:

  • Adds files that run at startup
  • Installs browser extensions

These applications are most commonly software bundlers or installers for applications such as toolbars, adware, or system optimizers. We have observed this application installing software that you might not have intended on your PC.

If you were trying to install an application, you might have downloaded it from a source other than the official product's website.

We usually see this application installed on PCs in the following countries. This list is sorted according to prevalence:

  • United States
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Spain
  • Germany

This detection is part of our extended Potentially Unwanted Application protection feature.

You should contact your IT representative or network administrator to find how you can install legitimate programs while connected to your network.

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