HughesNet Toolbar

Posted: October 25, 2011

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	3,445

First Seen:	October 25, 2011
Last Seen:	September 8, 2022
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The Hughes Toolbar, also referred to as the HughesNet Toolbar, is a Potentially Unwanted Program run by MindSpark LLC, a company responsible for many other PUPs, adware programs and browser hijackers. Most MindSpark products provide poor value to their users, and malware researchers have found the same with the Hughes Toolbar, which may hijack your Web searches under the pretense of providing upgrades to your online search accessibility. Although the Hughes Toolbar is less risky than many other PUPs with similar functions, removing the Hughes Toolbar remains advisable for your browser's overall integrity.

When Big Names in Broadband Provide Small Browser Changes

The Hughes Toolbar is a simple add-on for Internet Explorer and the less-popular Netscape Web browsers. Although the Hughes Toolbar maintains direct connections with a reputable satellite ISP business, the Hughes Toolbar also is run by MindSpark, which is an organization malware researchers have had numerous, unfortunate encounters with through their unwanted products. Like other MindSpark products, the Hughes Toolbar uses browser redirects to generate profit through artificial traffic, with the bulk of its features based on promoting alternative solutions for searching the Web.

Along with its search hijacks, the Hughes Toolbar also updates itself automatically, which is a security issue that could allow the Hughes Toolbar to add extra features with no benefits automatically. As a minor, positive note, malware researchers have verified that the Hughes Toolbar doesn't track its users' Web-browsing habits and doesn't include any functions that would classify the Hughes Toolbar as a risky program or a threat. Even so, it safely can be said that the Hughes Toolbar is a Potentially Unwanted Program whose advantages to your browsers are on extremely uncertain footing.

Connecting Yourself to a Search Engine without Corporate Oversight

Although the Hughes Toolbar does provide uninstallation instructions at its secondary website, Myway.com, malware researchers find that most MindSpark products inadequately remove their browser modifications, by default. If you use dedicated PC security utilities to scan your PC and remove the Hughes Toolbar completely, you can avoid any long term issues with your browser's search performance.

The Hughes Toolbar uses marketing methods that claim that the Hughes Toolbar provides a range of different features that you might, in theory, find helpful. Malware researchers recommend being suspicious of products that don't seem to possess an overall focus, particularly with browser add-ons. In most cases, like with the Hughes Toolbar, the end product isn't necessarily a threat, but the Hughes Toolbar lacks a dedicated purpose beyond exploiting your browser for its own bottom line. However, the existence of the Hughes Toolbar doesn't necessarily impugn upon the service quality of the HughesNet business, which is unlikely to have strict, hands-on management of this MindSpark software.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:

C:\Program Files (x86)\hughesnettoolbar\hughesnettoolbar.dll

File name: hughesnettoolbar.dll
Size: 1.92 MB (1923584 bytes)
MD5: 2d9c9ea13e01c0e0a598feffb99028a2
Detection count: 2,900
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\hughesnettoolbar\hughesnettoolbar.dll
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 14, 2021

C:\Program Files\hughestoolbar

File name: C:\Program Files\hughestoolbar
Group: Malware file

C:\Program Files\hughestoolbarDx.dll

File name: C:\Program Files\hughestoolbarDx.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

C:\Program Files\hughestoolbartb.dll

File name: C:\Program Files\hughestoolbartb.dll
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file

C:\Program Files\uninstall.exe

File name: C:\Program Files\uninstall.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

CLSID{ACE05D27-819C-4828-B816-BE002D223E10}HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}Software\AppDataLow\Software\hughestoolbarSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Hughes ToolbarSOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{ACE05D27-819C-4828-B816-BE002D223E10}HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}hughestoolbar

Additional Information

The following directories were created:

%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\hughestoolbar

The following URL's were detected:

myhughesnet [dot] com/toolbar2/client/hughes/download.php