Gadgetbox Toolbar

Posted: April 10, 2013

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.

Ranking:	3,808
Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	36,530

First Seen:	April 10, 2013
Last Seen:	October 17, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The supposedly 'legitimate' variant of the Gboxapp browser hijacker, the Gadgetbox Toolbar redirects your browser to Gadgetbox-affiliated websites. In the process of doing this, the Gadgetbox Toolbar also can block you from using other sites, including popular ones that are unrelated to the search engine activities that Gadgetbox Toolbar is promoting. Additionally, while links related to Gadgetbox Toolbar don't have a high chance of harming your PC directly, SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have found that the Gadgetbox Toolbar's affiliated company has a history of unsavory business practices, casting further doubt on the Gadgetbox Toolbar's ability to be of use to any PC. At best a Potentially Unwanted Program and at worst a browser hijacker, the Gadgetbox Toolbar ordinarily should be uninstalled quickly, unless you're certain that you want its limited features. Anti-malware products should be used when deleting the Gadgetbox Toolbar, which will, when removed by conventional methods, fail to remove all of its settings changes that cause redirects to Gadgetbox-affiliated websites.

What Hides in Gadgetbox Toolbar's Box of Browser Tricks

The Gadgetbox Toolbar typically is distributed through free file-downloading networks and (unlike its close relative, Gboxapp) requires a manual installation. However, since the Gadgetbox Toolbar often is installed through links that are closely-associated with download links for totally different files and programs, many PC users can find it easy to install the Gadgetbox Toolbar without meaning to do so.

The Gadgetbox Toolbar main function is to redirect your browser to Gadgetbox-related websites and search engines. To do so, the Gadgetbox Toolbar may alter your homepage settings, default search settings or even your Hosts file entries. In some cases, the Gadgetbox Toolbar also may block you from using other websites, with social networking, media, e-mail and search sites being the sites most likely to be blocked by a Gadgetbox Toolbar.

Although the Gadgetbox Toolbar is advertised as a positive browser add-on, SpywareRemove.com malware experts can't find any functions worth putting up with the above issues, which are typical symptoms that are expected of low-level PC threats like browser hijackers. The Gadgetbox Toolbar also may appear to be uninstallable by the usual means, but doing so will not remove the settings changes that cause your browser to become hijacked and redirected automatically.

Shedding Some Light on the Gadgetbox Toolbar's Treasure Chest of Browser Problems

The Gadgetbox Toolbar normally should not be thought of as anything more than a Potentially Unwanted Program or browser hijacker. Deleting the Gadgetbox Toolbar as quickly as the Gadgetbox Toolbar s noticed is recommended, but SpywareRemove.com malware researchers don't consider Gadgetbox Toolbar-related websites to be especially dangerous for your browser.

Given its refusal to uninstall itself properly, the Gadgetbox Toolbar may need to be removed with an anti-malware program that also can remove the browser changes that trigger its redirect attacks. Although the Gadgetbox Toolbar only has a limited detection rate in many anti-malware scanners (with some of its detection labels including Win32/Toolbar.GadgetBox and Win32:PUP-gen [PUP]), practically any competent anti-malware scanner should be able to detect a Gadgetbox Toolbar heuristically.

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:\AdwCleaner\Quarantine\ZMrF6cI6NX\gadgetBoxTB_new.dll

File name: gadgetBoxTB_new.dll
Size: 306.68 KB (306688 bytes)
MD5: 6f781a30f3168c80d00ba0a199d1cbd9
Detection count: 5,712
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Path: C:\AdwCleaner\Quarantine\ZMrF6cI6NX\gadgetBoxTB_new.dll
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: July 13, 2023

%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\1ZPEMAKQ\gadgetbox[1].exe

File name: gadgetbox[1].exe
Size: 673.87 KB (673877 bytes)
MD5: af9b8ae40b12c12377364183f402517d
Detection count: 9
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\1ZPEMAKQ\gadgetbox[1].exe
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 17, 2022

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

CLSID{3B81079D-2AC9-425f-A494-A1C7D93AFA3C}{A36BCB13-778D-4A40-99C1-D686086D268F}{AA74FE59-BC4C-4172-9AC4-73315F71CFFE}{CCA8F2AB-BE4E-41F0-A289-4D960CEA58EA}HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Explorer Bars\{3B81079D-2AC9-425f-A494-A1C7D93AFA3C}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\DOMStorage\gboxapp.comSoftware\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{AA74FE59-BC4C-4172-9AC4-73315F71CFFE}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\UrlSearchHooks\{3B81079D-2AC9-425f-A494-A1C7D93AFA3C}Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Explorer Bars\{3B81079D-2AC9-425f-A494-A1C7D93AFA3C}Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\UrlSearchHooks\{3B81079D-2AC9-425f-A494-A1C7D93AFA3C}HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\[APPLICATION]\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall..{Uninstaller}Gadgetbox

Additional Information

The following directories were created:

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\GadgetBox%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\InstallMate\{ACE9FB2A-31A5-4285-9510-43F1636EAB21}%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Sidebar\Shared Gadgets\gadgetbox.gadget%ProgramFiles%\GadgetBox%ProgramFiles(x86)%\GadgetBox

The following URL's were detected:

http://search.gboxapp.com/?

Gadgetbox Search