MiniBar

Posted: November 4, 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:	11,570
Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	21,189

First Seen:	November 4, 2013
Last Seen:	March 3, 2025
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

MiniBar is a Potentially Unwanted Program and browser add-on based on the Kango framework, a JavaScript platform for general browser add-on design. Although BestToolbars is marketed as a browser add-on, MiniBar's beneficial features appear to be nonexistent, and malware researchers only have seen two primary symptoms from MiniBar infections: substantial browser slowdowns and problems with uninstalling MiniBar efficiently. Although it's not a likely origin for high-level attacks against your PC, MiniBar's current standing as a PUP doesn't mean MiniBar shouldn't be removed from your computer. In light of its traditional refusal to be removed normally, you may need to use anti-malware products for certainty in deleting MiniBar.

A Little Add-On with a Big Presence in Your Browser

MiniBar currently doesn't display any major functions related to loading advertisements, redirecting traffic or providing any of the other functions that disreputable toolbars are known to abuse. However, behind the scenes, MiniBar uses excessive system resources, slows the performance of your browser and includes numerous files in a broad range of locations – far more files than a simple toolbar would need to do its job. Malware researchers speculate that MiniBar still is under development and may be intended to monitor Web-browsing activities or engage in other functions that may be hidden from the user. Even confirmed suspicious and poor-reputation websites distributing MiniBar fail to provide any meaningful information about its intended purpose or any apparent features.

Although its behavior is extremely suspicious, what truly finalizes MiniBar's categorization as a PUP is its refusal to be removed from your computer. MiniBar is intended to resist all normal uninstall techniques, including generalized ones like the Control Panel, as well as all browser-specific add-on managers. Even seemingly successful attempts to uninstall MiniBar only will allow MiniBar an opportunity to reinstall any deleted components, making it a long term browser problem unless dealt with via the proper tools.

Beating the 'Little' Guy Back Off Your Browser

Although most PUPs are rather more obnoxious than MiniBar about how they attack your browser, malware researchers have no hesitance about categorizing MiniBar as a Potentially Unwanted Program, and, therefore, worthy of being deleted immediately. With its marked preference for keeping you from removing MiniBar, you may be unable to delete MiniBar at all without some assistance from suitable anti-malware products, which should be able to remove MiniBar during a quick anti-malware scan.

As minimal as its symptoms are, MiniBar could be mistaken for a beneficial or harmless application. However, malware research team regularly sees emerging threats that conduct negative functions without showing symptoms, such as banking Trojans, keyloggers and Bitcoin miners. The presence of an application that isn't honest about its functions and doesn't allow you to remove it always is a security issue, and deleting MiniBar always should be an instinctive response whenever MiniBar is detected.

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:

directory\file.exe

File name: file.exe
Size: 786.43 KB (786432 bytes)
MD5: 03a32ef175fccaedff9979af18bec4f0
Detection count: 75
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Path: directory
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: August 17, 2022

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

CLSID{539F76FD-084E-4858-86D5-62F02F54AE86}{60EACC1A-33FA-443D-9846-17B28E2C9BDB}{AA74D58F-ACD0-450D-A85E-6C04B171C044}{AAA38851-3CFF-475F-B5E0-720D3645E4A5}HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{A75ACCCD-3CC9-4865-8BE3-F523FDA2164F}SOFTWARE\Classes\TypeLib\{F13D3582-1359-4F8F-9A48-EF3AE9F5701C}SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\Interface\{A75ACCCD-3CC9-4865-8BE3-F523FDA2164F}SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\TypeLib\{F13D3582-1359-4F8F-9A48-EF3AE9F5701C}SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions\{AAA38851-3CFF-475F-B5E0-720D3645E4A5}SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\{60EACC1A-33FA-443D-9846-17B28E2C9BDB}SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{AA74D58F-ACD0-450D-A85E-6C04B171C044}SOFTWARE\Minibar

Additional Information

The following directories were created:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Minibar%PROGRAMFILES%\Minibar%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Minibar%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Minibar