Home Malware Programs Browser Hijackers Sammsoft Toolbar

Sammsoft Toolbar

Posted: July 11, 2013

The Sammsoft Toolbar is a browser hijacker that modifies your browser's settings for the purpose of forcing you to visit arbitrary sites such as Ask.com. Although sites promoted by Sammsoft Toolbar currently are not classified as dangerous, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers do recommend deleting any browser add-ons that attempt to take control over your browser, and this applies to the Sammsoft Toolbar as much as to any other form of unwanted toolbar. Since the Sammsoft Toolbar has been confirmed to remain resident in memory and will refuse to be disabled or deleted, you usually should feel free to use anti-malware software for deleting the Sammsoft Toolbar as quickly and easily as possible.

A Hard Sell on a 'Soft' Browser Add-On

The Sammsoft Toolbar, promoted by some of the same sites that are well-known for peddling similar browser hijackers and Potentially Unwanted Programs, is packaged to look like a benefit to your browser, but its real purpose only is to take away your ability to determine which sites your browser loads. By resetting your homepage, redirecting your searches and performing similar hijacks, the Sammsoft Toolbar ensures that your browser will load Ask.com and other unwanted sites – no matter what sites you may be trying to load personally. The Sammsoft Toolbar's infection vectors are still being explored, but SpywareRemove.com malware researchers anticipate the heavy use of non-consensual installation methods, such as drive-by-downloads, hidden bundles with other applications and fake software-updating pop-ups.

While browser hijackers like the Sammsoft Toolbar usually will promote sites of varying levels of malice, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers have not found any indication of Ask.com including any Web content that could harm your PC. Despite that, a browser hijacker always is a security risk even when it's promoting safe sites, and the Sammsoft Toolbar may be used for less obvious attacks than browser redirects – such as changing your browser's security settings or your PC's Registry settings without your consent.

The Right Tools to Unwedge the Sammsoft Toolbar from Your Web Browser

The Sammsoft Toolbar currently is specific to Internet Explorer and, in fact, will persist in the background as an IE memory process (even when you don't have any visible IE windows opened). This complication, combined with the Sammsoft Toolbar's expected refusal to uninstall itself like a benevolent program would be happy to do, force SpywareRemove.com malware analysts to recommend the use of a good anti-malware product for deleting a Sammsoft Toolbar infection.

While the Sammsoft Toolbar is one of the most recent browser add-ons to hijack a Web browser and redirect it to Ask.com, the Sammsoft Toolbar is far from the only such PC threat to do so. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers also can point to similar types of malicious toolbars and Potentially Unwanted Programs that are guilty of similar tactics, such as the VirtualDJ Toolbar, VacationXplorer, the ALOT Toolbar and the Movies Toolbar. Since they prevent you from determining which sites your browser loads according to all relevant settings, these separate browser add-ons also should be considered security risks or, at the least, undesirable for your browser.

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