SparkleBox Toolbar

Posted: December 20, 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:	17,013
Threat Level:	1/10
Infected PCs:	4,071

First Seen:	December 23, 2013
Last Seen:	October 17, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

The SparkleBox Toolbar is a general-purpose accessibility utility for Sparklebox education resources, but also a browser hijacker that redirects your browser to Conduit, a search site with a history of affiliating itself with PUPs with undesirable side effects. In addition to the SparkleBox Toolbar's personal failings, SparkleBox Teacher Resources Limited also has been connected to crimes, such as possession of underage pornography that are less than ideal for a company whose services are used in British schools. While malware experts don't classify the Sparklebox site as unsafe or SparkleBox Toolbar as a threat, you may want to devote some thought as to your interactions with the company, and some energy to removing the SparkleBox Toolbar – which, like any other browser hijacker, is a liability to your browser.

A Box Full of More Problems Than Sparkles

While cheerily-named and full of legitimate resources for classroom teaching purposes, the SparkleBox Toolbar also has some unusual associations that make the SparkleBox stand out, even among other disreputable toolbars. Like most Conduit-based toolbars, the SparkleBox Toolbar modifies your browser to redirect it to the Conduit.com search site, which is known for providing legitimate (if not necessarily flawlessly accurate) results. Most Conduit toolbars fail to offer extensive positive features, but even in the case of the SparkleBox Toolbar, which has real theoretical benefits, malware experts wouldn't recommend allowing a third party to choose how you search the Web.

While malware experts' analyses of Conduit.com toolbars normally conclude at that point, the SparkleBox Toolbar also merits some special considerations. The owner of its associated company, SparkleBox Teacher Resources Limited, previously was jailed on two separate instances for possession of child pornography. Online safety officials at the United Kingdom expressed reservations about the seemingly legitimate business due to, quote, 'worrying' levels of interactivity with students.

Dimming the Sparkle that Sparks Too Close for Comfort

Regardless of the usefulness of the resources available at the SparkleBox Toolbar's website, the circumstances of its company most likely merit some special consideration from any educators who are tempted to use its content. However, malware experts are, foremost and primarily, concerned with the nature of PC security, a tapestry in which the SparkleBox Toolbar plays the role of yet another needless browser hijacker. Third party programs that control your browser's own searching capabilities often are security risks, even if they don't intend to be so, and if nothing else, are violations of your ability to control your own computer.

The SparkleBox Toolbar currently is classified as a Potentially Unwanted Program or PUP, and removing the SparkleBox Toolbar from your browser doesn't require the same extensive efforts that would be needed versus a Trojan or other type of threats. On the other hand, malware experts do recommend using anti-malware tools to guarantee, as much as possible, that deleting a SparkleBox Toolbar also deletes its browser changes, which may not be fully reversed by other methods.

Technical Details

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

File name without pathhttp_www.sparklebox.co.uk_0.localstoragehttp_www.sparklebox.co.uk_0.localstorage-journalHKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}SOFTWARE\Classes\Toolbar.CT340574Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Approved Extensions\{ca4eedb3-5719-4e27-a478-8d13f761c28d}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStorage\www.sparklebox.co.uk

Additional Information

The following directories were created:

%APPDATA%\SparkleBox%PROGRAMFILES%\SparkleBox%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\SparkleBox%TEMP%\CT340574%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\SparkleBox