Ask.com Toolbar

[Omid Farhang]

I've been installing another program contain (damned!) ask toolbar. I unchecked ask toolbar and clicked next, Firewall asked me if I want allow ask toolbar, I blocked, yet I noticed Ask toolbar got download and installed, I don't like this, if they do such things to install their toolbar should not AVs start thinking of block that as 'adware'?

[doktornotor]

Care to name the program so that others avoid it? (You need to enable PUP detection, otherwise nothing will detect it, not even avast.)

[SafeSurf]

You may want to try this to uninstall the toolbar http://autoclean.computersitter.com/documentation/li/ask-toolbar-remover.  But please let us know what you downloaded so we can avoid it.  Thank you.

[doktornotor]

But please let us know what you downloaded so we can avoid it.  Thank you.

Also a recommended reading:

Installers Hall of Shame (Unwanted add-on)
Products with Ask Toolbar

[Coolmario88]

I wish Antivirus would have a pop up asking you if you want it to block the download of a toolbar or just let it install.

[doktornotor]

I wish Antivirus would have a pop up asking you if you want it to block the download of a toolbar or just let it install.

As said elsewhere - enable PUP detection and set it to ask (not .com  )

[CraigB]

Did you happen to install the latest update from pdf xchange ? i just noticed in task manager that the ask toolbar was running while i had the browser open so i killed it then restarted the browser and no more ask bar, i also unticked the the ask bar during install but it seems to have gone though anyway   in checking the manage add on's there is nothing in there though, i did also notice an entry for it in my firewall so that has also been deleted, i have the pups turned on and no notification whatsoever.

[SafeSurf]

I wish the Hall of Shame were more up to date.  There is a forum (can't remember where now) discussing the Ask toolbar, but you can delete it with persistence.  I also block a lot of the ad-ware with my firewall. 

Omid, I believe if you run a Secunia PSI scan after you uninstall the toolbar it tells you if you still have the toolbar hidden somewhere on your machine.  I've even gone into Safe Mode to double check to make sure it was gone.

[Omid Farhang]

@doktornotor: If I remember right its been Shark007 Win7Codec Pack 2.76 or another program, I'm not sure, That day I've been upgrading many programs so I don't remember it happened with which one.

@SafeSurf: I know how to uninstall or how to avoid that, I'm talking about should we consider Ask.com Toolbar as a missed adware sample or not?

[Omid Farhang]

@craigb: No, not that program, but Scenario is same.

@SafeSurf: And about PSI, yeah that's my point. they are not releasing a Toolbar anymore, they are installing their toolbar and running that even users say No to that. This is a Malware!

[Omid Farhang]

I wish Antivirus would have a pop up asking you if you want it to block the download of a toolbar or just let it install.

It's not AV Job, it's HIPS job.
AVs can just detect dirty Toolbars like Ask.com as Adware/ or BHO/

[doktornotor]

@doktornotor: If I remember right its been Shark007 Win7Codec Pack 2.76 or another program, I'm not sure, That day I've been upgrading many programs so I don't remember it happened

Please, avoid codec packs.

Media Player Classic Home Cinema + ffdshow (I recommend latest SVN or SVN ICL10 on x86) is all you need.

[Omid Farhang]

Please, avoid codec packs.

Media Player Classic Home Cinema + ffdshow (I recommend latest SVN or SVN ICL10 on x86) is all you need.

I don't like MPlayerc HC and still use Original MPlayerc by gabest slightly modified by myself, and FFdshow always latest 'SVN builds by clsid'.
Win7Codec Packs is clean codec pack with good reputation. Anyway Thanks for your comment.

[Dch48]

Did you happen to install the latest update from pdf xchange ? i just noticed in task manager that the ask toolbar was running while i had the browser open so i killed it then restarted the browser and no more ask bar, i also unticked the the ask bar during install but it seems to have gone though anyway   in checking the manage add on's there is nothing in there though, i did also notice an entry for it in my firewall so that has also been deleted, i have the pups turned on and no notification whatsoever.

I installed the latest PDF-XChange update by using the Live Update feature, told it not to install ASK and it didn't install it. It worked the way it should have.

I use Media Player Classic HC and it works great. I was advised to go to it from the original MPC for security reasons. I also use Format Factory that installs the ffdshow package automatically so I'm covered as far as codecs go.

[SpeedyPC]

I installed the latest PDF-XChange update by using the Live Update feature, told it not to install ASK and it didn't install it. It worked the way it should have.

+1 I also did the same thing as well