ISTBar

Overview

ISTBar comes in many variants such as AUpdate, MSCache and XXXToolbar. The software hijacks your homepage and web searches.

ISTBar has been installed with little notice along with ABC Scrabble.

Classification

Adware

Files

mscache.exe, aupdate.exe, aupdate_uninstall.exe, istsvc.exe, mscache.dll, istbar.dll

If you have any of the files related to ISTBar on your system, please send them for additional analysis. Generally, I have only analysed a few versions for each software component listed at this web site. With your help I will be able to look at both old and more recent versions of the ISTBar software. Thank you very much for your time!

Vendor

Integrated Search Technologies

Detection

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner detects ISTBar. Bazooka is freeware and detects spyware, adware, foistware, trojan horses, viruses, worms and other potentially unwanted applications. Read more »

Uninstall procedure

Uninstall ISTBar from "Add/Remove Programs" in the Windows® Control Panel. Look for an entry named MS AUpdate, MS Updates, XXXToolbar, ISTsvc or ISTBar. If not such entry exists or if the uninstall failed, please contact the vendor for support.

Uninstall ISTBar with FreeFixer

I'm working on a general purpose tool for removing unwanted software. The tool is called FreeFixer and can help you remove unwanted Browser Helper Objects, Internet Explorer toolbars and software that starts automatically when you reboot your computer, so it can offer some assistance while uninstalling ISTBar. The manual removal instructions listed below will help you to identify what to delete with FreeFixer.

Read more about FreeFixer.

Manual removal

Please follow the instructions below if you would like to remove ISTBar manually. Please notice that you must follow the instructions very carefully and delete everything that is mentioned. In most cases the removal will fail if one single item is not deleted. If ISTBar remains on your system after stepping through the removal instructions, please double-check by stepping through them again.

1. Start the registry editor. This is done by clicking Start then Run. (The Run dialog will appear.) Type regedit and click OK. (The registry editor will open.)
2. Browse to the key:
   'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run'
3. In the right pane, delete the values called 'MS Updates', 'AutoUpdater' and 'IST Service', if they exists.
4. Delete 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Uninstall \ ISTsvc \ DisplayName', if it exists.
5. Delete 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion\Uninstall \ ISTbarISTbar \ DisplayName', if it exists.
6. Delete 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE \ Classes \ CLSID \ {5F1ABCDB-A875-46c1-8345-B72A4567E486}', if it exists.
7. Browse to the key:
   'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Toolbar'
8. In the right pane, delete the value called {5F1ABCDB-A875-46c1-8345-B72A4567E486}, if it exists.
9. Browse to the key:
   'HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Toolbar \ WebBrowser'
10. In the right pane, delete the value called {5F1ABCDB-A875-46c1-8345-B72A4567E486}, if it exists.
11. Exit the registry editor.
12. Restart your computer.
13. Start Windows Explorer and delete:
    %ProgramsDir%\ISTBar\
    %ProgramsDir%\ISTsvc\
    mscache.dll
    istbar.dll
    Note: %ProgramsDir% is a variable (?). By default, this is C:\Program Files.
14. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer.
15. In Internet Explorer, click Tools -> Internet Options.
16. Click the Programs tab -> Reset Web Settings.
    

Problems uninstalling? Click here.

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Contact information for ISTBar's vendor

In order to provide correct, accurate and updated information about ISTBar I encourage the vendor to contact me if any part of this write-up needs a revision.