The fact that some laptop manufacturers embed additional software in their devices to quickly restore the system or increase the level of protection, no one doubts. But sometimes owners of equipment from Hewlett Packard (and not only them) can accidentally discover the HP Defender application on their laptops. What kind of program is this, many users seem to understand, referring it to security tools. However, in reality this is not always the case. Let's try to figure out what kind of applet it is, how it penetrates the system, whether it is a virus, and whether it can be removed if it is really a threat.
HP Defender: what kind of program is it in conjunction with Hewlett Packard?
First, a few words about official software. Yes, indeed, sometimes such an application can be found. According to experts, it is a built-in cloud service that works like an antivirus or a means of preventing adware or unwanted software from entering the system, analyzing threats on the fly and placing them in the cloud before they can settle on the hard drive.
In addition, it is this utility on Hewlett Packard laptops that is also used to prevent uninstalling preinstalled software so that the user does not accidentally delete any important components built into the software environment. However, most often, users, alas, are dealing with a completely different program, and the similarity with the name of the official utility makes users not pay attention to it.
My Company HP Defender: what is it?
The second kind of "fake" defender relates just to another developer. Suppose a user finds an HP Defender applet on his computer device. What kind of program it is and who is its developer is not hard to figure out if you just look at the name of the publisher in the list of programs and components. And there it will just be indicated that the authorship of this application belongs to a certain company My Company.
Despite the fact that it is positioned, again, as a protective tool, in fact this program gives false positives, floods web browsers with ads, changes start pages, etc. But what is it? For some reason, HP Defender is not officially classified as a virus threat. This applet is classified as unwanted software (PUP), which supposedly does not harm the computer system in the sense of virus exposure.
How does HP Defender penetrate computers?
But this was only a brief description of the HP Defender. What is this unofficial program, it became a little clear. Now it’s worthwhile to dwell on how it generally appears on computers and laptops. In most cases, its appearance can be seen when visiting all kinds of torrent trackers, on which the largest number of viruses is concentrated. Sometimes an application can be installed on its own as an affiliate program, when the user, when installing another program, does not pay attention to the installation points of the recommended additional components. By the way, the program itself has a security certificate and a digital signature of the publisher, so most of the free antiviruses are ignored.
The easiest method to uninstall an application
If we talk about how to remove HP Defender (namely a malicious program), in the simplest case, you can use the very same section of programs and components.
But this method in most cases is inconvenient in that after uninstalling the main application the user will have to get rid of the residual files, folders and registry keys on his own. This is not only inconvenient, but for some ordinary users quite problematic.
Using a specialized utility
Now another look at the HP Defender app. What kind of applet is this is a little clear. But when considering it, you should especially pay attention to the fact that on the Internet you can find links even to official utilities for uninstalling it!
One of these is allegedly the freeware Should I Remove It program, which seems to be removing the application with completely cleaning the system of residual components. I must say that its use looks very doubtful.
Uninstallation in uninstaller programs
As it turns out, the most effective method of removing the described dubious software is to use uninstall programs. Among them, the iObit Uninstaller utility is quite interesting and powerful. In it, you just need to select the specified program from the list, click the delete button, and at the end confirm the cleaning of the found residues. Also, automatic debris removal can be activated at the initial stage.
Note: upon completion of uninstallation, just in case, it is recommended to check the properties of the shortcuts of all browsers so that in the fields of the object type after the extension of the browser executable file no indications are indicated that can initiate spontaneous transitions to some pages when the browser starts.
But this only applies to the removal of the HP Defender advertising application in the iObit Uninstaller program. What kind of program is this for working with “wired” applets, it’s easy to figure out even when removing the very official defender that hinders user actions to uninstall unnecessary pre-installed software. Only in this case it will be necessary to turn to the system applications section (most often they will be among Windows programs).