Do you know what HidenGate is?
Have you found a suspicious program that goes by the name of HidenGate on your operating system, but you do not remember installing it? It is unlikely that the program was installed illegally, without your permission, but it might have slipped through the cracks if it was bundled with other, potentially more desirable programs. Our research team warns that the PUP (potentially unwanted program) could also be distributed with the help of malicious threats, and so it is important to scan the operating system immediately. A reliable malware scanner will help you find out if you need to delete HidenGate along with malicious threats. Of course, even if this PUP is the only “threat” found, you cannot ignore it. After analyzing this program, we can guarantee that you will not benefit from keeping it around.
Although it is likely that you were introduced to HidenGate via an unreliable, questionable installer, the PUP is represented by MEGATOUCH UK LTD – who is the creator – at hidengate.xyz. This website was set up to present the application, but it does not exactly make it any less suspicious. According to the information that is available on the website, HidenGate is meant to speed up and protect web traffic, as well as ensure anonymity. Who would benefit from this service, and why the PUP should be trusted is unclear. Furthermore, it is stated that someone who chose to use the service of the PUP would have to cough up from $350 to $5,500 per month, depending on the chosen package. There are no trial versions or even downloaders. It appears that to obtain the tool and use its services, the user has to contact the creator first. So, if you accidentally downloaded the PUP, and you have no desire to pay for it, you probably want to remove it.
It would seem that HidenGate would not work if money was not paid for its services, but that is not exactly the case. The potentially unwanted program autostarts with Windows, and when it runs, you can notice it only if you check the Task Manager and find a running process. You can turn HidenGate off only via Task Manager as well, unless, of course, you remove it. Now, if you download the program by accident, you might remain oblivious that it exists at all because there is no indication that it runs. So what is its purpose? We cannot tell you whether or not the paid services of the program are real, but we can tell you that if it is active on your operating system, it can record and share information about you and your operating system. Is personally identifiable information collected? That is unknown, but the Privacy Policy declares that it can be sold or shared for free with other parties. This might help you decide whether or not you want to delete it.
HidenGate screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
You can remove HidenGate by uninstalling it, or you can follow the instructions below. They show how to manually remove all files and registry entries created by the suspicious potentially unwanted program. Both options are great, but not if more serious threats exist, and if you cannot erase them manually. If you are struggling, you should employ anti-malware software so that it could delete HidenGate and other threats automatically. This is what we recommend everyone to do because this software can also help protect your operating system in the future, and you want that if you understand that other PUPs and even malware could slither into your operating system in the future.
Delete HidenGate from Windows
- Launch RUN using the Win+R combination on the keyboard.
- Type regedit.exe and click OK to launch Registry Editor.
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\.
- Right-click and Delete the key called {6AE85624-C2DA-4547-B0EF-8B424A03252B}_is1.
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\.
- Right-click and Delete the key called HidenGate.
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\ and then repeat step 6.
- Launch Explorer using the Win+E combination on the keyboard.
- Enter %TEMP% at the top to access the directory.
- Right-click and Delete a file named hidengate.exe.
- Enter %PROGRAMFILES% (or %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%) at the top.
- Right-click and Delete the folder named hidengate.
- Empty Recycle Bin and then run a malware scanner to check if your system is clean.
In non-techie terms:
HidenGate is truly strange. Officially, it is represented as a highly exclusive service for those interested in anonymity and web traffic protection. We cannot confirm or deny if the service is real. However, it was found that the PUP can spread via unreliable installers along with other programs, and, once installed, it does not provide the user with any indication that it is running. In the background, the app can potentially record information that is then sold to or shared with unknown parties. There are so many questions and not enough answers when it comes to this program, and so we definitely recommend deleting it. You can follow the guide above to remove HidenGate, or you can uninstall it via the Control Panel. You can also employ an anti-malware program to clean the operating system automatically, and this is the ideal solution if you also care about your security in the future.