The genuine hydra.exe file is a software component of Hotspot Shield by AnchorFree. Hotspot Shield is a security tool that redirects all Internet traffic through its company's servers allowing the user to browse anonymously. Hotspot Shield is offered as a subscription service and features 20 worldwide server locations to choose from, as well as malware and browser protection. It supports the Microsoft Windows platform. Anchor Free is an American private software company that develops and sells VPN (virtual private network) services to a global customer base. The company develops products for Windows, Mac iOS, Android, and Chrome. It is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, USA.
Hotspot Shield is a program that provides a virtual private network that encrypts Internet traffic. Hydra.exe runs a VPN protocol called Catapult Hydra that is used by Hotspot Shield. This is not a important Windows file and may be disabled is known to create problems. Removing this file will cause problems while running Hotspot Shield.
Hydra stands for Catapult Hydra
The .exe extension on a filename indicates an executable file. Executable files may, in some cases, harm your computer. Therefore, please read below to decide for yourself whether the hydra.exe on your computer is a Trojan that you should remove, or whether it is a file belonging to the Windows operating system or to a trusted application.
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Hydra.exe file information
The process known as Hotspot Shield (version 7.15.1, 5.4.11, 10.5.2, 12.0.0, 6.2.0, 6.1.1, 6.5.1, 6.8.6, 9.5.9, 9.8.6, 5.20.15, 5.4.6, 11.1.1, 7.1.2) or VPN Foundation SDK or Hydra 1.0.1 belongs to software Hotspot Shield or Hydra Protocol wrapper or Bitdefender VPN or Betternet for Windows or VPN Foundation SDK by Pango or AnchorFree (anchorfree.com) or Aura or VPN Foundation or VPN Foundation SDK.
Description: Hydra.exe is not essential for Windows and will often cause problems. The file hydra.exe is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files" (primarily C:\Program Files\Bitdefender\Bitdefender VPN\hydraexecutable\x64bit\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Hotspot Shield\bin\).Known file sizes on Windows 10/11/7 are 1,434,616bytes (37% of all occurrences), 1,375,296bytes and 23 more variants. 
The hydra.exe file is not a Windows core file. The program is not visible. Hydra.exe is digitally signed. The program uses ports to connect to or from a LAN or the Internet. There is no information about the author of the file.Hydra.exe is able to manipulate other programs.Therefore the technical security rating is 45% dangerous, but you should also take into account the user reviews.
Uninstalling this variant:In the event of any problems with hydra.exe, you can also remove the entire program Bitdefender VPN or Hotspot Shield using Windows Control Panel.
Recommended: Identify hydra.exe related errors
If hydra.exe is located in a subfolder of C:\Windows, the security rating is 64% dangerous. The file size is 1,121,200bytes (85% of all occurrences) or 864,688bytes.It is a Verisign signed file. The program has no visible window. Hydra.exe is digitally signed. The hydra.exe file is not a Windows core file. The software uses ports to connect to or from a LAN or the Internet.Hydra.exe is able to manipulate other programs.
Important: Some malware camouflages itself as hydra.exe. Therefore, you should check the hydra.exe process on your PC to see if it is a threat. We recommend SecurityTaskManager for verifying your computer's security. This was one of the Top Download Picks of The Washington Post and PCWorld.
Best practices for resolving hydra issues
A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with hydra. This means running a scan for malware, cleaning your hard drive using 1cleanmgr and 2sfc/scannow, 3uninstalling programs that you no longer need, checking for Autostart programs (using 4msconfig) and enabling Windows' 5Automatic Update. Always remember to perform periodic backups, or at least to set restore points.
Should you experience an actual problem, try to recall the last thing you did, or the last thing you installed before the problem appeared for the first time. Use the 6resmon command to identify the processes that are causing your problem. Even for serious problems, rather than reinstalling Windows, you are better off repairing of your installation or, for Windows 8 and later versions, executing the 7DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth command. This allows you to repair the operating system without losing data.
To help you analyze the hydra.exe process on your computer, the following programs have proven to be helpful: ASecurity Task Manager displays all running Windows tasks, including embedded hidden processes, such as keyboard and browser monitoring or Autostart entries. A unique security risk rating indicates the likelihood of the process being potential spyware, malware or a Trojan. BMalwarebytes Anti-Malware detects and removes sleeping spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers, malware and trackers from your hard drive.
Other processes
ico.exe gameoverlayui.exe sagent4.exe hydra.exe securityservice.exe memfilesservice.exe amsiext_x86.dll wsmsvc.dll prismxl.sys taskbarx.exe gwidlmon.exe [all]
