Malwarebytes AdwCleaner
One of the first solutions I would like to recommend is Malwarebytes AdwCleaner: it is a small free program that examines the system and removes all the main types of adware and browser hijackers, that is, all those malware and unwanted software that, very often, are included "treacherously" in the installation packages software downloaded from the Internet. If unwanted toolbars in your browser appeared after you installed a program downloaded from the web, with Malwarebytes AdwCleaner you should almost certainly be able to solve the problem.
I would say, therefore, not to get lost in chatter and to get down to business. First, connect to the Malwarebytes AdwCleaner website and click on the button Free download to download the program to your PC. When the operation is complete, start the executable adwcleaner_xx.exe e, nella finestra che si apre, fai clic prima on pulsado Yes and then Accept. You will immediately find yourself in front of the main AdwCleaner window (which, to work, does not require tedious installation procedures).
At this point, all you have to do is press the button Analyze, wait a few seconds for the program to scan the system and remove any threats found. How? Simple, by closing the Notepad file that opened (the scan report), making sure there is a check mark next to all reonts and clicking on the button first Clear and then OK and Restart now, in order to restart your PC and remove all detected threats.
When the system is restarted, a new Notepad file will open with the cleaning report and there should be no annoying toolbars in the browser. Malwarebytes AdwCleaner operates at the system level, so its action affects both Internet Explorer and Chrome and Firefox.
Avast Browser Cleanup
Avast Browser Cleanup is another piece of software that may come in hey for removing toolbars from your browser. It is, in fact, a free software produced by Avast, the famous software house producing the antivirus of the same name, which allows you to delete all malicious extensions from Internet Explorer and Firefox and to restore the default search settings of the programs in question (useful when malware changes the browser's search engine).
To download Avast Browser Cleanup on your PC, connect to the official website of the program and click on the button Free download. Once the download is complete, start the executable avast-browser-cleanup-sfx.exe e, nella finestra che si apre, fai clic prima on pulsado Install and then Done to finish the software installation process.
At this point, to start a scan of Internet Explorer and Firefox and find out if there are malicious extensions in them, open Avast Browser Cleanup and wait a few seconds. If you are told that any program is interfering with the scan, click the button Yes to remove it.
When the scan is complete, select the icon Internet Explorer from the Avast Browser Cleanup sidebar e, if there are malicious extensions to remove, delete them by clicking on the button Remove placed in correspondence with their name.
If Avast Browser Cleanup does not detect malicious extensions but you want to remove a legitimate toolbar from the browser (e.g. the Google Toolbar), remove the check mark from the item Exclude add-ins with a good rating which is located at the bottom right and proceed to remove the unwanted extension as just seen together. To restore the default search settings, click the button instead reset settings located at the top right and choose, from the drop-down menu that appears on the screen, the search engine you prefer the most.
The procedure I have just explained to you for Internet Explorer can also be implemented for Firefox, the other browser supported by Avast Browser Cleanup.
Manual removal of toolbars
Despite using Malwarebytes AdwCleaner and Avast Browser Cleanup, failed to remove toolbars from browser? Don't panic. By acting "manually" in the Windows control panel and in the settings of your browser, you should still be able to get the desired reont.
To remove a toolbar via the control panel, you must go back to the program to which it belongs (probably a recently installed software, without your realizing it) and proceed to uninstall it as if it were any other installed software on the PC.
It was used Windows 10 then click on the button Home (the flag icon located in the lower left corner of the screen), then on thegear icon present on the side of the menu that appears on the screen and go up App. On the next screen, locate the program to which the toolbar you want to uninstall belongs, select it and click on the button Uninstall twice in a row. Finally, follow the instructions on the screen (usually just click on Forward / Next) And that's it.
If you are using a version of Windows older than 10 or, in any case, you prefer to act through the classic control panel, click on the button Home (the flag icon located in the lower left corner of the screen), search "control panel" in the menu that appears on the screen and select the first search reont.
In the window that opens, click on the icon Uninstall a program, locate the program to which the toolbar you want to delete belongs, select it and click on the button Uninstall which is located at the top. Finally, follow the instructions on the screen (usually just click on Forward / Next) And that's it.
If in the list of programs installed on your PC you do not find references to the toolbar that ruins your online browsing sessions, try opening the browser and removing the add-on directly from it.
Start, therefore, Internet Explorer, click ongear icon situata in alto a destra and seleciona la voce Manage componenti aggiuntivi from the menu that opens. In the window that appears on the screen, select the item Toolbars and Extensions from the left sidebar, choose the toolbar to disable and click on the button Disable located at the bottom right. The changes should take effect immediately.
You don't use Internet Explorer, you use Edge, its replacement in Windows 10? No problem. You can detect and possibly remove unwanted add-ons by pressing the button (...) located at the top right and selecting the item Extensions from the menu that appears. Next, click on the name of the extension to remove, click on the button Uninstall And that's it.
For completeness of information, now I tell you how to get the same reont in Firefox and Chrome, two other very popular browser programs that can be affected by the problem of malicious extensions.
- Firefox - to remove an extension from Firefox, click onhamburger icon situata in alto a destra and seleciona la voce Additional components from the menu that appears. Next, select the item Extensions from the left sidebar, locate the extension to remove and click on the button Remove which is found in correspondence with its name.
- Chrome - to remove an extension from Chrome, click onicon with three dots at the top right and select the items Other tools> Extensions from the menu that opens. Therefore, locate the add-on to remove and click on the button Remove present at the bottom of the box that concerns you.
In conclusion, regardless of the browser you use to browse the internet, I advise you to protect your PC with a good antivirus: in this way, you should be able to block the installation of many malicious toolbars and add-ons in the bud.
