How to remove toolbars from Internet Explorer …
What are Internet Explorer Add-on Toolbars?
A toolbar is usually located at the top of all Windows-based applications and it is basically a collection of buttons that enable users to perform various related tasks. Applications, such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word come with many built-in toolbars that you can display or remove per your requirements.
However, the built-in toolbars have limited functionalities, especially in Internet Explorer. To resolve this problem and to enhance your Internet browsing experience, you can install third-party add-on toolbars to your Internet Explorer. Some of the popular toolbars that you can choose from are Google toolbar, Windows Live toolbar, and Yahoo toolbar.
What are the features of these toolbars?
There are several features that may inspire you to install an add-on toolbar to your Internet Explorer. These features:
- Include a search option, which enables you to perform one-click online searches.
- Enable you to block troublesome pop-ups from displaying on your desktop.
- Add shortcuts to common tools that you use frequently while on the Internet.
- Enable you to create global bookmarks that you can access from any PC that is connected to the Internet.
How to Remove Toolbars from Internet Explorer
Before moving ahead with learning toolbar removal steps, let’s first investigate the reasons that may force you to uninstall a toolbar.
Many of us want to uninstall these toolbars because they get installed without our knowledge. For example, the option to install Windows Live and Yahoo toolbars is included in the setup process of their respective Instant Messengers. If you fail to clear the appropriate option the toolbars will be installed on your system. Having too many toolbars may not only clutter the Internet Explorer window, but may also affect your Internet browsing speed.
Additionally, many toolbars, such as the Mirar toolbar, are actually spyware and will stealthily install on your system to track your Web browsing and PC activity and trade the collected information with various affiliate websites for advertising purposes. These malicious toolbars also display adware on your system without your consent and add several files and registry entries to your system, which considerably slows down your PC.
To uninstall add-on toolbars from your Internet Explorer, perform the following steps:
- Exit all Internet Explorer windows.
- Open the Start menu, and select Control Panel.
- Select the Add or Remove Programs link.
- In the Add or Remove Programs window, scroll down the Currently installed programs list and select the toolbar that you want to remove.
- Now, select the Remove button to start the uninstallation process.
- After the uninstallation is complete, restart your Internet Explorer to confirm that the selected toolbar has been removed.
To ensure complete uninstallation, you must follow up the above steps with a registry cleanup. You can use a registry cleaner tool to do this. A registry cleaner tool will enable you to scan the entire registry for any orphan files left behind by the uninstalled toolbars and ensure you of a complete toolbar removal. Registry cleaning is especially useful when you are uninstalling spyware toolbars because these toolbars add many hidden entries into the registry, which enables them to reinstall on your system even after you have uninstalled them. To get rid of spyware and adware toolbars, you may also run an antispyware scan on your system. These tools are useful in combating any kind of spyware programs including spyware toolbars and make it easy for you to get rid of them.
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