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Toolbars in Internet Explorer: how do I get rid of them?

Question:

I have two extra tool bars on my computer when I go out on the internet, one
is Google and one is Yahoo. I don’t know how exactly they were put up but they
take up too much of my screen room. Can you tell me how to get them taken
off?

Naturally it depends on just what you mean by “taken off”.

And of course, it also depends on the specific toolbar.

Yahoo and Google’s toolbars are pretty well behaved, so let’s look at your
options.

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If you want to just make them disappear, with the option of getting them
back later when you think they might be useful, just hide ’em.

Right click on, oh, say the Google logo in the Google toolbar, you should
get a popup list of all the tool bars, with check marks indicating which are
displayed:

Toolbars Context Menu

(You can see I have a few.) Uncheck the ones you don’t want – you many need
to uncheck “Lock the Toolbars” first so you can make changes.

The toolbars you uncheck will still be available later, if you want to
enable them again.

If you just want them gone permanently, then the right thing to do is to
uninstall them.

“I called Yahoo and Google’s toolbars ‘well behaved’ because they
install at your request … and they actually have an uninstall
procedure that works.”

In Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs,
if you scroll down the list you should find an entry for the toolbar you care
about:

Google Toolbar in Add/Remove Programs

Click on Change/Remove or Uninstall for
the toolbar you’re concerned about, and follow any instructions to remove it.
The next time you start your browser it should be gone.

I called Yahoo and Google’s toolbars “well behaved” because they
install at your request (or, occasionally as an clearly optional component of
some other software you might install), and they actually have an uninstall
procedure that works. Many toolbars work exactly that way.

However…

There are many other toolbars that do not. These fall into the realm of
spyware, adware or just general malware. They are often installed without your
permission, and are difficult to uninstall without help. That “help” typically
takes the form of one of the better anti-spyware programs. Fortunately running
anti-spyware software is something you should be doing anyway, and this will
more often prevent these malicious toolbars from appearing in the first
place.

Do this

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44 comments on “Toolbars in Internet Explorer: how do I get rid of them?”

  1. As you stated there are other IE toolbars installed without one’s permission, would you please complete the thought and expond on one of the most noterious ” megasearch toolbar” as how to remove it. Thank you. 8/25/06.

    Reply
  2. i installed a spyware remover and now ive deleted it because all it did was keep a tool bar on and redirectin me to download som more stuff

    Reply
  3. For waht ever reason mine stopped working when auto updates was complete. Any one know how to repair Microsofts Internet browser to restore toolbar and ability to ad and send attachments?

    Reply
  4. I have been carefull to never install Google toolbar, but then there it was! So I went to add /remove and tried to remove it and it caused the page to flash, but the Google toolbar was still there. Refused to remove!

    Ok then I went into programs and found the Google folder and deleted it. Then went to manage add ons and disabled the Google toolbar and the browser helper for google.

    It’s still in the add/remove list, but now when I search I get bumped from search engine to search engine, without control.

    Also had Yahoo bar at one time, came with Adobe, but that did remove itself when I tried add/remove. I don’t actually see Google toolbar now when searching, but have been shoved into searching roulette, with engines I never used to use coming up without asking.I just did a full restore about 2 weeks ago, and was just getting it the way I wanted it when this Google toolbar screwed it all up. It seems to be packaged with just about everything and if I wanted it don’t they think I’d have gotten it without it being shoved down my throat…

    This is so very ironic as I have Google as my home page and prefer to actually use Google as my search engine most of the time manually.But now I can start a search manually on Google and end up at Ask Jeeves or wherever. Insane! Is there a chance that there is a fake Google toolbar out there that is actually spyware?

    Reply
  5. You can disable and uninstall all these nasties with the Spybot S&D from http://www.spybot.info

    I had the same problem with the !@#$% Google toolbar which was coming back all the time but Spybot S&D deleted the corresponding registry entries and that was the end of it

    Reply
  6. How to remove “Yahoo! Search” from the top right of my screen?
    It’s not in the add/remove programs list, & when I right click on it all I get is copy/paste, right to left reading order, & ‘unicode’ options.
    Is there any way to remove this search bar?
    Thanks

    Reply
  7. In Windows Explorer, how do I remove the toolbar-like context menu that appears at the bottom of the files list. It takes up one inch of space!
    It says “Make new folder; publish this folder; etc.
    It is reminiscent of “view as web page” which also wasted valuable window space.
    Why does Windows seem to get harder and more annoying to use with every new version, removing commonly used features, or burying them?

    Reply
  8. I noticed that you also have SnagIt as a choice. I would like to remove that specific toolbar. However, it returns with each new window even when I disable it. Is there any way to permanently remove it?

    TechSmith’s support site has an entry on that.

    – Leo
    02-Dec-2008
    Reply
  9. I tried both ways to uninstall yahoo’s tool bar , but it is still there , even after I restarted the computer. I have done all that you and yahoo has instructed me to do but the persistent thing is still there . I even try to uncheck it and then lock my toolbar , it comes right back .. I need some severe help as this is starting to get maliciouse to me … I’m not patient when things are supposed to work and then they dont .. No one to blame , I just dont have any other options left here ……………

    Reply
  10. hello:im running win xp because i developed 2 toolbars and i use internet explorer, i had to use the reset button in the advanced tab in internet options, it worked, but now another problem has developed , every window i open used to be large ,but now all are small and it’s driving me nuts ,can u help me ? the double tool bar deloped on my desktop only at first but now my laptop also has the same problem ! is the 2 toolbar thing a problem with internet explorer or my server ? thanx john in phila

    Reply
  11. I am trying to delete and reset the default search provider in IE 7.0 I have went into “change search defaults” seleted another provider as the default then deleted live search. Live search is gone until the next time I reboot then it comes back up again. How can I get rid of it? Thanks

    Reply
  12. any reply to this?

    I am trying to delete and reset the default search provider in IE 7.0 I have went into “change search defaults” seleted another provider as the default then deleted live search. Live search is gone until the next time I reboot then it comes back up again. How can I get rid of it? Thanks

    Reply
  13. I have had digital post it notes, from 3m, for some time now. Recently, the program alerted me that here was an update, which I chose to download. Now I have a “post it” icon and a whole new toolbar which I hate. I have done all the things normal people would do, I unchecked it in the toolbars list, it comes back when I open a new tab. I tried to go to remove programs, it doesn’t list a toolbar, just the program itself. HELP!

    Reply
  14. ok.. my work computer– i had a google search bar.. but i dont know how it got deleted.. i want it back.. when i search “download google toolbar” i click it.. then the u click run u run it then this appears … barIntaller_en_signed.exe from dl.google.com then this .. the connection with the sever was reset.. help i want it back before boss gets mad.. he knows computer.. and we are not suppose to doenload stuff..thanks

    Reply
  15. I am trying to get rid of Ask box from upper right corner of my screen. I uninstalaled the ASK application but the box remains. what to do?

    Reply
  16. i recently downloaded IE8 and with it came a permanant google find bar in the top right of my screen, i dont want it and cant remove it,i’ve already got another google toolbar which i like, i dont need 2, who does? ive tried deleting everything to do with google on my computer and it still wont go, can somebody please help me???

    Reply
  17. I have audio commercials running on a loop … I have msn toolbar … how do I get rid of them ? ( they are driving me crazy !!! )

    Reply
  18. when i get on myspace it takes a few min and then my google toolbar looks up something that i didnt even type in. It puts me off myspace and i try to get back on it and it does it again. Will it stop if i get rid of google toolbar?

    Reply
  19. Charter Security Suite (F-Secure) is the antivirus/antimalware package used by Charter Communications for its internet users. You can hide its Browsing Protection Toolbar for one tab at a time. If you start a new tab or a new instance of IE, you get it back. There is no way to uninstall it because it does not show up separately in the Add/Remove or Uninstall Programs list. Firefox allows you to remove it permanently, but if you use IE, you are stuck with it – unless you know a more creative way of removing it. I haven’t found anything yet, and the Charter technicians tell me that they can’t answer security questions!

    Reply
  20. In my previous post that I just did a couple of minutes ago, I forgot to add that if you click Uninstall on Charter Security Suite in the Uninstall/Change (Add/Remove) Programs list, the only option is Remove All. Under that, it does say Remove Selected Features, but it is gray-shaded. So, there is no way to remove just the toolbar going this route. And again, as I mentioned in my previous post, the toolbar does not show up separately in the Uninstall/Change Programs list.

    Reply
  21. CHARTER BROWSING TOOLBAR: I had the same problem with removing the Charter internet security browsing toolbar from IE. I ran across a way that worked fine for me. The browsing toolbar is an IE Add-on and can be disabled through tools, then manage add-ons. Just disable it.

    Reply
  22. i WENT TO ADD AND REMOVE…CLICKED ON REMOVE …FOR THE GOOGLE TOOLBAR FOR WINDOWS INTERNET EXPLORER…AND IT WILL NOT REMOVE. NOW WHAT?

    Reply
  23. Nice help for some people, but me and several of my friends want to remove the Fixed gotta work Search BOX. I have tried everyway I can find on the internet witth no avail!!! We all have dial up, I am the country hood geek and they are all asking me to find a way for xp and vista IE.
    HELP US Please!

    Reply
  24. this ask toolbar is also driving me crazy. i have unistalled it many times. I would love to make this horrible toolbar disappear! can anyone help, pls?

    Reply
  25. I have lost all my toolbars including the menu bar on ie. My ALT function does not work. I also cannot see any description in the ie icon bar at the bottom of my screen? HELP!

    Could you have mistakenly pressed F11 (full screen mode)? Press it again.

    Leo
    04-Mar-2011

    Reply
  26. my question has to do with the Morphster-conduit.com toolbar that downloaded itself onto my computer therefore I get it INSTEAD of Internet Explorer. I have deleted everything assoc. with it. I deleted IE and reinstalled. Still say’s morphster. I got avg free, then superantivirus, then malware/adware and still can’t get rid of it. Who are these people and why have they taken over my internet explorer?

    Reply
  27. I asked how to remove a tool bar that shows up when i run my antispie ware and it is not listed in my system. How do i get rid of it i have tried several thing but no luck.

    Reply
  28. totaly useless information
    i right click 1000 times everywhere and no popup list apears so obviously its useless , explain what to do if this happens but you asume that everyone can do this waste of time

    Reply
  29. For those who want to remove annoying toolbars the use of Microsoft’s “add or remove” feature is not very good.

    For one thing it does not remove the many small files that the toolbar put in your registry.

    The best way to remove unwanted toobars, or any other program is to use the FREE program called REVO UNINSTALLER.

    This was given us by an Australian programmer.
    Just go to google and downlaod it to your PC.

    When you bring it up it will show you ALL of your programs or apps including the unwanted toolbar. BUT after you press “uninstall” just wait and it will ask you if you want all the extra registry items to be removed as well. Just say yes to all. That nasty toolbar will not re-enter your PC again without your permission. Ron

    I’ve long recommended Revo: Revo Uninstaller – Uninstall Things That Won’t

    Leo
    31-May-2012

    Reply

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