Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Toolbars in Internet Explorer can be handy, but each means less room for web pages. We look at steps to get rid of most toolbars in Internet Explorer.
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?
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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:
(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.
In Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs, if you scroll down the list you should find an entry for the toolbar you care about:
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.
Article C2764 - August 22, 2006
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
That did NOT help me @ all
Posted by: Amy at January 14, 2011 4:53 AMI 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!
04-Mar-2011
Posted by: Claudia at March 2, 2011 4:49 AM
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?
Posted by: suzie white at September 27, 2011 10:06 AMI 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.
Posted by: Lynn Peters at October 21, 2011 7:16 AMi try to get rid of one of my tabs when you type something in but i don't know how
Posted by: Patricia at November 30, 2011 1:07 PM