Hello everyone,
I have decided to write an article about toolbars.
Ask, MyWebSearch, Smiley Central, SearchQU, Bearshare, Media Toolbar, Conduit, Crawler.com, are just some of the toolbars that I personally found on infected computers.
Unfortunately, I can not accuse them of anything, because the code they implement within your browser is not an infection!
However, most of these also change your search engine, when they install. These search engines do not always display the most valid of sites and users have complained of being redirected (I never heard of phishing attempts so far, but I wouldn't be surprised).
Whenever something just shows up on your computer (without you running the installer for it) you should uninstall it right away and run a scan with your antivirus/antispyware/antimalware.
Also, always search for user reviews about the programs you install on your computer. People will always have both negative and positive experiences with a certain product, but if you see a lot of user complaints you should at least be aware.
Here is a guide that you can follow to remove any toolbars, add-ons, extensions, from your browser and computer:
https://www.bullguard.com/support/tech-guides/how-to-remove-browser-toolbars.aspx And this is how you can reset the internet options (these govern the way your browsers connect to the internet):
https://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737 Cheers!