Hi,
It's more than likely that the toolbar isn't the only thing
you added. You may have been tricked or confused into downloading
several ad-programs (adware) that were bundled with the toolbar.
More than likely, those additional (and unwanted) programs are
what is slowing you down.
Follow the proceedure below to uninstall the toolbar, remove
any adware or spyware, and install a very good (and legitmate)
toolbar from google or MSN.
If you have any questions about what's going on, just post a
reply to this thread
You may first want to remove any third party browser helper
objects (BHO's). For the most part, BHO's manifest themselves as
toolbars. Removal of these unwanted objects is best done by a
program called BHOCop. It, along with the rest of the programs,
are freely available.
You can download BHOcop, and view an introduction to it, from the
following site:
Download from:
http://support.honour.ca/bin/bhocop.zip
Introduction at:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,97081,00.asp
Once you download the file, run it, and install the program. Then
remove all objects you find that you are not familiar with.
We'll now have you download some programs which shall aid you in
the actual removal of spyware programs which may be running (and
causing these problems).
Start with AdAware. This is an excellent program which detects
and deletes spyware, and other malware programs. AdAware is
available from:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/
After downloading and installing AdAware, *be sure to update it*.
This will ensure you are protected against the latest threats.
Then, run it.
In special cases, removal of adware or spyware can result in
problems with your internet connection. While this doesn't happen
often, it's good to be prepared against such an event. Bearing
that in mind, we'll download the next two programs as
precautionary measures. If, after running these programs, you are
unable to connect to the internet, you may need to run these
programs to fix the connection.
They are available here:
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm
and
http://www.tacktech.com/pub/winsockfix/WinsockFix.zip
Directions for the last program can be found here:
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=257
*Note*: You'll only need to run these programs in the event that
removal of the evil programs causes your internet connection to
break. For the most part, you won't need to run these programs -
use them only if you find yourself unable to connect to the
internet after removing the junk programs.
Next, we'll get CWShredder. This neat program catches variants
which may have been missed by AdAware. CWShredder is available
from:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip
Once again, be sure to update it to ensure the latest threat
protection.
Incidentally, if you find yourself having problems connecting to
any of the above sites, it may be necessary to rename your HOSTS
file. This should usually solve any problems caused by malicious
parties attempting to avoid the removal of their products.
Instructions on renaming your hosts file can be found here:
http://support.honour.ca/ldbh.solutions.php#blockers
The above should ensure removal of most third party programs and
should serve to return your computer to a functional state.
More information about Adware and Spyware is available here:
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
An excellent toolbar (and pop-up blocker) is the google-toolbar.
It's free and can be found here:
http://toolbar.google.com
Alternatively, you may wish to try the MSN toolbar, available at:
http://toolbar.msn.com
If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to ask,
Best regards,
Altrus
message
: I have new search bar at top and search desktop box at bottom.
These items
: slowed me down. How do I delete? I tried a restore and it was
still there
: and I don't see it as a program I can get rid of. Being
slightly learning
: disabled I am ready to throw my computer out the window & start
over. Thanks
: Dorothy
