How to remove browser toolbars

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In this article we will discuss about How to remove browser toolbars. Toolbars for Internet browsers are on almost every computer. They are thin strips that run across the top of your Internet browser window, like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc. Most of the time, these browser add-ons have a search window and a few quick-access icons.

Most people don’t know how they got the browser toolbars in the first place. They also don’t know how much of a risk they are to the performance and security of computers. Some toolbars may be helpful, but most of the time, they just get in the way. They almost only exist to promote the people who made the toolbars.

When a computer user clicks on a toolbar’s search window or icon, the toolbar’s creators make money through a referral system. This is done at the expense of the desktop computer user’s time and PC performance. You might miss the option to not install a browser toolbar when installing a free program or updating an old one.

How to remove toolbars from Safari

If Safari has a strange toolbar, it’s probably because you installed an app or extension from the Mac App Store. Or it could be because you downloaded a program from a website. No matter how you got the toolbar, you should be able to quickly get rid of it from Safari. If you can’t, you need to reset the browser and try again. You can also go to the official Microsoft support site to know more information.

Remove toolbars in Safari

In Safari, you must go to the Extensions Manager to turn off an extension or plugin and the toolbar that goes with it.

1. Open Safari and press the Command + Comma keys together to open the Preferences window
2. Switch to the Extensions tab
3. Uncheck the box next to the extension or plugin associated with the toolbar to deactivate it

Delete the toolbar source

After turning off a toolbar in Safari, you can choose to delete the source extension, program, or launch agent from your Mac.

1. Select the extension or plugin from within Safari’s Extensions Manager. Then, choose Uninstall > Show in Finder
2. On the Finder window that shows up, drag and drop the highlighted item into the Trash
3. Enter your Mac’s administrator password (if needed) and select OK

Reset Safari to factory defaults

If you can’t get rid of a toolbar or your browsing settings change without your permission, you need to reset Safari to its original settings. This turns off all extensions by force, making it easier to get rid of the problem toolbar. During the reset process, neither your passwords nor your bookmarks will be lost.

1. Close all open Safari windows and exit the browser (select Safari > Quit Safari on the menu bar)
2. Open Finder and press Command + Shift + G to invoke the Go to Folder box
3. Visit the ~/Library/Preferences/ directory
4. Locate and drag the com.apple.Safari.plist file into the Trash
5. Next, visit ~/Library/Safari/ and drag everything inside it into the Trash except for the Bookmarks.plist file
6. Finally, visit ~/Library/Containers/ and search for Safari on the top-right Search bar. Then, drag all files and folders from the search results into the Trash

How to remove toolbars on Google Chrome

Remove a toolbar in Chrome

With Chrome’s Extensions Manager, you can turn off and get rid of a toolbar that you don’t want.

1. Open a new Chrome tab, type chrome://extensions/ into the address bar, and press Enter
2. Locate the extension related to the toolbar and deactivate the switch next to it to stop it from running
3. Select Remove if you want to delete the extension from Chrome

Reset Chrome to factory defaults

If you can’t get rid of Chrome’s toolbar or if it acts strangely, you’ll need to reset all of Chrome’s settings to their defaults. The process is pretty easy, and you won’t lose your passwords, bookmarks, or history of what you’ve looked at.

1. Open a new Chrome tab, type chrome://settings/reset into the address bar, and press Enter
2. Select Reset settings to their original defaults
3. Select Reset settings to confirm

How to remove toolbars on Mozilla Firefox

Remove toolbars in Firefox

With Firefox’s Add-ons Manager, you can turn off and remove any toolbars you don’t want.

1. Open Firefox and press Shift + Command + A to open the Add-ons Manager
2. Switch between the Extensions, Themes, and Plugins categories on the left sidebar and deactivate the extension or plugin related to the toolbar. In the case of a theme, consider switching to Firefox’s default System theme
3. To delete an unwanted extension, theme, or plugin, select the More icon (three dots) next to the item and choose the Remove Item option

Refresh Firefox to factory defaults

If you can’t get rid of an extension, theme, or plugin, you need to restart Firefox. You won’t lose private information like passwords and bookmarks.

1. Close all open Firefox windows and quit Firefox (select Firefox > Quit Firefox on the menu bar)
2. Hold down the Option key and relaunch Firefox
3. On the Open Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode? pop-up, select Refresh Firefox

FAQ

How do I hide the toolbar in Chrome?

To get started, type “about:flags” into the Address Bar and press Enter. Scroll down until you see “Compact Navigation” on the list. To use the feature, turn it on and let the browser restart. Once the browser has been restarted, click the right mouse button on one of the tabs and choose “Hide Toolbar” from the Context Menu.

Why is my taskbar not hiding?

Right-click on a blank area of the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings from the menu that comes up. Check the box that says Automatically hide the taskbar under Taskbar behaviors.

How do I hide the menu bar in Internet Explorer 11?

Open the group policy editor and go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer. Figure out Turn on the menu bar by default, double-click it, and choose to turn it off.