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I have just installed Windows 8 and some software. I accidentally installed Ask Toolbar, and now it has a toolbar with Chrome. I can't see it in the Program & Feature, and the Extension List of Google Chrome doesn't have it too. I also installed Your Uninstaller, and there is no Ask Toolbar item in its list too.

Can anyone please help me get rid of this annoying toolbar?

4
  • possible duplicate of How do I remove the ask.com toolbar? Jul 22, 2012 at 14:23
  • @techie007 I have read that post, but the situation here is on Windows 8. I can't apply any of these solutions.
    – Luke Vo
    Jul 22, 2012 at 14:33
  • 1
    Most/All solutions on that question should work in Windows 8 the way they work in 7. Have you tried any of them (like reinstalling the toolbar and uninstalling it again)? What happened when you tried the answers there? Jul 22, 2012 at 14:36
  • @techie007 It simply doesn't appear in the programs list (so I can't uninstall). Then I tried to install it again (without uninstall it), and the list still doesn't have it although the setup is sucessfully. This is the most annoying think I have ever encountered.
    – Luke Vo
    Jul 22, 2012 at 14:38

10 Answers 10

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Okay so I finally get rid of that annoying toolbar. And the problem is, some softwares silently installed Babylon Toolbar too, which is even more annoying. Here is the solution (I only list everything I've done, so I don't know which one is unnecessary):

  • Download and Run ToolbarUtilityTool.exe from Ask.com.
  • Remove Chrome completely and reinstall. (Mentioned in comment as unneeded)
  • Now, a icon should appear next to the address bar (for my case, there are 2, 1 for Ask and 1 for Babylon). Right click on it and choose Uninstall.
  • However, everytime I start Chrome, Babylon always starts a tab with its search engine. And even if you change the start page, it will reverse. Now go to Program & Feature in Control Panel, and remove BOTH Babylon components.
  • Restart your computer (it's important). Then now set your Chrome's On Startup setting to your favorite one.

I really hate those toolbars.

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  • You don't have to uninstall Chrome.....
    – Ramhound
    Jul 23, 2012 at 11:23
  • @Ramhound Thank you for your information. As mentioned, I list everything I've done so everyone after me meets this problem can solve it if they have the same problem. I just don't know which step is really neccessary. Anyway, marked in the answer.
    – Luke Vo
    Jul 24, 2012 at 16:25
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Here are some suggestions that might help you locate a solution.

  1. Simply right-click the toolbar, should be an deactivate or uninstall option.
  2. Install 'Revo Uninstaller' to see if it might help ease the uninstallation process
  3. Download 'Ask Toolbar Remover' (this might be out-dated)

Good luck.

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The most likely reason you can't uninstall it from Win 8's IE8 is that you still have live tiles running in the metro screen. Live tiles seem to be open pages in explorer and ASK requires you to have all screens closed before you can remove it via programs in control panel. Do this.

make sure you are logged in as admin or you have admin rights

First open control panel and go to programs then to the "Ask Update" and remove (uninstall) it. Then go to the Metro screen and stop all your live tiles (the screens that flip like Bing) Then reboot your machine and go back to control panel and then programs and remove "ASK toolbar".

After this you can turn your live tiles back on if you want them. Reboot and then log in as usual.

I tested this three times and it removed the offending "ASK" everytime...

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  • Its not possible to have IE8 if you are running Windows 8. Internet Explorer 10 is installed by default. You also don't need to login as an administrator to remove a plugin/extension.
    – Ramhound
    Jan 22, 2013 at 19:56
1

Try this:

How do I uninstall the Toolbar?

You can easily uninstall the Toolbar using the instructions below:

Windows 7:

  1. From your computer's 'Start' button, select 'Control Panel'
  2. Click the "Uninstall a Program" option found under the "Programs" category
  3. Select the program with the Ask logo and the text "Ask Toolbar" (or our partner's brand for a custom Toolbar)
  4. Click 'Remove'

You can also uninstall the toolbar directly from the toolbar

  1. Click on the chevron (down arrow) on the Option button on the toolbar
  2. Select "Uninstall" from the drop down menu
  3. Click "Yes" when asked "Are you sure you want to uninstall this product"
  4. Close all open web browsers
  5. Click "OK" on the popup window

Source

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  • 2
    Link-only answers are a no-no. Please include pertinent information in your actual answer. Jul 22, 2012 at 14:22
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I finally got rid of it off of Windows 8 by contacting the ASK family. The instructions were as followed: "- Click on the three horizontal lines icon in the upper right-hand corner of your Chrome browser. - Go to "Settings". - In the menu that appears click on"Extensions". - From the list of installed Extensions, find the entry for Ask (or APN). - Click on the trash can icon to the right of "Enable" (for the Ask/APN entry). - Close your browser completely and reopen it. Our Toolbar extension should be removed From your Chrome browser.

Reset home page:

  • Click on the three horizontal lines icon In the upper right-hand corner of your Chrome browser.
  • In the menu that appears - under "Tools" - select "Extensions".
  • From here, click on "Setting" on the left side of the page.
  • Under "Show Home Button" in the "Appearance" section, click "Change"
  • Enter the URL you would like to use as your home page and then click "OK".

Reset default search:

  • Click on the three horizontal lines icon in the upper right-hand corner of your Chrome browser.
  • In the menu that appears, click on "Setting" on the left side of the page.
  • Under "Search" click "Manage search engines..."
  • Click on "Make Default" next to your desired search provider and then click "OK".

If you are still unable to remove Ask please let us know.

  • Ask Toolbar Support"

I hope this helps.

1
  • This has already been posted twice.
    – Ramhound
    Jan 22, 2013 at 19:58
1

Here is what needs to be done to remove the ASK (or Babylon) toolbar.

Even though you may close a browser it can run hidden in the background. You need to do the following:

Click CTRL+ALT+DELETE Click Task Manager Click to highlight and and then close any and all browsers (Chrome, IE, Firefox, etc.) that appear in the window Uninstall the program again

Done.

http://about.ask.com/apn/toolbar/docs/default/faq/en/chrome/index.html#na36

This worked easily for me with the ASK toolbar in Windows 8

Although I wasted an hour finding the answer and therefore will never use ASK simply because they make themselves an enemy of the User, not giving us a choice.


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I have used a program called ADwCleaner in the past to get rid of such annoyances:

AdwCleaner is a program that searches for and deletes Adware, Toolbars, Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP), and browser Hijackers from your computer. By using AdwCleaner you can easily remove many of these types of programs for a better user experience on your computer and while browsing the web.

The types of programs that AdwCleaner targets are typically bundled with free programs that you download from the web. In many cases when you download and install a program, the install will state that these programs will be installed along with the program you downloaded. Unless you perform a Custom install, these unwanted programs will automatically be installed on your computer leaving you with extra browser toolbars, adware, and other unwanted programs. AdwCleaner is designed to search for and remove these types of programs.

AdwCleaner Usage Instructions:

Using AdwCleaner is very simple. Simply download the program and run it. You will then be presented with a screen that contains a Search and Delete button. The Search button will cause AdwCleaner to search your computer for unwanted programs and then display a log showing the various files, folders, and registry entries used by these programs.

To delete these unwanted programs simply click on the Delete button, which will cause AdwCleaner to reboot your computer and remove the files and registry entries associated with the various adware that you are removing. On reboot, AdwCleaner will display a log showing the files, folders, and registry entries that were removed.

Click The Download Now @ Bleeping Computer button on the following website:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

0

I got it incidentally by installing JAVA - what a mess!

There are two tools that should be used:

Seems to work all right now...

0

I wanted to point out how to fix the problem. This issue is Chrome's fault.

The fact that the Ask.com toolbar is locked down is not malware magic - it's documented behavior of Google Chrome. While other solutions might work piecemeal for certain specific malware, the underlying fix is to remove them from Chrome.

Google created a Group Policy for Chrome that allows IT administrators to force install of an extension:

ExtensionInstallForcelist

Configure the list of force-installed apps and extensions

Data type: List of strings
Windows registry location: Software\Policies\Chromium\ExtensionInstallForcelist

Mac/Linux preference name: ExtensionInstallForcelist
Supported on:
- Chromium (Linux, Mac, Windows) since version 9
- Chromium OS (Chromium OS) since version 11

Supported features:
Dynamic Policy Refresh: Yes, Per Profile: Yes
Description:

Specifies a list of apps and extensions that are installed silently, without user interaction, and which cannot be uninstalled by the user. All permissions requested by the apps/extensions are granted implicitly, without user interaction, including any additional permissions requested by future versions of the app/extension. Furthermore, permissions are granted for the enterprise.deviceAttributes and enterprise.platformKeys extension APIs. (These two APIs are not available to apps/extensions that are not force-installed.)

This policy takes precedence over a potentially conflicting ExtensionsInstallBlacklist policy. If an app or extension that previously had been force-installed is removed from this list, it is automatically uninstalled by Chromium.

For Windows instances that are not joined to an Active Directory domain, forced installation is limited to apps and extensions listed in the Chrome Web Store.

Note that the source code of any extension may be altered by users via Developer Tools (potentially rendering the extension dysfunctional). If this is a concern, the DeveloperToolsDisabled policy should be set.

Each list item of the policy is a string that contains an extension ID and an "update" URL separated by a semicolon (;). The extension ID is the 32-letter string found e.g. on chrome://extensions when in developer mode. The "update" URL should point to an Update Manifest XML document as described at https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/autoupdate. Note that the "update" URL set in this policy is only used for the initial installation; subsequent updates of the extension employ the update URL indicated in the extension's manifest.

For example, gbchcmhmhahfdphkhkmpfmihenigjmpp;https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx installs the Chrome Remote Desktop app from the standard Chrome Web Store "update" URL. For more information about hosting extensions, see: https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/hosting.

If this policy is left not set, no apps or extensions are installed automatically and the user can uninstall any app or extension in Chromium.

This policy should not exist. The browser belongs to the user - it is not IT's playground to install things.

Any extension installed using this group policy is malware. In order to remove it you need to delete the ExtensionInstallForecelist registry key from:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Policies/Google/Chrome/ExtensionInstallForcelist

Once the entire list of forced extensions has been deleted, it is time to prevent anyone from pushing any group policy into Chrome. You do this by denying everyone access to write to the Chrome policy node.

Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome node in RegEdit, right-click, and select Permissions:

enter image description here

Click Add, enter Everyone as the trustee to add, and click OK:

enter image description here

Select the Everyone trustee, and click Advanced. Select the Everyone trustee, and click Edit:

enter image description here

From there you want to Deny:

  • Set value: deny
  • Create subkey: Deny

and click OK all the way up.

Now Oracle can no longer force the Ask.com toolbar.

The above steps will work for any forced extension; no matter which company installed it.

-1

I had a similar problem, then I used CCleaner to uninstall. One click. Very simple. [Actually, 2 clicks since there are 2 Ask Toolbar items--one is an updater.]

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