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Uninstalling MyWebSearch

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by cccgsmith

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MyWebSearch has appeared on my PC. The uninstall instructions on the home page say to use the Add/Remove Utility of the Control Panel, but MyWebSearch is not listed there. What alternative approach should I use?

Thanks!

6 replies

by hal 9000

So if you remove the Smilies that may get rid of it.

You can also have the option just not to show that tool bar if you chose and you want to keep the program that it is associated with by going into the View header and de-selecting the My Web Search. That will get rid of it on the desktop but will not stop it working when you enter the wrong address.

You'll need to find out what software it came bundled with and remove that if you want to get rid of it completely but that will of course mean removing some software that you may wish to use. It's part of the free ware thing you get more than you want and generally speaking there is no way to remove it without crippling what you originally wanted.

Col

by cccgsmith

Thanks for your response.

Is there a way of finding the software that MyWebSearch possilby came bundled with?

by kiltie

can be one of many types of "free" software, or even by using a "drive-by" ActiveX install, for example surfing a site such as iowrestling.com

However, two of the main culprits are (allegedly) [i]Ask Jeeves[/i] (now called [i]ASK.com[/i]) and http://funwebproducts.com/

Please DO NOT click on any of the so called free products [i](note how appealing they are to kids though, kids who are probably not aware of the dangers involved)[/i] but instead check out the license agreement at the bottom of that page, here is where it links to:

http://helpint.mywebsearch.com/intlinfo/eula/eula.jhtml

have a browse through it, some interesting stuff to note there, but here's how it may help answer your second question.

Choose a product name, or a short phrase in the EULA that looks unique to the product and perform a search for files and folders that may contain this term.

It may take you a few tries, but this may help you find a possible culprit quickly.

by kiltie

MyWebSearch is not really [b]spyware[/b] or [b]adware[/b] it is what is classed as a [b]"potentially unwanted program"[/b]

It is usually bundled in with free software, and as such, you actually [i][u]asked[/u][/i] to have it installed by clicking on the EULA of the free software you use.

It can be very tricky to remove, here are a couple of examples of people having lots of problems doing so:

http://www.computing.net/security/wwwboard/forum/19662.html

http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44856

As mentioned, it is part of the free software you installed, and removing it will possibly render your software unusable.

My advice: uninstall the free software, then follow some of the tips given in the above examples to clean out your computer.

THEN, look for alternative free software that doesn't bundle such things with it, there are many alternatives around that are "clean".

If you do manage to get rid of it, but still want the functionality of whichever free program it was, then let us know and we'll try and find some alternatives for you.

As for finding out which program is the culprit, it is often a case of trial and error. You can always reinstall programs unnecessarily removed later, [b][i]BUT check the EULAs carefully next time, before agreeing to them, and be very careful in agreeing to have any ActiveX component installed.[/i][/b]

If in doubt, stop, and ask for advice, we'll be glad to help.

by julz6769

I'm not an expert by no means but after trying a bunch of different malware removers I found the Malwarebytes free one did the trick. No more my Web Search! Yay! Just had to share the news as it drove me crazy all day!

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