MyWebSearch

What is MyWebSearch Toolbar?

MyWebSearch Toolbar is an adware, error/search-page hijacker; published by Ask Jeeves Inc. What is that? A search page hijacker is described by Computer Associates as:

Any software that resets your browser’s settings to point to other sites when you perform a search. Hijacks may reroute your info and address requests through an unseen site, capturing that info. In such hijacks, your browser may behave normally, but be slower. Search results when such a hijacker is running will sometimes differ from non-hijacked results. (http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/pest.aspx?id=453083029).

What this means is if you mistype a website address, or your browser tries to open a webpage that is not available, you are redirected to a “MyWebSearch search page” rather than the conventional “cannot find that page”. The information that gets sent to MyWebSearch is connected to your IP address and is logged. In this way, some of your browsing habits are logged by an external company and that information is then sold.

How did my computer get infected with MyWebSearch Toolbar?

The maker of MyWebSearch Toolbar offers many fun and appealing free products to computer users like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. These products appear to be fun, but in fact they can be very dangerous. If you have any of the programs listed here, you are infected with the MyWebSearch Toolbar Adware/hijack program:

Many installations of these products are done without the user’s consent. Some affiliates of MyWebSearch Toolbar use security holes in Internet Explorer and Firefox to push the software on to insecure systems. Even with user consent often the description of what exactly is being installed is so lacking that the user is unaware of what they have really installed onto their computer (http://www.sunbelt-software.com/ihs/alex/aj.pdf).

Which files installed are associated with MyWebSearch Toolbar?

How can I remove MyWebSearch Toolbar from my computer?

To remove MyWebSearch Toolbar from your computer fully you will need to uninstall all of the bundled software that was installed with MyWebSearch; as well as, modify the registry and system files so that they are brought back to their original state prior to installing MyWebSearch. Now, if you are an advanced computer user you could search the web for instructions to manually remove MyWebSearch Toolbar. However, if you are not an advanced computer user – Please do not attempt to remove it yourself, you risk doing severe damage to your computer by modifying the registry and system files. Instead I would suggest that you call the friendly experts at YourTechOnline.com and have them remove this threat from your computer for you.

How can I protect my Computer from MyWebSearch Toolbar?

Here are some practical steps you can take in order to avoid having to remove MyWebSearch Toolbar or other nasty programs from you computer in the future:

• Install a trusted anti-virus program and a trusted firewall program. Make sure they are configured to run in the background so they are protecting you in “real-time”.
• Install a trusted anti-spyware program. You may install more than one anti-spyware program. We suggest that you install Ad-aware SE by Lavasoft and Spybot Search and Destroy by Safer Networking ltd. Be certain to keep all your security software updated and that you run scans regularly. Moreover, make use of Spybot’s “Immunize” feature which protects your computer from downloading from known bad websites.
• Check your Internet Browser security settings they should be set at a minimum of the default security settings for your best protection.