HowToSimplified Toolbar - How to remove

HowToSimplified is a browser extension that replaced the new tab page of a browser and makes unwanted changes to your browser settings. The HowToSimplified toolbar forces you to use its own search engine that’s filled with advertisements and it bundles other extensions, resulting in unwanted add-ons being installed.

People who install HowToSimplified can also be directed to install InboxAce, FilmFanatic, EasyPDFCombine, and other unwanted toolbars — all developed by the same company as HowToSimplified: Mindspark Interactive Network. Check them out, they all look almost the same: A search box in the middle, a few links at the top toolbar.

When HowToSimplified’s description says

HowToSimplified gives you FREE access to do-it-yourself tips with a simple click.

it means that it provides links to other websites that have DIY guides and tutorials. This is simple to do yourself, but that’s not why HowToSimplified is considered to be a browser hijacker and a PUP (potentially unwanted program).

What’s wrong with HowToSimplified?

The way that HowToSimplified presents itself is not honest. HowToSimplified promises to make thousands of tutorials available in one place, but it doesn’t make it clear that your default search engine is going to be replaced. Trustworthy developers should be honest about the real intention of their software. In the case of the HowToSimplified toolbar, that’s promoting the MyWay search engine and the Ask search engine.

HowToSimplified uses bundling to get people to install additional browser extensions. People who are interested in HowToSimplified may not want to install any other apps, but the installation is designed to look like the other extensions are mandatory, or part of the HowToSimplified toolbar. It’s difficult to justify this behavior because is not normal for reputable applications, not even free ones. But it is simple to explain: pay-per-install monetization encourages software distributors to be aggressive with the promoted additional software, and adware thrives when it has a big audience to advertise to. The people responsible for HowToSimplified and similar PUPs put the responsibility to avoid malware on the user — this may not be illegal, but it is unkind.

After you’ve installed HowToSimplified, you start seeing more ads.

If you thought that your usual search engine shows too many ads, the MyWay and Ask search engines will blow you away. The number of ads listed in the results page when you search for something even vaguely purchasable can be greater than the number of real results. This means that using the search bar provided by HowToSimplified is going to lead you to see less accurate search results than other search engines.

Besides that, your information is being tracked, including every one of your search queries that you type into HowToSimplified’s search bar or the address bar. Some people think of that as a modern reality and don’t expect any privacy online, but it’s still true that, if your private information is leaked to criminals, they could use it to perform very convincing phishing and other targeted attacks. So, ideally, only very trustworthy and honest companies would have access to your browsing habits and other data.

Another concern is the possibility of a malicious program being on your computer. Even though toolbars and browser hijackers like HowToSimplified can be found organically online, or discovered through ads, they are also promoted by various adware programs. This is concerning — legitimate products generally stick to legitimate advertising networks, so using a virus to promote their products casts a bit of a shadow on Mindspark. With luck, no malware is on your system and you found HowToSimplified on your own, but it can’t hurt to make sure.

How to remove HowToSimplified

A lot of people are not sure how to remove the extension, luckily, it’s not very complicated. HowToSimplified can be removed be making a few changes to your browser settings. These are outlined in the guide below this article, the steps are a little different for each browser. But if you are concerned about adware, then it’s a bit more complicated. You can look up each of your installed programs and manually uninstall the suspicious ones and their files.

You can also use an antivirus program — Spyhunter, or another professional application — to scan your device. If there are any malicious programs on your computer, they would be detected and removed. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove HowToSimplified

How to remove HowToSimplified Toolbar using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like HowToSimplified Toolbar install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to HowToSimplified Toolbar . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make HowToSimplified Toolbar easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove HowToSimplified Toolbar from macOS

Delete HowToSimplified Toolbar from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the HowToSimplified Toolbar app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopHow To remove HowToSimplified Toolbar from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to HowToSimplified Toolbar, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove HowToSimplified Toolbar from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything HowToSimplified Toolbar related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to HowToSimplified Toolbar, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.

How to remove HowToSimplified Toolbar from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to HowToSimplified Toolbar, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove HowToSimplified Toolbar from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall HowToSimplified Toolbar and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to HowToSimplified Toolbar, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.