Removing IE Search Provider Addons

This section provides a tutorial example on remove IE (Internet Explorer) search provider addon setting.

One group of addons supported in IE 10 is the Search Providers, which contains addons to perform searches automatically on the Web using search Web pages with different search providers.

Here is what I did to review and remove addons in the Search Providers group in IE 10:

1. Click menu: Tools > Manage add-ons. You see the Manage Add-ons dialog box showing up.

2. Click "Search Providers" in the "Add-on Types" list. You see a list of search provider names like Bing, Google, and Yahoo!.

3. Click on the search provider name like "Google", then click the "Remove" button to remove this search setting.

4. Repeat step 3 to remove "Yahoo!".

5. Keep "Bing" as the only search provider, because IE does not allow you to remove it :-(.

An example of the Search Providers addon group is shown below:

IE Addon - Search Providers
IE Addon - Search Providers

After removing other search provider addons on my computer, I ran HijackThis and got these settings in the report:

R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,
   Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,
   Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,
   SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,
   CustomizeSearch =

This confirms that there is only 1 search provider, Bing represented by the URL of Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896, left. And it is defined as the default search provider.

Table of Contents

 About This Book

 Introduction to Microsoft Windows

 Introduction to Windows Explorer

 Introduction to Internet Explorer

 "Paint" Program and Computer Graphics

 GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program

 JPEG Image File Format Quality and Size

 GIF Image File Format and Transparent Background

 "WinZip" - ZIP File Compression Tool

 "WinRAR" - RAR and ZIP File Compression Tool

 FTP Server, Client and Commands

 "FileZilla" - Free FTP Client and Server

 Web Server Log Files and Analysis Tool - "Analog"

 Spyware Adware Detection and Removal

IE Addon Program Listing and Removal

 What Is an IE Addon

Removing IE Search Provider Addons

 Disabling IE Addon "Google Toolbar"

 Removing IE Addon "Google Toolbar"

 Disabling IE Addon "Yahoo! Toolbar"

 Removing IE Addon "Yahoo! Toolbar"

 Disabling IE Addon "Bing Toolbar"

 Removing IE Addon "Bing Toolbar"

 Removing IE Addon "PDF Link Helper"

 Removing IE Addon "Skype Browser Helper"

 Removing IE Addon "Lync Browser Helper"

 Removing IE Addon "Java Plug in SSV Helper"

 Removing IE Addon "Windows Live ID Sign-in Helper"

 Removing IE Addon "Shockwave Flash Object"

 Removing IE Addon "Groove GFS Browser Helper"

 Removing IE Addon "Office Document Cache Handler"

 Vundo (VirtuMonde/VirtuMundo) - vtsts.dll Removal

 Trojan and Malware "Puper" Description and Removal

 VSToolbar (VSAdd-in.dll) - Description and Removal

 Spybot - Spyware Blocker, Detection and Removal

 Setting Up and Using Crossover Cable Network

 Home Network Gateway - DSL Modem/Wireless Router

 Windows Task Manager - The System Performance Tool

 "tasklist" Command Line Tool to List Process Information

 "msconfig" - System Configuration Tool

 Configuring and Managing System Services

 Windows Registry Key and Value Management Tools

 Startup Programs Removal for Better System Performance

 Winsock - Windows Sockets API

 Java on Windows

 Glossary of Terms

 Outdated Tutorials

 References

 Full Version in PDF/ePUB