I have had the unfortunate privilege of seeing people completely compromise their Google Chrome browser. Chrome is relatively pretty secure but malicious extensions can insert toolbars, hijack your browser session, violate your privacy, and expose you to even more malicious or annoying web traffic. Some of this behavior could cause Chrome to be unusable or seemingly functional until it came to getting to certain content (such as online coursework).

You can go to the three horizontal lines menu button (hamburger button), and go down to Tools, Extensions. There, you can delete any malicious extensions you don’t want by clicking the corresponding trash can icon. You should also check out Settings under the hamburger button to make sure your homepage, search, and other settings match your preferred configuration.

To help with this sort of clean up, Google is beta testing a Windows-only Software Removal Tool.

If you notice Chrome behaving strangely (for example, showing you unusual startup pages, toolbars, or pop-up ads you can’t get rid of), it may be due to an unwanted program on your computer. You may be able to fix the problem by downloading and running the Software Removal Tool. Think of this as a “factory reset” of Chrome. It restores Chrome’s original settings and removes programs that affect its behavior.

The tool can be downloaded for free from the Chrome SRT site. Upon downloading and running the tool, it will start scanning your computer for malware that affects Chrome. If any suspicious programs are found, a summary will tell you and give the option to remove the suspicious programs. Upon completion, you’ll see a message saying “Removal complete.”

The Software Removal Tool is not a replacement for an antivirus utility or malware scanner like Malwarebytes but it can detect some other software that still might interfere with Chrome.

For more details on the Software Removal Tool, you can read the corresponding Google Support article. Beyond that, the article’s troubleshooter may help you sort your problems further if you continue to have problems.