The Ask.com toolbar is not a handy tool — it’s a Curse because it never goes away. Apparently, Ask.com toolbar hijacks your computer entirely. It usually skulks into computer systems on the coattails of some necessary software, normally Java updates. — Then it becomes virtually impossible to uninstall the toolbar however; we have a solution for you.

Researchers at Symantec identified that around 317 million computer viruses and/or salient malicious programs were launched by hackers in 2014.

However, not all hack-attacks are launched by hackers and some high-profile tech companies also perform such acts.

People who got their computers hijacked by the Ask.com toolbar would definitely agree with this statement.

Gary More, a West Hollywood resident, shared his feelings: “It’s like a bad houseguest—It will not Leave.” More has been trying for months to get rid of the software without success.

So what’s up with this Ask.com toolbar curse? Well, let us tell you what happens.

Firstly, you are prompted to update your Java software and a pre-checked fine print box informs that Ask.com toolbar will also be installed. If you are alert then you will notice it and will uncheck this box.

However, if you somehow ignore this box then Ask.com program will be installed on your computer. Now, one of these three actions will take place. One, your browser will display Ask.com toolbar. Two, your default search engine will be switched to Ask.com. Three, your homepage will be changed to Ask.com website.

You may be thinking that uninstalling the toolbar will fix things for you but sadly, it won’t.

Ask.com will keep coming back to haunt you no matter how many times you try to set your default homepage to some other like Bing or Google, it will automatically get replaced with Ask.com.

According to Eric Schlissel, a Los Angeles-based tech consultation firm GeekTek’s chief executive, “There’s no real way to purge it from your system without going through a lot of steps, and most people don’t know how to do it.”

Schlissel says that the problem is that Ask.com buries code into your computer’s system. Due to this your toolbar and research engine gets hijacked every time you run a Java update, which of course is a frequent occurring.

Schlissel adds: “If Java is out of date, it will remind you again and again to click it. Then, when Ask gets reinstalled, it’ll bog down your system and take control of your user experience,” reports LA Times

When Schlissel was asked if this action has a tech term, his reply was:

“Yeah- I’d describe it as evil.”

Ask.com originated as Ask Jeeves in 1995 and the core idea behind its creation was that users could ask any question in plain English and receive answer instantly. However, in 2006, Ask Jeeves disappeared and Ask.com emerged in its place.

Ask.com is maintained by New York’s IAC/InterActiveCorp, a firm that owns various other sites like Match.com, ShoeBuy and Tinder.

Ask.com’s spokeswoman, who requested anonymity, explained that this toolbar is “distributed through partnerships with software companies like Oracle who provide free software to consumers.”

If you want to get rid of Ask.com toolbar but every time you meet with failure then you can try out this great step-by-step guide found at MalWareTips.com. You can completely erase it from multiple platforms. YouTube also features numerous helpful tutorials on erasing Ask.com toolbar.

Watch the video to learn how to remove ask.com toolbar:

Update:

Go to Windows Task Manager and shutdown process for TBNotifier.exe. It is an executable file that belongs to Ask Toolbar which may help third parties to embed malware on user’ PC.

There are several TBNotifier.exe removing software available online for free. So delete it and get rid of these third party crap on your computer.

[src src=”via” url=”http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20150417-column.html#”]LA Times[/src]