Why you should stay away from free toolbars.
I was at a computer store and I bought a hard drive for someone and I went to USMessageboard and I saw the ad for the store I bought from that I had not bought from in years. In other words, they know who you are when you use your credit card because that information is read and it goes to the ad companies and they know you by your cookies and your I.P. Address if you've ever bought something.
The problem is that when you install a program, if you choose express install instead of "custom", you can't uncheck the box of programs being installed. A search box was installed on a person's computer and when you do a search, they gather search terms of things you are looking for and it doesn't matter if you are searching or making up something that doesn't exist. There are websites that are designed to deliver ad content based on your search even though it may not exist.
When you are clicking on advertising, a malicious hacker can inject code to your computer that can be later used to take over your computer. I'm not sure how they do it but I know people who have clicked on a link and received a virus from advertising that these search bars direct people to.
I looked up how to uninstall this search tool bar and it involved a complicated area where you had to go through the system registry and you almost have to know a lot more or be certified in Windows and if you removed the search tool bar, your computer wouldn't work without replacing the files.
I don't believe that search tool bars really do anything for you than slow your computer down. I don't believe they do anything better than google, bing, yahoo or other search engines. If someone is too lazy to click on Internet Explorer and have one of these search engines for their start page, I can't help.
What I do suspect is that they aren't secure because when do you ever see someone with a search bar ever get security updates? They are used to gather information about you and if a hacker uses your search terms, they can deliver a bad link to take over your computer. You are granting access to your computer to people or organizations you don't know. If they are in a foreign country, they could care less about you. For some people, crime is a business and they can sit in a room all day figuring ways to get you and that is why I say to read the legal on most programs. Most phone apps want access to my contact list? Why? The program has nothing to do with whom I call. It is about getting to you. Why would I want people to get to me? Do we ever lock our doors at night? Why? Because if you don't, you won't be safe. Why? Because people don't have your best interests at heart. Why would it be any different for the computer or the phone?
I was at a computer store and I bought a hard drive for someone and I went to USMessageboard and I saw the ad for the store I bought from that I had not bought from in years. In other words, they know who you are when you use your credit card because that information is read and it goes to the ad companies and they know you by your cookies and your I.P. Address if you've ever bought something.
The problem is that when you install a program, if you choose express install instead of "custom", you can't uncheck the box of programs being installed. A search box was installed on a person's computer and when you do a search, they gather search terms of things you are looking for and it doesn't matter if you are searching or making up something that doesn't exist. There are websites that are designed to deliver ad content based on your search even though it may not exist.
When you are clicking on advertising, a malicious hacker can inject code to your computer that can be later used to take over your computer. I'm not sure how they do it but I know people who have clicked on a link and received a virus from advertising that these search bars direct people to.
I looked up how to uninstall this search tool bar and it involved a complicated area where you had to go through the system registry and you almost have to know a lot more or be certified in Windows and if you removed the search tool bar, your computer wouldn't work without replacing the files.
I don't believe that search tool bars really do anything for you than slow your computer down. I don't believe they do anything better than google, bing, yahoo or other search engines. If someone is too lazy to click on Internet Explorer and have one of these search engines for their start page, I can't help.
What I do suspect is that they aren't secure because when do you ever see someone with a search bar ever get security updates? They are used to gather information about you and if a hacker uses your search terms, they can deliver a bad link to take over your computer. You are granting access to your computer to people or organizations you don't know. If they are in a foreign country, they could care less about you. For some people, crime is a business and they can sit in a room all day figuring ways to get you and that is why I say to read the legal on most programs. Most phone apps want access to my contact list? Why? The program has nothing to do with whom I call. It is about getting to you. Why would I want people to get to me? Do we ever lock our doors at night? Why? Because if you don't, you won't be safe. Why? Because people don't have your best interests at heart. Why would it be any different for the computer or the phone?
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