Search.creativetoolbars.com Virus - How to remove

Search.creativetoolbars.com virus is a browser hijacker that is installed to random computers together with free programs from the Internet. The application is meant to improve users’ browsing experience. However, as it uses unfair way to be installed into computers and causes other inconveniences it definitely doesn’t help users and is even considered to be an unwanted program. Basically, it leads to many redirections and browser settings’ modifications that hinder when navigating the Internet.

Once inside the computer, the program changes your homepage to search.creativetoolbars.com and adds a SmartBar Toolbar to your browser. Although this plugin can be downloaded from its official website, usually, the user notices it after installing some freeware. It is a common way to distribute new programs by bundling them with other free tools. Although it is a legal way of spreading software, it is not a fair one as not always users notice that the program they are installing comes with additional applications.

Search.creativetoolbars.com virus modifies your search results by mixing them with advertised links and often redirects you to unknown websites. It also tracks your browsing activity and later it can sell this information to third parties that use it for marketing purposes. It even increases a risk of getting infected with malware, since you never know what website you can be redirected to. As you see, it is not safe to have search.creativetoolbars.com virus on your computer.

Security experts recommend removing search.creativetoolbars.com virus from your system once you detect in on your PC. This kind of  hijackers are detected by anti-malware programs like Spyhunter, AdwCleaner and some others. If you choose to uninstall the plugin and related software yourself, you can remove search.creativetoolbars.com virus manually. First of all you should delete the toolbar and anything related to it from Control Panel Add and Remove Programs list.  Another point to check is browser plugins – you should remove browser extension causing redirection to search.creativetoolbars.com from there. In order to reset your default search provider manually follow these instructions :

Search.creativetoolbars.com virus removal from Internet explorer:

1. Click arrow on the right of search box;
2. Do following: On IE8-9 choose Manage Search providers,  On ie7 click change search defaults;
3. Remove the unnecessary search engines from the list.

Search.creativetoolbars.com virus removal from Firefox :

1. Enter “about:config” in url bar. This will open settings page;
2. Type “Keyword.url” in the search box. Right click it & reset it;
3. Type “browser.search.defaultengine” in the search box. Right click it & reset it;
4. Type “browser.search.selectedengine” in the search box. Right click it & reset it;
5. Search for ‘browser.newtab.url’. Right-click and reset. This will make sure that the search page won’t launch on each new tab.

Search.creativetoolbars.com virus removal from Google Chrome:

1. Click 3 horizontal lines icon on browser toolbar;
2. Select Settings;
3. Select Basics ->Manage Search engines;
4. Remove unnecessary search engines from list;
5. Go back to settings. On Startup choose open blank page ( you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manual removal