Widgi Toolbar - How to remove

Widgi Toolbars are a set of toolbars built on a platform provided by Spigot, Inc. The toolbars are known to be installed together with other software, most often freeware or shareware. There are multiple toolbars in circulation, namely MyBrowserBar, Dealio, YouTubeDownloader, and others. Widgi Toolbars are meant to advertise to users and to collect data about their browsing habits, thus making money to their creators.

Widgi Toolbars behave like adware

Widgi Toolbars are adware extensions that pretend to be useful:

Widgi Toolbars classification	Adware Browser hijacker
Problems that are caused by Widgi Toolbars	Your browsing data is collected and used for advertising Ads shown by the toolbars interfere with website layout You lose the ability to select the default search engine and new tab page
How to avoid adware toolbars	Scan freeware installers Refuse unknown and unwanted offers during app installation Ignore pushy ads that ask you to download software
How to remove Widgi Toolbars	Uninstall Widgi Toolbars from the Applications folder or Control Panel Remove Widgi Toolbars from your browsers Use antivirus programs ( for MacOS, SpyHunter for Windows) to remove suspicious software

By themselves, Widgi Toolbars are not very dangerous, but neither are they harmless:

• They might display advertisements and change your browser’s default search provider to the one that pays the most.
• They clog up your web traffic, making the internet connection work slower for you, and they start on system startup, wasting processing power.
• And Widgi Toolbars put their nose where it doesn’t belong, breaching your privacy for the sake of advertisers.

Despite the fact that they do not cause any direct harm, Widgi Toolbars are definitely undesirable.

One of the worst things about Widgi Toolbars is that they force their own ads to appear on the sites you visit. As you’re using your browser, Widgi Toolbars adds floating ads and pop-ups to some pages. These ads make sites appear cramped and cover up important content. The layout of the Widgi Toolbars ads might disagree with the page and force you to close the ads one-by-one to dismiss them, wasting your time.

Additionally, Widgi Toolbars collect data about your browsing habits, as is usual for browser hijackers: Your search terms and history, the links and ads you click on, your demographic info are all useful data for advertisers who want to know what you’re likely to buy. Behavioral advertising can’t thrive without tracking – and so, Widgi Toolbars are here to track you.

Thirdly, Widgi Toolbars change the default search provider in browser settings. Changing the search provider without a user’s consent is rarely welcomed, especially when the new search tool is worse because of too-many ads mixed in search results. Most likely, Widgi Toolbars change the search provider to be able to see all of your search terms and to include ads in your search results, which allows them to make money. How useful the change is to you is not important to Widgi Toolbars’ creators – otherwise, they would let you choose your search provider, which they don’t.

Due to all of the above reasons Widgi Toolbar is categorized as a potentially unwanted application (PUP). In my opinion, you should remove Widgi Toolbar if you or someone in your family or company installed it accidentally. Additionally, you should be cautious with programs that distribute such toolbars.

Adware toolbars install with freeware

People don’t tend to download Widgi Toolbars voluntarily, which is why some deception is required to spread them.

Widgi Toolbars’ creators make deals with various freeware distributors to include the toolbars with those other programs. The toolbars appear on the user’s computer some time after hey install an unrelated piece of software (a PDF reader, a media player, a game cheat, etc.).  Although Widgi Toolbars are warned about in the setup screens, users rarely notice these fine-print warnings; typically, the PC owner installing one of those free programs is not careful enough and leaves some check-boxes for optional offers unchecked and, that way, one of the Widgi toolbars lands on their browsers.

Deceptive warnings and ads are also used by adware toolbars nowadays. Widgi Toolbars might be promoted by pop-up ads that recommend or require an extension to access some features on some site and link to Widgi Toolbars. The ads are making it up, of course. They’re similar to fake software updates that promote adware infections like TopLookup.

Widgi Toolbars need to make it on the official browser extension stores to make it easy for people to install them, so they offer some surface-level features – random things like coupons and deals, video converting, custom search. That last one just means that your search provider is replaced, which is definitely one of the main functions of Widgi Toolbars. That said, being on the official store doesn’t mean that the extension is safe – plenty of adware toolbars are distributed there.

How to remove Widgi Toolbars

Widgi Toolbars can be removed in several ways. Firstly, they can be removed from the Control Panel/Applications folder if you know which toolbar to uninstall. Additionally, they are listed under browser extensions and can be disabled from there. Sometimes Widgi Toolbars are only in one of these locations, other times they’re in both. If you successfully uninstall Widgi Toolbars manually and they stay off, that might be enough. Just be more careful to avoid more unwanted toolbars when you install freeware in the future.

In some cases, it is advisable to use anti-malware programs like Spyhunter for Windows, Spybot S&D, or Combo Cleaner for MacOS to scan your system for Widgi Toolbar or the “shareware” that installs such programs without your consent. Avoid downloading such programs because, clearly, their distributors are willing to trick you to make a buck.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove Widgi Toolbar using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Widgi Toolbar install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to Widgi Toolbar . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Widgi Toolbar easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove Widgi Toolbar from macOS

Delete Widgi Toolbar from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Widgi Toolbar app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopRemove malicious extensions from Internet Explorer

• Press on the Gear icon→Manage Add-ons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to Widgi Toolbar and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
  
• Close the Options.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Widgi Toolbar, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Press on the Gear icon->Internet Options.
  
• Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset button.
  
• Select a “Delete personal settings” checkbox and click on the Reset button.
  
• Click on the Close button on the confirmation box, then close your browser.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

TopRemoving Widgi Toolbar from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Widgi Toolbar. Click on the trash bin icon next to Widgi Toolbar or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Widgi Toolbar, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

TopRemoving Widgi Toolbar from Firefox

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Widgi Toolbar related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Widgi Toolbar, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Widgi Toolbar from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Widgi Toolbar. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Widgi Toolbar or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving Widgi Toolbar from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the Widgi Toolbar. Remove all other unknown or suspicious entries too. If you are not sure whether you need the extension or not, you can simply uncheck the Enable check-box to disable the extension temporarily.
  
• Restart Safari.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Widgi Toolbar, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari.
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

Manual removal