How to remove MindSpark Toolbar (Windows and Mac)

What is MindSpark Toolbar

MindSpark or MindSpark Interactive Network is a subdivision of IAC (InterActiveCorp – American holding company), that develops mobile and desktop applications and browser add-ons. It is famous for creating hundreds of formulaic toolbar proven to be notoriously difficult to remove. This is resumptive article about the general steps of removal of such toolbars

MindSpark Toolbar is one of the browser extensions that is installed directly to your computer and aimed to provide a more convenient browser interface including customizable homepage, fast access to multiple websites, your social pages, online stores and so forth. Besides that, it changes the search engine to “Ask” and outgoing results as well. It is available for the most popular browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. Generally, there are so many analogs of it that seem to be executing the same positive purpose, although not for users themselves. And this is when the dark side begins. MindSpark Toolbar can also show lots of malicious ads, pop-ups and banners whilst surfing. It is capable of acquiring access to your personal data, passwords and many other morsels that third parties can largely chew on. Just imagine how much significant damage can do this ostensibly “useful” helper. Luckily, it can be easily removed from your PC once and for all by following the steps below in this article.

How MindSpark Toolbar infected your PC

MindSpark Toolbar, likewise many of its precursors can land into your computer bundled with other free software found on the web or via malicious ads that are displayed on sites as mentioned above. To illustrate, let’s say you find a movie, program or archiver on a random pirated site and click on the “Download file” button. This way, you get a web client that folds the toolbar installer in itself. Some useful free utilities often involve such offers in the installer kit. MindSpark Toolbar developers pay up to 1$ for a successful installation, thus, it turns out to be a very profitable soil for most software creators. Once you start installing the intended program the toolbar will also be installed as a result and automatically change your browser settings to its config. However, it can also be infiltrated by other malicious software. So make sure to follow the steps below to rectify this problem once and for all!

Remove MindSpark Toolbar manually for free

Here is the manual step-by-step tutorial for full MindSpark Toolbar removal from your computer. This works 99% and was checked with the latest versions of MindSpark Toolbar installer on operating systems with the latest updates and browser versions.

Note: MindSpark Toolbar can be installed as Google Chrome extension as Administrator (you may see Installed by enterprise policy inscription near it), and this will not allow removal. Therefore, before starting removal process, perform these actions:

1. Start the Command Prompt by clicking the Start menu button and typing command prompt (or just searching for “command prompt” in Windows 10 search field). Right click on the Command Prompt result and choose Run as Administrator.



2. Type in and execute the following commands:

   
rd /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers"
rd /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy"
gpupdate /force

Remove MindSpark Toolbar from Control Panel

To start removing MindSpark Toolbar you should uninstall it using Control Panel. Here is the list of toolbars and browser extensions developed by MindSpark. Usually, the name of the program or add-on coincides with the name on the toolbar you see in your browser window. Perform instructions below substituting the name of your toolbar instead of MindSpark Toolbar.

TotalRecipeSearch	YourTemplateFinder	PoliticalNewsCenter
QuickPDFMerger	DailyBibleGuide	TestOnlineSpeed
EasyPDFCombine	FileConversionNow	HoroscopeBuddy
ProPDFConverter	MyVideoTab	BetterCareerSearch
ConvertDocsOnline	EasyPackageTracker	FormFetcherPro
EasyFileConvert	DirectionsWhiz	SafePCRepair

It should uninstall correctly, however, we recommend you to use IObit Uninstaller to clean leftover items after uninstalling. Here are instructions for Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Remove MindSpark Toolbar from Mac:

1. In the Finder sidebar, click Applications.
2. MindSpark Toolbar might have an Uninstaller.
3. Otherwise, drag MindSpark Toolbar from the Applications folder to the Trash (located at the end of the Dock).
4. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash.

Remove MindSpark Toolbar from Windows XP:

1. Click on Start button.
2. Choose Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Find MindSpark Toolbar.
5. Click Uninstall.

Remove MindSpark Toolbar from Windows 7:

1. Click Start button.
2. Then go to Control Panel.
3. Click Uninstall a Program.
4. Find MindSpark Toolbar and click Uninstall.

Remove MindSpark Toolbar from Windows 8:

1. Hover mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner to see Menu.
2. Click Search.
3. After that click Apps.
4. Then Control Panel.
5. Click Uninstall a Program under Programs.
6. Find MindSpark Toolbar, click Uninstall.

Remove MindSpark Toolbar from Windows 10:

There are 2 ways to uninstall MindSpark Toolbar from Windows 10

Way one

1. Click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Settings.
3. Click on the System tile.
4. Click Apps & features and locate MindSpark Toolbar in the list.
5. Click on it and then click Uninstall button near it.

Way two (classic)

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Programs and Features.
3. Locate MindSpark Toolbar in the list.
4. Click on it and then click Uninstall button above.

Cannot uninstall MindSpark Toolbar

In some cases, MindSpark Toolbar won’t uninstall and gives you the message, that “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall MindSpark Toolbar. Please, contact your system administrator” when you try to remove it from Control Panel or “Access denied” error when removing MindSpark Toolbar folder and files. This happens, because process or service does not allow you to do it. In this case, I will recommend you to use SpyHunter 5 or Malwarebytes or uninstall MindSpark Toolbar in Safe Mode. To boot in Safe Mode do the following:

1. Reboot your computer.
2. While it starts booting press F8 button.
3. This will open Advanced Boot Options menu.
4. Choose Safe Mode and wait until Windows loads.
5. Go to Control Panel > Uninstall a program and remove MindSpark Toolbar

>> See detailed instructions and video tutorial on how to boot in Safe Mode

and for Mac:

If you can’t uninstall MindSpark Toolbar using instructions above, or it keeps coming back, you can use free AppCleaner for Mac to remove all residual data and libraries of MindSpark Toolbar. Follow instructions below:

1. Download free AppCleaner.
2. Drag MindSpark Toolbar from Applications folder to AppCleaner window.
3. Choose files and folders you want to remove along with MindSpark Toolbar.
4. Click Delete button.

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling MindSpark Toolbar from Control Panel often does not bring desired effect. It sometimes have browser extension and it may still be active in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove MindSpark Toolbar extension from your browsers manually.

Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Click Extensions tab.
3. Find MindSpark Toolbar extension.
4. Click Uninstall button to remove it.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions.
3. Find MindSpark Toolbar add-on.
4. Click the trash can icon to remove them.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:addons.
3. Choose MindSpark Toolbar extension.
4. Click Disable or Remove button.
5. Remove all suspicious extensions from the list.

Internet Explorer (9, 10, 11):

Note: There is no feature to remove browser extensions from browser in latest version of Internet Explorer. To remove MindSpark Toolbar from Internet Explorer, please, perform instructions for uninstalling program from Control Panel. To disable MindSpark Toolbar, please, do the following:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on gear/asterisk icon in the top-right corner.
3. In opened menu Manage Add-ons.
4. Select Toolbars and Extensions.
5. Click Disable MindSpark Toolbar.
6. Also disable other suspicious extensions from the list.

Opera Browser:

Generally, MindSpark Toolbar does not install in Opera browser however you can always double check. Do the following:

1. Start Opera browser.
2. Go to Tools > Extensions > Manage Extensions.
3. Find MindSpark Toolbar extensions.
4. Click Uninstall button.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Reset browsers settings (homepage, default search)

MindSpark Toolbar installs search engine (hp.myway.com), that hijacks your browsers. Here is instruction to reset your browsers homepage, new tab and search engine to default values.

Reset Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Go to the Privacy section of Safari’s preferences.
3. Click Remove All Website Data button.
4. In opened window click Remove Now button to remove data stored by websites in Safari.
5. Go to the Advanced section of Safari’s preferences.
6. Click the Show Develop menu in menu bar option.
7. In the menu click Develop and select Empty Caches from this menu.
8. Again, go to Safari menu and choose Clear History….
9. Choose to clear all history and click Clear History button.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://settings.
3. Scroll down and find Show advanced settings link.
4. Click on it and scroll down to the bottom again.
5. Click Reset browser settings button and click Reset to confirm.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:support.
3. Click Reset Firefox… button.
4. Click Reset Firefox to confirm.

Internet Explorer (9, 10, 11):

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. Click on gear/asterisk icon in the top-right corner.
3. In opened menu choose Internet options.
4. Click Advanced tab.
5. Click Reset button.
6. Choose Delete personal settings and click Reset.

Opera Browser:

1. Close Opera and open command prompt from the start menu.
2. Type following command del %AppData%\Opera\Opera\operaprefs.ini
3. Start Opera.

How to block redirects and pop-ups from MindSpark Toolbar

MindSpark Toolbar redirects, in most cases, are caused by a program installed on your PC or add-on installed in browsers. However, sometimes it can appear on a clean computer when visiting malicious website, using advertising script. Also, apps that generate “MindSpark Toolbar” are themselves installed from pop-ups. To protect your PC and browsers from phishing websites, pop-up ads, banners, malicious scripts it is recommended to use AdGuard. Download free trial here:

Download AdGuard for Windows

Download AdGuard for Mac

Alternative way to remove adware browser extensions and reset browser settings

For safe and effective browser extension removal use avast! Browser Cleanup utility. Run it with administrator privileges and remove all extensions with bad rating including related to MindSpark Toolbar. You can also reset your browser settings for each of your browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox.

Download Avast Browser Cleanup

Cleaning browsers shortcuts

You can clean your browser shortcuts manually right-clicking on your browser icon, choosing “Properties” and removing hijacker address from “Target” field (leave just the path to your browser). However it is easier to use free Shortcut Cleaner from BleepingComputer. Download it here – its FREE:

Download Shortcut Cleaner

Final tips

Be careful surfing the internet and downloading software, as programs like MindSpark Toolbar may become a real headache as they are hard to remove and break your privacy. To keep safe from such threats we recommend you always use antivirus and one of anti-malware programs available on the market. One of the best anti-spyware and anti-malware programs is SpyHunter 5. It can protect your PC from threats, like MindSpark Toolbar.