Clearing Those Junk Drive-by Pests Out of Your Web Browser
Also see Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware Software
Browser junkware can slow down your internet browsing, make your computer less secure, and even change your settings and redirect you to pages you don't want to go.
Here is some information about uninstalling browser extensions, which is a good thing to do periodically to protect your online security and privacy, and the speed and stability of your computer's performance.
Extensions are bits of code that modify your web browser to work in tandem with other computer operations, add features so you can do more things on a webpage, change the appearance or operability of a website, etc.
On the negative side, they can slow down your browser, or may share information about what you do on your computer with other parties, among other risks.
(In this discussion, I'm making no distinction between extensions, add ons and plug ins. These terms often are used interchangeably even though there are technical differences between them. Also, use of these terms varies between browsers. To a typical computer user, distinctions are not important to this discussion.)
As a general rule, if you find an extension with a name you don't recognize at all then you probably want to disable or remove it. Both options are available for most extensions in most browsers. Either Disable and Remove can be done with a single click for each extension.
You may find extensions with the names of Google Docs or Slides, or the name of your antivirus program. These may be desirable to leave alone.
However, you may find other extensions related to unknown ad block services, PDF converters, weather information, maps, driver support, or all kinds of other apps that you never knowingly tried to install. In these cases, I suggest disabling and then removing.
In Chrome you'll find the list of installed extensions by clicking the three vertical dots "more" icon in the upper right, then clicking More Tools, then Extensions.
In Firefox, click the "Menu" button in the upper right corner then the "Add-ons" button, then the puzzle piece icon on the left side of the page.
In Internet Explorer, click the gear menu at the top-right corner of the browser window then click "Manage add-ons", then "Toolbars and Extensions" under Add-on Types, then click "Show" box and select "All add-ons."
When you find an extension with a strange name, you can do a web search about it if you want more information. It's usually easy to get links to such info.
In Safari, click the "Safari" menu at the top of your desktop, then "Preferences" then the "Extensions" icon at the top of the Preferences window.
In Opera, click the "Opera" menu button in the upper left, point to "Extensions" and click "Extensions manager".
In Microsoft Edge this is not yet a concern. Edge doesn't yet support extensions. However, this may be changing soon. If and when it does, the process of identifying, disabling and removing should be comparable to the other browser cases listed.
|
|
