Do you know what Access is?
Access is a browser extension that promises more search results on the Google search engine. However, while more search results could give you more choices, it is also possible that they could make it more difficult to find what you want. Also, our computer security specialists say that the add-on’s search tool could display sponsored content, which might mean that its displayed search results could have more advertisements from third parties. Since ads could disturb your browsing and some of them might be unreliable, the application was categorized as a potentially unwanted program. If you do not want to keep programs that belong to this category or you simply do not like the extension, you could erase Access while following our removal guide available at the end of this article. On the other hand, if you have not yet decided what to do, you could read our full report first.
Adding a browser extension can take only a moment. If you do not recall how you received Access, we can tell you about the ways this application could be spread. Some time ago it was available on the Chrome Web Store page, which means it could have been downloaded from the mentioned platform. Now that it is no longer there, we believe the add-on could still be spread through channels that are often used by those who distribute potentially unwanted programs. To be more precise, those channels are various file-sharing websites and advertisements. Therefore, we advise not to accept tools offered on questionable pop-ups or ads alike and stay away from file-sharing web pages that distribute unknown freeware, pirated programs, torrents, etc. Also, it is crucial to find all that you can about a tool before installing it so you could be entirely sure that it will not be disappointing or malicious.
Next, we ought to talk about how Access works. Our researchers say that the application works only on Google Chrome and that it might encourage users to search via a modified Google search engine. A modified search engine might allow the potentially unwanted program place additional ads from its third-party partners. Thus, if you search with this add-on’s presented modified search tool, you might get more advertising content than what you would get if you were using the original google.com. Users who enjoy third-party ads could be happy that they might be seeing more of such content with Access, but users who hate sponsored content might find the tool to be annoying. However, whether you like or hate third-party ads, we would advise being careful with the ones that this potentially unwanted program might show as there is not knowing where they could come from or if they could be trusted.
If you decide that you do not need more search results or more sponsored content in your search results, you could delete Access and go back to using the original google.com or any other reputable search engine. To erase the potentially unwanted program manually, you should go to your browser’s extensions menu. If you do not know how to access it, we encourage you to use the removal guide available below. You should also be able to delete Access with a reputable antimalware tool of your choice.
Erase Access
- Open Google Chrome.
- Insert chrome://extensions into the address bar and press Enter.
- Search for Access and click Remove.
- If needed, confirm you wish to Remove it.
- Close your browser.
In non-techie terms:
Access falls under the classification of potentially unwanted programs, which signals that it may have undesirable qualities. Our researchers say that the add-on might show advertisements from various third parties that might not be reliable. Plus, such sponsored content could be used to make it look like the extension provides more search results. In any case, it seems to us that when searching something on the Internet what matters the most is not how many search results you get, but how useful are the ones that you receive. It is likely that some users might enjoy third-party ads, but if you find them irritating, we recommend using the original Google search engine to avoid ads injected by the potentially unwanted program. To delete Access, you could use our removal guide that is available a bit above this paragraph, The other way to eliminate the unwanted add-on is to use a reputable antimalware tool that could erase it for you.