Do you know what FreeManualsIndex Toolbar is?
This application is a new addition to a big group of potentially unwanted programs. We have covered multiple programs from this family before, and it seems that little by little this family is making a comeback. FreeManualsIndex Toolbar might not be your worst nightmare, but we think that it is not a good idea to keep this application. All the more so, if you did not intend to have it in the first place. In this description, you will find manual removal instructions that will help you remove FreeManualsIndex Toolbar from your computer for good.
Perhaps you have encountered similar applications before, but you were not aware of that. FreeManualsIndex Toolbar is similar to EasyWeatherAlert Toolbar, MyScrapNook Toolbar, TotalRecipeSearch toolbar, and many other applications that also come from the same developers. As you can probably see from their names, each toolbar seems to offer a particular function that makes it useful and unique. However, when we take off that function, all the Mindspark toolbars are practically the same. And the question is whether these functions are useful in the first place. For the most part, it is possible to get the same results if you use a search engine properly.
This toolbar is rather ambiguous because it cannot be classified as a computer infection, and yet, most of the time, users are not satisfied with it. Since the application has an official website, and you can download the toolbar from free.freemanualsindex.com, the program is more than just borderline legal. The same feature could be applied to most of the toolbars from the Mindspark family. All of them had official websites that promoted and distributed them. You can even read about what this application does if you take a closer look at the promotional taglines on the site.
FreeManualsIndex Toolbar screenshot
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For instance, it says that FreeManualsIndex can help you “quickly find FREE manuals from your Homepage & New Tab.” In a sense, if you often use various user manuals, this toolbar should help you find them automatically, performing for you the web search in the background. On the other hand, it does not mean that your browser does not go through the web search process either way. It is just that you cannot see it because it is shielded by the toolbar. What’s more, this toolbar could make your browser process things slower than the usual, and then you would definitely notice that some of the things are not as smooth as before.
Of course, that is only if you download and install this application willingly. But what if it comes without your permission? What if FreeManualsIndex Toolbar arrives in a software bundle that you downloaded accidentally? For instance, you might have wanted to have some application that helps you cut and edit videos. And if you downloaded that program from a third-party source, it is very likely that FreeManualsIndex Toolbar and other similar apps could have arrived at your system unawares. And once they did, they modified your browser’s settings, adding the toolbar and changing your homepage.
In a sense, these modifications are more annoying than dangerous, but you should also remember that such applications often display third-party content. FreeManualsIndex Toolbar might also promote commercial content that it does not review. What’s more, that content could be related to your likes and preferences because there is a good chance that this program monitors your online activity and it can target the content to match your most recent keywords. This might make the content attractive to you, but computer security experts strongly discourage users from clicking anything like that.
For one, you would help FreeManualsIndex Toolbar boost user traffic on a third-party website, thus generating money for the application. Second, there is no saying where you would land because the toolbar is not responsible for the third-party content security. And finally, sometimes these programs are also exploited by cyber criminals for their own malevolent purposes. Hence, it is never a good idea to ignore such uninvited guests.
Please remove FreeManualsIndex Toolbar from your system, and then check if you have more unwanted apps on-board. If you do, get yourself a licensed antispyware tool that will help you terminate all the potential threats at once.
How to Remove FreeManualsIndex Toolbar
Chrome
- Press Win+R and type %LocalAppData%. Click OK.
- Go to Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions.
- Delete the ofikjbmmddegbnopggcggbhaolmbhifg folder.
- Go back to Default and open Local Extension Settings.
- Remove the ofikjbmmddegbnopggcggbhaolmbhifg folder.
- Go back to Default and double-click Sync Extension Settings.
- Delete the ofikjbmmddegbnopggcggbhaolmbhifg folder.
Firefox
- Press Win+R and enter %AppData%. Click OK.
- Go to Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[User Profile]\extensions.
- Delete the _j6Members_@www.freemanualsindex.com file.
Internet Explorer
- Press Win+R and type Control Panel. Click OK.
- Go to Uninstall a program and remove FreeManualsIndex Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab.
In non-techie terms:
FreeManualsIndex Toolbar does not look like a serious computer security threat, but it does not spell anything good, especially if you did not want to install this application. Please remove FreeManualsIndex Toolbar from your computer following the instructions above. If you do not feel that you can do it on your own, you can get rid of this application and other potential threats by using an automated security tool. For more information, please feel free to leave us a comment.