MapsEasy Toolbar Removal Guide

Do you know what MapsEasy Toolbar is?

MapsEasy Toolbar was created by AVSoftware, Ltd., and it is promoted at mapseasy.net. Google Chrome users can also download this extension from the Chrome web store. Notably, if you acquire this extension for Chrome, you will be informed that it can manage your downloads, manipulate your browsing history, and even change your data on the sites you visit. These “permissions” might help you realize that this add-on is intrusive and potentially unreliable. Unfortunately, IE and Firefox users are not introduced to these permissions, and they have to rely on the official information, the Privacy Policy, or third-party research to learn more about this strange toolbar. After testing and analyzing this add-on, we recommend deleting it from your browsers. If you want to learn more, or if you are not sure how to remove MapsEasy Toolbar, continue reading this report.

Computer users are attracted by MapsEasy Toolbar because it offers free services. This program is meant to provide you with maps, deriving directions, and information about current traffic conditions. In reality, this program does not create content. Instead, it provides links to websites that, supposedly, can provide maps and other content you might expect from the toolbar. Well, this is not all. Besides providing the toolbar, this suspicious program also introduces an unfamiliar search tool and provides links to such popular services as Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, and Youtube. Because MapsEasy Toolbar modifies the startup settings by making New Tab the new homepage, some users believe that their browsers are hijacked. Safesearch.net is the search tool that is associated with this toolbar, and it redirects your search queries to Bing. Although you might be familiar with it, and you might trust it, keep in mind that the results shown to you could be modified.MapsEasy Toolbar Removal GuideMapsEasy Toolbar screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions

The Privacy Policy representing MapsEasy Toolbar reveals that this program can collect information regarding your activity. Furthermore, it can share this information with merchant partners and other undisclosed parties. It is true that most virtual services rely on tracking cookies to manage content and make it more attractive or useful, but you also need to consider the possibility of having this information used to scam you. Although it is most likely that the creator of this toolbar earns money by showing sponsored links in the search results and promoting third-party services, information about you could also be sold by potentially malicious parties. In that case, you could be exposed to malware or scams in a very clandestine manner. Hopefully, you will not encounter such activity; however, our research team has seen unpredictable programs leaking information left and right, and you have to beware of that.

There is a possibility that other threats are active on your PC, and, after you delete MapsEasy Toolbar, we suggest running a malware scanner to check if your operating system is clean. This step will also help you inspect for any leftovers of the toolbar. Because it was found traveling in bundles, you need to be very cautious about the other unfamiliar programs active on your PC. The removal of this toolbar is not the easiest of tasks. If you have installed it onto Chrome, you might be able to erase the extension without having to deal with any leftovers; however, if you use other browsers, you might have to eliminate quite a few components. We have created a guide that will help you erase all files associated with this infection. If you are not sure about the steps shown, please start a discussion below.

Remove MapsEasy Toolbar

  1. Launch Explorer (tap Win+E keys together and the Explorer window will appear).
  2. Enter %PROGRAMFILES(X86)% into the address bar and Delete the MapsEasy (if you cannot find this directory or the folder in it, check the %PROGRAMFILES% directory).
  3. Right-click and Delete the dhbfhdlbkkndcdocnoejneopgjkkodnf folder. It can be found here:
    • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\[Default/Profile]\Extensions\ or
    • %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\[Default/Profile]\Extensions\
  4. Enter %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ into the address bar.
  5. Open the folder with a random name and move to the Extensions folder.
  6. Right-click and Delete the general@mapseasy.net.xpi file.
  7. Launch RUN (Win+R), enter regedit.exe, and click OK.
  8. Go to HKCU\Software\Classes\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\.
  9. Right-click and Delete the {BA1BE292-1D15-488B-934D-008742212380} key.
  10. Go to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\.
  11. Right-click the MapsEasy_is1 key and select Delete.
  12. Click Edit (on the Registry Editor menu at the top), select Find, and find and Delete these keys:
    • {11CCE223-0E45-3AB9-AB7F-8A8D693CEA02}
    • {49E9AAF0-23E7-30B3-85EE-270655B59057}
    • {671199D0-0908-44FC-ACF0-D81259121714}
    • {F76345FC-C743-4584-83BB-D43075D0F982}
  13. Finally, right-click and Delete keys representing the toolbar (e.g., MapsEasy.MapsEasy, MapsEasy.MyIEModule1, MapsEasy.MyIEModule1+IECustomCommands, MapsEasy.MyIEModule1+IECustomContextMenuCommands) here:
    • HKCR
    • HKCR\Wow6432Node
    • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432\Classes
    • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes

In non-techie terms:

Although MapsEasy Toolbar looks like a genuine and helpful program, it is not that great. First of all, this extension provides links to third-party sites, but it does not provide original content, which makes it useless. Second, it can track your activity and record your browsing history to assist unknown parties, including advertisers and vendors. On top of that, it introduces you to a suspicious search tool that, according to our research, redirects to Bing. If you understand that it is important to delete this toolbar from your browsers and PC, use the instructions provided above. Also, do not forget to use the comments section below if you need to ask any questions.