Do you know what MapsGalaxy Toolbar is?
MapsGalaxy Toolbar is a browser extension that is compatible with Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox browsers. This toolbar is supposed to help you get maps, driving directions and world clocks from various sources. It has such shortcuts as Map Links, Traffic, Yellow Pages and even Facebook. Nevertheless, MapsGalaxy Toolbar is considered to be a potentially unwanted program due to its association with Ask.com, and other security risks. If you have this toolbar on your computer, you are highly recommended to remove MapsGalaxy Toolbar from your system right now.
It is very easy to see where MapsGalaxy Toolbar comes from. The toolbar is developed by Mindspark Interactive Network. As such, it is related to other similar browser plugins, for example, RadioRage Toolbar, Zwinky Toolbar, InboxAce Toolbar and others. All of these toolbars are created by the same developer and they can be downloaded at both – official websites and third party websites. The official website for MapsGalaxy Toolbar is mapsgalaxytoolbar.com. There you can see that the website boasts of Norton Secured badge powered by VeriSign, but unfortunately that does not ensure the security of this toolbar.
MapsGalaxy Toolbar screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
It is true that MapsGalaxy Toolbar is not a malicious infection, and the toolbar itself cannot cause you any harm. However, if you install the full setup for this plugin, you will see that your default home page is set to home.tb.ask.com, and your search engine is changed to search.tb.ask.com. Although Ask.com used to be a legitimate search engine, the company abandoned the search engine business back in 2010, so it is highly questionable, whether the search engine that comes with MapsGalaxy Toolbar is a legitimate one.
Either way, even if MapsGalaxy Toolbar should help you get around places, the functionality of the plugin is questionable, and the fact that it could be used by third parties to generate and display various commercial ads does not make it an attractive add-on. The commercial ads can seriously jeopardize your system security, as they may contain corrupted links from malevolent third parties that exploit MapsGalaxy Toolbar as a vehicle in a malware distribution scheme.
It is not a definite outcome of the MapsGalaxy Toolbar installation, but if you wish to avoid it, follow the instructions below to uninstall the plugin via Control Panel.
How to remove MapsGalaxy Toolbar
Windows 8
- Move mouse cursor to the bottom right of the screen.
- When Charms bar appears, click Settings and go to Control Panel.
- Click Uninstall a program and remove MapsGalaxy Firefox Toolbar & MapsGalaxy Internet Explorer Toolbar.
Windows Vista & Windows 7
- Open Start menu and click Control Panel.
- Go to Uninstall a program and remove MapsGalaxy Firefox Toolbar & MapsGalaxy Internet Explorer Toolbar.
Windows XP
- Open Start menu and go to Control Panel.
- Select Add or remove programs and uninstall MapsGalaxy Firefox Toolbar & MapsGalaxy Internet Explorer Toolbar.
Remove Ask Search from your browser
Internet Explorer
- Press Alt+X and click Internet Options.
- Click Use Default under General tab and click OK.
- Press Alt+X and click Manage add-ons.
- Click Search Providers on the left pane.
- Set a new default search engine and remove Ask Search.
Mozilla Firefox
- Click Firefox button and click Options.
- Press Restore to Default button under General tab and click OK.
- Click the search engine icon on the left of Firefox search box.
- Select Manage search engines from the drop-down menu.
- Remove Ask Search from the list and click OK.
With that having been taken care of, you should scan your computer with SpyHunter free scanner as well, as this way you will be able to determine whether there are any other potentially unwanted programs installed on your PC. Invest in a computer security application if need be.
In non-techie terms:
MapsGalaxy Toolbar is a browser extension that officially is supposed to function as an interactive GPS through your browser. However, this plugin may prove to be risky, so you are advised to remove MapsGalaxy Toolbar as soon as you can.
Aliases: MapsGalaxyToolbar.