Must be a way to stop toolbars from installing

First, check the Startup folders in Windows If there is a shortcut for a specific program in this folder, then that program will automatically start when the computer is started. Open File Explorer. Click the View Tab. In the Startup folder, look for the HP Toolbar shortcut. Delete this shortcut. Right Click the Taskbar and select Task Manager. Look for the name of the program there. If found, Right Click the Program and select the Disable option. The question I was seeking to answer is how to remove an unwanted toolbar from my taskbar.

In theory, I can right click on the taskbar, to bring up the taskbar properties menu, select "toolbars" from that menu, and display a sub-menu showing all available toolbars. I can then click each to put a tick or, in American "check mark" by each. Only those which have a tick by their name will display. That's the theory. However, in the case of the "HP Support Assistant Quick Access" toolbar, removing the tick does indeed remove the HP toolbar, but it re-appears whenever the computer is re-booted or re-started.

As it is a laptop, I switch it off and on all the time. What I was looking for was the way to actually customise my computer in the way that I want it customised, not the way HP wants it customised. Microsoft is simply pretending to put control in the hands of the user, while letting any old software take control.

It would be nice if Microsoft could let me know what other controls on my computer don't actually do anything. I'm used to lifts "elevators" having door control buttons that don't control the doors, but software controls that don't do anything is more irritating. Threats include any threat of suicide, violence, or harm to another. Any content of an adult theme or inappropriate to a community web site.

Any image, link, or discussion of nudity. Any behavior that is insulting, rude, vulgar, desecrating, or showing disrespect. Any behavior that appears to violate End user license agreements, including providing product keys or links to pirated software. Unsolicited bulk mail or bulk advertising. Any link to or advocacy of virus, spyware, malware, or phishing sites.

Any other inappropriate content or behavior as defined by the Terms of Use or Code of Conduct. Any image, link, or discussion related to child pornography, child nudity, or other child abuse or exploitation. Details required : characters remaining Cancel Submit 5 people found this reply helpful. Paul was clever to find the registry entry and.

At my last software development shop, I was one of the developers in charge of our flagship product's installation process with InstallShield. Although not a UX practitioner yet, I wanted to make various UX improvements like getting rid of the install process's repeating progress bars. I was told that that was just how InstallShield works. Our team was to focus on working on our company's product - only. And to some extent, that is a smart business decision.

Seth Godin recently wrote ,. When it comes down to the thing you will be known for, your uniqueness, your gift, your thing worth talking about--don't steal that. Writers shouldn't steal words from other writers, and chemists have no need to steal the research of other chemists. Sure, go ahead and invent. The other piece of my answer deals with something Serhiy's comment touched on: tech laggards , those who say, "We've always done it this way", with respect to their tools.

According to diffusion of innovations , late majority and laggard users display skepticism and lack of opinion leadership; laggards tend to be the oldest users, "in contact with only family and close friends". If you've experienced an older family member asking you for help getting rid of a browser toolbar on an old browser, you have interacted with a laggard.

One way to keep laggards from falling too far behind is automatic software updates, such as those pushed out by Google Chrome when the browser is restarted.

But keep in mind: automatic updates only recently started to become more common. Many software upgrades are still manual, whether operating systems e. Windows 8 or new releases of software. Upgrading could have a financial cost or just a time cost or interaction cost e. People need to be sold on it, especially if they do the upgrade themselves. Otherwise, they'll look for ways to go back to the user experience that gave them what they wanted and a good state of flow hence why we see articles on downgrading iOS.

So, if a laggard can't be sold on a software upgrade or a new tool, they stand to fall victim to the same vulnerabilities of the old tool - often without the safety net of the old tool's vendor see end of support for Windows XP. These users, as Serhiy pointed out, are the prime target audience of malware such as malware being embedded in toolbars.

The malware developer holds a huge advantage over most of these laggards in terms of how well he or she understands the technology involved. This brings me to another word in your question: "still".

In the New York Times article I linked earlier in this answer, the laggard being interviewed was only 56 years old. Laggards are stereotyped as retirees who are going to die within the next few years. But laggards and late majority people are very much still around, even in workplaces. Some laggards haven't even retired yet.

They have decades of life and computer use left, which in theory means that malware developers will have decades left to exploit them. I can think of one computer security presentation at one of my previous workplaces where they showed a screenshot of someone with around 15 browser toolbars on their screen, and I think it belonged to a co-worker down the hall who was having trouble with their computer. This workplace required all of its employees to use only IE. I think IE was on version 8 or 9 at the time.

These are getting really annoying as they interfere with other applications. Can this be done centrally via Group Policy? If so how do I go about it? Any help appreciated in idiot mode ops Re: How do I prevent users installing toolbars? For me, it has to be the latter - as we have some software which requires local admin rights for it to run. Irritating, but I put up with it.

Our LEA broadband filters allow them to be installed but not uninstalled. Originally Posted by localzuk. Thanks to Oakie from: eejit 31st January