Removal guide Adware

Remove “Live TV” toolbar (Virus Removal Guide)

By Stelian5 min read

Live TV toolbar is a browser hijacker, which is promoted via other free downloads, and once installed it will add the Live TV toolbar.
[Image: Live TV toolbar virus]
Live TV toolbar will display advertisements and sponsored links in your search results, and may collect search terms from your search queries. The Live TV toolbar hijack is used to boost advertising revenue, as in the use of blackhat SEO, to inflate a site’s page ranking in search results.

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Live TV toolbar it’s technically not a virus, but it does exhibit plenty of malicious traits, such as rootkit capabilities to hook deep into the operating system, browser hijacking, and in general just interfering with the user experience. The industry generally refers to it as a “PUP,” or potentially unwanted program.
Live TV toolbar is an ad-supported (users may see additional banner, search, pop-up, pop-under, interstitial and in-text link advertisements) cross web browser plugin for Internet Explorer (BHO) and Firefox/Chrome (plugin) and distributed through various monetization platforms during installation. The browser extension includes various features that will modify the default or custom settings of the browser including the home page, search settings and in some cases will modify Internet Explorer’s load time threshold, place a lock file within Firefox to prevent competing software from changing its settings as well as disable the browser’s Content Security Policy in order to allow for cross site scripting of the plugin.

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Live TV toolbar got on your computer after you have installed a freeware software (video recording/streaming, download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this browser hijacker.
For example, when you install VPlay, you will also agree to install the Sweetpacks toolbar.
However when you uninstall VPlay from your computer, your web browser’s default settings will not be restored. This means that you’ll have to remove Live TV toolbar from your favorite web browser manually.

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You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this Live TV toolbar browser hijacker. Be very careful what you agree to install.
Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.

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How to remove Live TV toolbar browser hijacker – Virus Removal Guide

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove Live TV toolbar from your Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome.
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point, STOP and ask for our assistance.
STEP 1: Remove Live TV toolbar browser hijacker from your computer with AdwCleaner
STEP 2: Remove Live TV toolbar malicious files with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
STEP 3: Double-check for the Live TV toolbar infection with HitmanPro

STEP 1: Remove Live TV toolbar browser hijacker with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer for Live TV toolbar malicious files that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.

  1. You can download AdwCleaner utility from the below link.
    Download AdwCleanerFree official download. Nothing to install.
  2. Before starting AdwCleaner, close all open programs and internet browsers, then double-click on the AdwCleaner icon.
    [Image: AdwCleaner Icon]
    If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run.
  3. When the AdwCleaner program will open, click on the Scan button as shown below.
    [Image: Adwcleaner Scan]
    AdwCleaner will now start to search for Live TV toolbar malicious files that may be installed on your computer.
  4. To remove the Live TV toolbar malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the Clean button.
    [Image: AdwCleaner removing infections]
    AdwCleaner will now prompt you to save any open files or data as the program will need to reboot the computer. Please do so and then click on the OK button.

STEP 2: Remove Live TV toolbar malicious files from your computer with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free utilizes Malwarebytes powerful technology to detect and remove all traces of malware including worms, trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware and more.

  1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link,then double click on it to install this program.
    Download MalwarebytesFree official installer. Your download starts right away.
  2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process.
    Do not make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, click on the Finish button.
    [Image: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware final installation screen]
  3. On the Scanner tab, select Perform quick scan and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer.
    [Image: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Quick Scan]
  4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer as shown below.
    [Image: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scanning for Live TV toolbar virus
  5. When the Malwarebytes scan will be completed,click on Show Result.
    [Image: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scan results]
  6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected.Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the Remove Selected button.
    [Image:Malwarebytes removing malware]

STEP 3: Double check for the Live TV toolbar infection with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner, designed to rescue your computer from malware (viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc.) that have infected your computer despite all the security measures you have taken (such as anti virus software, firewalls, etc.).

  1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link, then double click on it to start this program.
    Download HitmanProOfficial Sophos download. Free scan, free 30-day trial to remove threats.
  2. HitmanPro will start and you’ll need to follow the prompts (by clicking on the Next button) to start a system scan with this program.
    HitmanPro installation
  3. HitmanPro will start scanning your computer for malware, as seen in the image below.
    HitmanPro scanning for Live TV toolbar virus
  4. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the infected files that this utility has detected, and you’ll need to click on Next to remove these malicious files.
    HitmanPro scan results
  5. Click Activate free licenseto start the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
    HitmanPro 30 days activation button

Your computer should now be free of the Live TV toolbar infection. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Live TV toolbar hijacker from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.

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Written by

Stelian

Stelian leverages over a decade of cybersecurity expertise to lead malware analysis and removal, uncover scams, and educate people. His experience provides insightful analysis and valuable perspective.

61,116 articlesWriting since 2011
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