Remove search.creativetoolbars.com hijack (Removal Guide)

CreativeToolbars is a browser hijacker, which is promoted via other free downloads, and once installed it will add the SmartBar toolbar, and change your browser homepage and default search engine to http://search.creativetoolbars.com/
search.creativetoolbars.com will display advertisements and sponsored links in your search results, and may collect search terms from your search queries.

Creativetoolbars Search 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 change your default browser homepage and search engine to search.creativetoolbars.com
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 search.creativetoolbars.com from your favorite web browser manually.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this Creativetoolbars Search. 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.

Creativetoolbars Search – Virus Removal Instructions

STEP 1 : Uninstall Creativetoolbars program from your computer

Creativetoolbars Search by Bechiro S.L is installed on users computer with other free programs like video recording/streaming, download-managers or PDF creators, therefore we will need to uninstall SmartBar Toolbar on IE and Chrome from your computer.

1. To uninstall search.creativetoolbars.com program from your computer, click the Start button, then select Control Panel, and click on Uninstall a program.
   If you are using Windows 8, simply drag your mouse pointer to the right edge of the screen, select Search from the list and search for “control panel“. Or you can right-click on a bottom left hot corner (formerly known as the Start button) and select Control Panel from there, then select Uninstall a program.
   
2. When the Add/Remove Programs or the Uninstall a Program screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and remove SmartBar Toolbar on IE and Chrome from your computer.
   

STEP 2 : Remove the Creativetoolbars Search residual damage from your browser

Creativetoolbars Search has installed a browser extension (SmartBar Toolbar), and has changed your homepage and default search engine to search.creativetoolbars.com.

Remove search.creativetoolbars.com from Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the gear icon  (Tools for Windows XP users) at the top (far right), then click again on Internet Options.
   
2. In the Internet Options dialog box, click on the Advanced tab, then click on the Reset button.
   
3. In the Reset Internet Explorer settings section, check the Delete personal settings box, then click on Reset.
   
4. When Internet Explorer finishes resetting, click Close in the confirmation dialogue box and then click OK.
5. Close and open Internet Explorer.

Remove search.creativetoolbars.com from Mozilla Firefox

1. At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help sub-menu (on Windows XP, click the Help menu at the top of the Firefox window), and select Troubleshooting Information.
   
2. Click the Reset Firefox button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.
   
3. To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.
4. Firefox will close and be reset. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish

Remove search.creativetoolbars.com from Google Chrome

1. Remove CreativeToolbars extensions from Google Chrome.
   Click the Chrome menu   button on the browser toolbar, select Tools and then click on Extensions.
   
   In the Extensions tab, remove (by clicking on the Recycle Bin) the SmartBar Chrome Toolbar extension from Google Chrome.
   
   NOTE: Creativetoolbars Search may have added additional extensions which you will need to remove. We recommend that you remove any unwanted or unknown extensions from Google Chrome.
2. Set Google Chrome default search engine from search.creativetoolbars.com to Google.
   Click the Chrome menu   button, then select Settings and click on Manage search engines in the Search section.
   In the Search Engines dialog that appears, select Google and click the Make Default button that appears in the row.
   
   Search for Creativetoolbars Search in the Search Engines list, and click the X button that appears at the end of the row.
   
3. Change Google Chrome homepage from search.creativetoolbars.com to its default.
   Creativetoolbars Search has modified your Google settings to open their webpage whenever you start your browser, so we will need to revert this change.
   Click the Chrome menu   button, then select Settings and click on One the New Tab page in the On Startup section.
   

STEP 3: Remove Creativetoolbars Search registry keys with AdwCleaner.

1. You can download AdwCleaner from the below link.
   ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download AdwCleaner on your computer)
2. Before starting this utility, close all open programs and internet browsers.
3. Double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
4. Click on Delete, then confirm each time with Ok.
   
5. Your computer will be rebooted automatically. A text file will open after the restart.
6. NEXT, double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
7. Click on Uninstall, then confirm with yes to remove this utility from your computer.

STEP 4: Run a computer scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link, then double click on it to install this program.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
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, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware checked, then click on the Finish button.
   
3. On the Scanner tab, select Perform quick scan and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer.
   
4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer as shown below.
   
5. When the Malwarebytes scan will be completed, click on Show Result.
   
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.
   

STEP 5: Run a computer scan with HitmanPro

1. Download HitmanPro from the below link, then double click on it to start this program.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)
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.
   
3. HitmanPro will start scanning your computer for malware, as seen in the image below.
   
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.
   
5. Click Activate free license to start the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Creativetoolbars Search from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.