Remove Tuvaro Toolbar and Tuvaro Search (Removal Guide)

Tuvaro is a browser hijacker, which is promoted via other free downloads, and once installed it will add the Tuvaro Toolbar and change your browser homepage and default search engine to tuvaro.com.

This in itself is not considered malicious as there are many legitimate programs that change these settings as well. What is considered malicious, though, is that it will also append the argument http://tuvaro.com/ to random Windows shortcuts on your desktop and your Windows Start Menu.

The Tuvaro.com homepage will display advertisements and sponsored links in your search results, and may collect search terms from your search queries. The Tuvaro.com hijack is used to boost advertising revenue, as in the use of blackhat SEO, to inflate a site’s page ranking in search results.

The Tuvaro homepage 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.
Tuvaro 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.

Tuvaro 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 “Youtube Downloader HD”, you will also agree to install the Tuvaro Toolbar and change your browser homepage and default search engine to tuvaro.com.
However when you uninstall “Youtube Downloader HD” from your computer, your web browser’s default settings will not be restored. This means that you’ll have to remove Tuvaro Toolbar and Tuvaro Search 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 Tuvaro 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.

How to remove Tuvaro Toolbar and Tuvaro Search(Virus Removal Guide)

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove Tuvaro 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: Uninstall Tuvaro from Windows
STEP 2: Remove Tuvaro redirect from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome
STEP 3: Remove Tuvaro adawre with AdwCleaner
STEP 4: Remove Tuvaro browser hijacker with Junkware Removal Tool
STEP 5: Remove Tuvaro virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
STEP 6: Double-check for the Tuvaro infection with HitmanPro

STEP 1 : Uninstall Tuvaro from Windows

In this first step, we will try to identify and remove any malicious program that might be installed on your computer.

1. To uninstall a program from Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, click the “Start” button, then click on the “Control Panel” menu option.
   
   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.
   
2. When the “Control Panel” window opens click on the “Uninstall a program” option under “Programs” category. This option is shown by the arrow in the image below. If you are using the “Classic View” of the Control Panel, then you would double-click on the “Programs and Features” icon instead.
   
3. When the “Programs and Features” or the “Uninstall a Program” screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and uninstall Tuvaro, Search Module, Search Protection, and any other recently installed unknown program from your computer.To view the most recently installed programs, you can click on the “Installed On” column to sort your programs by the installation date. Scroll through the list, and uninstall any unwanted or unknown programs.
   
   If you cannot find any unwanted or unknown programs on your machine, then you can proceed with the next step.

If you are having issues while trying to uninstall the Tuvaro program, you can use Revo Uninstaller to completely remove this unwanted program from your machine.

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STEP 2: Remove Tuvaro redirect from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome

Remove Tuvaro virus from Internet Explorer

You can reset Internet Explorer settings to return them to the state they were in when Internet Explorer was first installed on your PC.

1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the “gear icon”  in the upper right part of your browser, 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, select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click on “Reset” button.
   
4. When Internet Explorer has completed its task, click on the “Close” button in the confirmation dialogue box. You will now  need to close your browser, and then you can open Internet Explorer again.
   

Remove Tuvaro virus from Mozilla Firefox

If you’re having problems with Firefox, resetting it can help. The reset feature fixes many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill information, browsing history and open tabs.

1. In the upper-right corner of the Firefox window, click the Firefox menu button (), then click on the “Help” () button.
   
2. From the Help menu, choose Troubleshooting Information.
   If you’re unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting information page.
   
3. Click the “Reset Firefox” button in the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page.
   
4. To continue, click on the “Reset Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
   
5. Firefox will close itself and will revert to its default settings. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click on the “Finish“.

Note: Your old Firefox profile will be placed on your desktop in a folder named “Old Firefox Data“. If the reset didn’t fix your problem you can restore some of the information not saved by copying files to the new profile that was created. If you don’t need this folder any longer, you should delete it as it contains sensitive information.

Remove Tuvaro virus from Google Chrome

1. Click on Chrome’s main menu button, represented by three horizontal lines () .When the drop-down menu appears, select the option labeled Settings.
   
2. Chrome’s Settings should now be displayed in a new tab or window, depending on your configuration. Next, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Show advanced settings link (as seen in the below example).
   
3. Chrome’s advanced Settings should now be displayed. Scroll down until the Reset browser settings section is visible, as shown in the example below. Next, click on the Reset browser settings button.
   
4. A confirmation dialog should now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue on with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, click on the Reset button.
   

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STEP 3: Remove Tuvaro adware with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer and web browser for the “Tuvaro” malicious files, browser extensions and registry keys, that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.

1. You can download AdwCleaner utility from the below link.
   ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download AdwCleaner)
2. Before starting AdwCleaner, close all open programs and internet browsers, then double-click on the 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.
   
   AdwCleaner will now start to search for the “Tuvaro” malicious files that may be installed on your computer.
4. To remove the “Tuvaro” malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the “Clean” button.
   
5. AdwCleaner will now prompt you to save any open files or documents, as the program will need to reboot the computer. Please do so and then click on the OK button.
   

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STEP 4: Remove Tuvaro browser hijacker with Junkware Removal Tool

Junkware Removal Tool is a powerful utility, which will remove Tuvaro browser extensions from Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome, and will double-check for any other compromised Windows shortcuts.

1. You can download the Junkware Removal Tool utility from the below link:
   JUNKWARE REMOVAL TOOL DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download the Junkware Removal Tool utility on your computer)
2. Once Junkware Removal Tool has finished downloading, please double-click on the JRT.exe icon as seen below.
   
   If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run Junkware Removal Tool, please allow it to run.
3. Junkware Removal Tool will now start, and at the Command Prompt, you’ll need to press any key to perform a scan for the Tuvaro virus.
   
   Please be patient as this can take a while to complete (up to 10 minutes) depending on your system’s specifications.
4. When the scan Junkware Removal Tool will be completed, this utility will display a log with the malicious files and registry keys that were removed from your computer.
   

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STEP 5: Remove Tuvaro virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free uses industry-leading technology to detect and remove all traces of malware, including worms, Trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware, and more.
It is important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware works well and should run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

1. You can download download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from the below link.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
2. Once downloaded, close all programs, then double-click on the icon on your desktop named “mbam-setup-consumer-2.00.xx” to start the installation of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
   
   You may be presented with a User Account Control dialog asking you if you want to run this file. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
3. When the installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
   
   To install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
   
4. Once installed, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program, and that a scan has never been run on your system. To start a system scan you can click on the “Fix Now” button.
   
   Alternatively, you can click on the “Scan” tab and select “Threat Scan“, then click on the “Scan Now” button.
   
5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now check for updates, and if there are any, you will need to click on the “Update Now” button.
   
6. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for the Tuvaro virus. When Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is scanning it will look like the image below.
   
7. When the scan has completed, you will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes Anti-malware has found, click on the “Quarantine All” button, and then click on the “Apply Now” button.
   
   Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
8. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. When removing the files, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot your computer, please allow it to do so.
   
   After your computer will restart, you should open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform another “Threat Scan” scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

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STEP 6: Double check for the Tuvaro 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.). HitmanPro is designed to work alongside existing security programs without any conflicts. It scans the computer quickly (less than 5 minutes) and does not slow down the computer.

1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)
2. Double-click on the file named “HitmanPro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “HitmanPro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows). When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below.
   
   Click on the “Next” button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.
   
3. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for Tuvaro malicious files.
   
4. When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the “Next” button, to remove Tuvaro malware.
   
5. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

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