Desktop Bar Ads

What is Desktop Bar?

According to the developers, Desktop Bar allows users to access various websites and search the Internet directly from their desktops - "Desktop Bar is an advanced desktop window based docking station, designed to optimize user performances by giving you access to your favourite sites, applications and news feeds.".

Some users may believe this app is legitimate and useful, however, Desktop Bar is categorized as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and adware. After stealthily infiltrating the system, it displays intrusive online advertisements and monitors Internet browsing activity.

Desktop Bar generates a variety of advertisements that do not originate from the visited websites. To achieve this, Desktop Bar employs a virtual layer, which enables placement of any third party graphical content on visited sites. Although most of the displayed advertisements redirect to various e-commerce websites, some may lead to infectious sites.

There is a high probability that clicking Desktop Bar ads will cause high-risk adware or malware infections. Furthermore, this app gathers various Internet browsing-related data including IP addresses, websites visited, pages viewed, search queries entered into search engines, and other similar information.

This information may seem insignificant, however, it might contain personally identifiable details that are later shared with third parties. Thus, having Desktop Bar installed on your system could lead to various privacy issues or even identity theft. We strongly recommend that you uninstall this adware immediately.

There are many PUPs (for example, Rapid Media Converter, ZiperFly, and YellowSend) with similar characteristics to Desktop Bar. In fact, adware-type applications are in general virtually identical. All claim to enhance the Internet browsing experience by providing various 'useful' features, however, none deliver any real value for the user.

Desktop Bar, and other similar apps, are developed to generate revenue by displaying advertisements (via the 'Pay Per Click' - PPC - advertising model) and collecting personal data (which is later sold to third party companies).

How did Desktop Bar install on my computer?

This application is free for anyone to download on its official website, however, many users install Desktop Bar inadvertently without their consent. The developers employ a deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling' (stealth installation of third party applications with regular software/apps) to stealthily install Desktop Bar without users' permission.

Research shows that many users do not express enough caution during the download and installation processes.

Therefore, concealing bogus apps within 'Custom' or 'Advanced' settings is a very effective method employed by developers. By skipping this section, users often install rogue applications such as Desktop Bar inadvertently, thereby exposing their systems to risk of further infections.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Installation of rogue apps can be prevented by closely analyzing the download and installation processes. Observe each step and opt-out of all third party programs listed for installation. Furthermore, most rogue apps are hidden within the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' settings section - never skip this section, otherwise you will not be able to cancel any bundled apps.

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Quick menu:

• What is Desktop Bar?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Desktop Bar application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove Desktop Bar adware from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Desktop Bar ads from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove 'Ads by Desktop Bar' from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove Desktop Bar ads from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Desktop Bar adware removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window, look for "Desktop Bar", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted program that causes Desktop Bar ads, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove Desktop Bar adware from Internet browsers:

At time of research, Desktop Bar did not install its browser plug-ins on Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox, however, it was bundled with other adware. Therefore, you are advised to remove all potentially unwanted browser add-ons from your Internet browsers.

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious browser extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the desktop bar adware, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, select these entries and click the trash can icon.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the desktop bar adware, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click "Extensions", in the opened window, remove all recently-installed suspicious browser plug-ins.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with desktop bar adware removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the desktop bar adware, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

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