YourTemplateFinder Toolbar

Posted by Lisa Blanc on January 7, 2016

What is YourTemplateFinder Toolbar?

YourTemplateFinder Toolbar is nothing more than a malicious browser extension that hijacks the browser’s homepage and search provider. Thus, removing this extension is necessary to rollback the modifications it has made to your browser. Also, this toolbar’s search engine can display third-party ads of unreliable origin, so it poses a threat to your system’s security. Among other things, it can collect information about you and send it back to this bad toolbar’s developers. However, it is presented as a harmless, fun, and useful browser add-on. So we are going to uncover all of the lies surrounding this toolbar and show what it is really worth. test test test

Where does YourTemplateFinder Toolbar come from?

There is no denying that this toolbar was created by a company that specializes in the development of malicious software. Mindspark Interactive Network is the name of the company that is responsible for releasing YourTemplateFinder Toolbar. This infamous company is very good at creating toolbars similar to this one because they promise some function that is reflected in a program’s name. This particular toolbar features a link to a website that provides various templates, so that is why it was named like this. This toolbar is by no means unique as this company regularly releases similar browser extensions. Some of its more recent releases include PDFConverterHQ Toolbar, FlightSearch Toolbar, and SendFilesFree Toolbar.

Unfortunately, YourTemplateFinder Toolbar is currently being distributed with some success. Our researchers have found that it has a dedicated promotional and distribution website at Free.yourtemplatefinder.com . This site features a lot of irrelevant information about what kinds of templates tailored for different occasions it can provide. However, users rarely stumble upon this website, and if that is the case, then it is mostly due to website-based advertising. Most users get this toolbar by visiting freeware sharing sites. These kinds of websites often feature software bundles; it is no surprise that some of those bundles contain YourTemplateFinder Toolbar. Note that software bundles must give users the opportunity to opt out from installing additional software, but developers purposefully avoid explicitly showing that an installer contains additional software, because users usually want to install only that one program they thought that they have downloaded. So be sure always to select advanced installation settings and uncheck the respective checkboxes of unwanted software.

What does YourTemplateFinder Toolbar do?

As mentioned, this toolbar appears to be useful and it may be to some degree. Its main bookmark is set to redirect you to a website called Yourtemplatefinder.com. This website is, in fact, a creation of Mindspark. Our researchers did not observe any malicious activity on this website, so we can confirm that it is safe. Also, this toolbar features links to email service providers, such as Google and Yahoo. Furthermore, it features a bookmark for Facebook and a gadget that displays whether information.

However, we must not forget that Yourtemplatefinder.com comes with a search engine Home.tb.ask.com. This search engine is based on the original Ask.com search engine, and it uses it with great success. However, our researchers have found that this modified search engine might include promotional links in its search results that the original search engine does not provide. We also think that some of its promotions are unreliable as they come from unknown sources, and this can also be observed by the fact that Mindspark does not take responsibility for the legitimacy of its promoted content. Thus, you use this toolbar at your risk.

We must not also forget that this toolbar and search engine are used to collect information about you. They will use all kinds of data collection methods to obtain information. These methods may include using browser cookies, Flash cookies, web beacons, and so on. The collected information includes your Internet Protocol (IP) address, approximate geographical location, browsing history, search history, computer specifications, software installed, and so on. This information is collected for marketing and advertising purposes, and it will in no way be used to improve the already useful functions. So be sure to uninstall this program as soon as possible.

How do I remove YourTemplateFinder Toolbar?

Removing YourTemplateFinder Toolbar is pretty straightforward. First you should uninstall the program via Control Panel (it is only installed if you use Internet Explorer). Then, you have to remove it from your browser’s list of extensions. However, we must warn you that this toolbar modifies some browser files (in the case of Chrome and Firefox) and creates hundreds of registry entries (especially for Internet Explorer). So you should consider getting an antimalware scanner to delete them.