Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google

Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google is a Potentially Unwanted Program that may modify your Web-browsing settings to promote specific search resources or advertisements. Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google's individual variants sometimes are associated with the presence of threats, but also may be installed by being bundled with installers for other, reputable applications. Appropriately in-depth scans by your PC security products should allow you to uninstall Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google and any other threats that might have been responsible for its presence.

A Tool 'Fixing' Your Browser Automatically

Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google is a general family of PUPs that make changes to your browser, typically to hijack your searches or inject advertising content. Most variants of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google toolbars show symptoms of browser hijackings, such as redirecting their users to random websites during Web searches. By themselves, members of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google, such as Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google.C or Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google.D, pose only minor security risks for your PC.

Despite that classification, malware analysts also have seen recurring reports of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google incidents throughout 2014 that may involve other PC threats, including threatening software. While they have yet to confirm the identities of all related threats, Trojans and other threats installed with Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google, or installing Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google, may show symptoms inclusive of the following side effects:

• You may see poor system performance and unusually high resource expenditures. These symptoms may correlate with the presence of Bitcoin miners or advertisement-clicker Trojans.
• Your PC security products, including popular brands of anti-virus software, may become unstable or terminate themselves automatically.

Some Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google incidents also involve the installation of multiple versions of this PUP, which launch automatically and may be identified by examining all open memory processes. Typically, the above symptoms, along with the installation of unwanted software like Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google, tends to correspond with attacks by multifaceted Trojans, including families that feature backdoor or spyware attacks.

Taking Down a Toolbar that Helps Take Your Security Out

Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google may expose you to unsafe advertisements and various browser-based attacks, but isn't meant for attacking your PC directly. Some individual detections of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google may be safe for your browser, but malware analysts always suggest deleting Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google, when you have any doubts about its legitimacy. This recommendation especially should be heeded for circumstances where Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google places itself on your PC automatically – as is typical of this PUP throughout early and mid-2014.

Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google sometimes installs itself with the help from threats that may interfere with the same security solutions useful for removing Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google. Whenever external interference prevents your anti-malware tools from completing their scans, you should reboot in Safe Mode by holding F8 before Windows launches. If Safe Mode is insufficient for disabling these other threats, you should consider other anti-malware solutions, such as rebooting from a separate USB drive.

Despite the above warnings, Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google may be encountered in installation bundles with other products. Scanning suspicious installers before launching them, and being careful to deselect unwanted toolbar options, can provide the simplest protection against PUPs like Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Google.