Hotspot Shield Toolbar Removal Guide

Hotspot Shield Toolbar is a potentially unwanted program as it can be related to various computer security threats. Although this browser plugin is not a dangerous malware infection, it could be exploited by third parties to display pop-up advertisements with malicious content, and should you click on any of these ads you could easily get infected with malware. Therefore, computer security experts strongly recommend removing Hotspot Shield Toolbar from your computer, as it is important to ensure your system’s safety and stability.

Some users think that Hotspot Shield Toolbar is a browser hijacker, because they relate their browser settings modification to the plugin. It is true, that Conduit Search is set as your default home page and search engine when you install Hotspot Shield Toolbar on your computer, but the keyword here is “install” – the extension does INFECT your system, you trigger the installation itself, so the extension cannot be considered a browser hijacker.

You may download Hotspot Shield Toolbar from its official website at hotspotshield.ourtoolbar.com or it may come bundled with freeware, but the main point remains the same – user’s intervention is necessary in order for Hotspot Shield Toolbar to get installed on a PC, so it calls for extreme cautiousness especially when you install shareware from unknown websites. You may allow a particular browser plugin to change your browser settings without even realizing, this way opening a channel for malware distribution.

That is not to say that Hotspot Shield Toolbar is always exploited by cyber criminals to infect target computers with dangerous threats. However, with Conduit Search set as your default home page, you are bound to witness various commercial ads on your screen, and third parties can easily embed their malicious content into these ads, as third party content is not subject to Hotspot Shield Toolbar’s privacy policy.

Consequently, Hotspot Shield Toolbar cannot be held responsible for whatever happens to your system once you click on any of the aforementioned ads. It is your duty to make sure that your system remains safe while you browse the Internet; hence, it is important to remove Hotspot Shield Toolbar from your computer. Follow the instructions below to uninstall Hotspot Shield Toolbar manually and then scan your PC with SpyHunter free scanner to check for any potentially unwanted programs left.

How to remove Hotspot Shield Toolbar

Windows 8

1. Move mouse cursor to the bottom right of the screen.
2. Select Settings and go to Control Panel.
3. Open Uninstall a program and remove Hotspot Shield Toolbar.

Windows Vista & Windows 7

1. Open Start menu and click Control Panel.
2. Go to Uninstall a program and remove Hotspot Shield Toolbar.

Windows XP

1. Open Start menu and go to Control Panel.
2. Select Add or remove programs and uninstall Hotspot Shield Toolbar.

Remove Conduit Search from your browser

Internet Explorer

1. Press Alt+X and click Internet options.
2. Change your home page address under General tab and press OK.
3. Press Alt+X again and click Manage add-ons.
4. Click Search providers on the left pane.
5. Set a new default search engine and remove unwanted search provider.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Press the orange Firefox button and click Options.
2. Change your home page address under General tab and click OK.
3. Click the search engine icon on the left of search box (top right corner).
4. Select Manage search engines.
5. Remove Hotspot Shield Customized Web Search from the list and click OK.

Google Chrome

1. Press Alt+F and go to Settings.
2. Under On startup select Open a specific page or set of pages and click Set pages.
3. Change your home page address and press OK.
4. Select Manage search engines under Search.
5. Set a new default search engine, delete unwanted search provider and click Done.

In case you have any other questions about Hotspot Shield Toolbar, leave us a comment below.