How to remove Bing toolbar?

[Vic123]

Sneaky Bing Toolbar

I followed the advice of dukestango and it worked. I wasn't able to follow his direction exactly so here's what I did.

Start > Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Programs and Features > Uninstall or Change a Program.

I looked through the list as he instructed and there it was: Search > Version 1.2

Then at the bottom I noticed it said bingstart.com. Voila! Now the toolbar is GONE! Be very careful when you install software or download from the Internet. That's what happened to me... it snuck in with a download yesterday.

Thanks!

 

[TheGuru]

Stop Initial Toolbar Installation With A Bit Of Reg Trickery....

Add the following keys to your registry, and add-on installers will see an existing MSN toolbar. Oh darn, an install isn't necessary. The goofy thing is, this is very similar to a method you'd use to prevent virus installers. Microsoft's gone viral to preach the good word... The word "Bing" that is!

Copy the following, and save them in notepad as NoMoBing.reg, or whatever you'd like. Then double click, or right click and merge.


x86 use the following only...

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSN\Toolbar]
"version"=""

x64 can add both files, but the following is x64 only....

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\MSN\Toolbar]
"version"=""

 

[leeh]

Permanent removal

Forget all the advice trying to remove the toolbar from the desktop, IE8 browser/toolbars settings, control panel etc. The only definitive and permanent way of removing this intrusive tool(Bing) bar is through the registry editor :

1. Run Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe)
2. Navigate to following registry key -

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\InternetExplorer\InfoDelivery\Restrictions

Right click on the NoSearchBox data and modify the value from 0 to 1

Finished, this will permanently remove the annoying Bing toolbar from IE8, without even the need to restart and you can be guaranteed the damn thing won't reappear unless the value is switched back!

 

[Benable2]

Isn't BING a product of MSN? I've tried just about every thing I see here, and it only works for a short period of time. It really makes me angry! If I try to do a search with GOOGLE, sooner or later Bing interferes, and some time it just shows up regardless of what I'm doing. I don't believe this to be accidental, but a calculated effort on the part of MSN to ram Bing down the throats of its members. I've been on line with MSN for almost ten years, but now I'm so irritated by this BING crap that I'm about ready to switch to another server!

 

[leeh]

Isn't BING a product of MSN? I've tried just about every thing I see here, and it only works for a short period of time. It really makes me angry! If I try to do a search with GOOGLE, sooner or later Bing interferes, and some time it just shows up regardless of what I'm doing. I don't believe this to be accidental, but a calculated effort on the part of MSN to ram Bing down the throats of its members. I've been on line with MSN for almost ten years, but now I'm so irritated by this BING crap that I'm about ready to switch to another server!

I notice your running XP 64bit, depending on which browser you use, this above fix will work. It works on IE7/8. I removed the seach bar from my girlfriend's laptop,(Vista IE8) and it's never reappeared and that was nearly 6 months ago, any edits in the regedit programe will work permanently.....so be VERY careful what you delete or modify! otherwise you could just upgrade to IE9,(not sure if this would run stably in XP?) this browser has done away with search bars,(Microsoft may finally be listening to their critics) and is completely scaled down....i love it, like Google Chrome without all the add on, book mark problems

 

[Agent Zach]

If your running Windows 7, like myself, just upgrade to IE9, this browser has done away with search bars,(Microsoft may finally be listening to their critics) and is completely scaled down....i love it, like Google Chrome without all the add on, book mark problems

Not quite.. as the Windows Update for IE9, as well as the stand-alone installer from Microsofts IE9 website come with the new Bing Bar pre-installed. (Atleast mine did, oddly enough) It can be uninstalled IF you MANUALLY download & install the Bing Bar on-top of the already bundled Toolbar... then simply Uninstall it through the CP.

 

[leeh]

If your running Windows 7, like myself, just upgrade to IE9, this browser has done away with search bars,(Microsoft may finally be listening to their critics) and is completely scaled down....i love it, like Google Chrome without all the add on, book mark problems

Not quite.. as the Windows Update for IE9, as well as the stand-alone installer from Microsofts IE9 website come with the new Bing Bar pre-installed. (Atleast mine did, oddly enough) It can be uninstalled IF you MANUALLY download & install the Bing Bar on-top of the already bundled Toolbar... then simply Uninstall it through the CP.

Interesting. I've just built my system and Windows 7 came bundled with IE8 and sure enough the right hand search bar was there!! To be honest this search bar has always irritated me since it was rolled out! and so i attempted to remove it....to no avail! I actually think it impossible to remove the seach bar from IE8 on Windows 7 Premium, becuase the only way of removing the search bar is through the UAC console, which i beleive can only be run in Windows 7 Professional & Ultimate!? I spent the whole week searching the net and not one solution!! So out of frustration i just decided to upgrade to IE9 and without even realising it, this solved my problem, no sign of a toolbar! I upgraded directly through Microsoft's website and it's by far the best broswer i've ever used. It's strange you've got the toolbar and i have'nt, but i'm glad i have'nt and i hope it stays that way, im sure i dowloaded the lastest upgrade when i installed the browser, but there's no sign of any search bar

 

[Agent Zach]

Well, Microsoft made a smart move by making the Address Bar an Address Bar + Search Box (All-in-one)

About my bundled Bing Bar: Honestly, I don't mind it. Quick notifications for the websites I visit hourly, 5-day forecast, local theater information, all right from the toolbar (no new tabs or windows).

On IE8 & Firefox, the Bing Bar drastically slowed the browsers, but with IE9, I've noticed no speed reduction. Seems to be integrated quite well with Microsofts new GECKO heaven.

 

[glind50]

How to get rid of Bing Toolbar

I had the same problem. Every new tab in FireFox defaulted to the Bing search engine. I tried all the stuff mentioned in different forums. Nothing worked. I finally went to c:\program files (x86)\ and searched for "startnow". Several things came up. One was the uninstaller for the "StartNow" toolbar. It's gone.

This fix is for Windows 7 (64-bit). May be the same for c:\program files\ in 32-bit OSes.

 

[KouldB]

Remove bing as a search provider in IE 8 (64-bit)

It took me ages and many seraches to no avail. So I 'experimented' and I 'fudged' it :sarc: I was so surprised!

First I was able to uninstall bing via Add/Remove Programs, BUT bing remained as one of the 'search providers' with IE. Like a virus!

So I disabled Bing in IE but still it wouldn't go away.

Then I 'donwloaded' and installed Wikipedia, Wikipedia was already part of IE 8 (64-bit) in my HP version of Windows 7, but I was unable to remove Bing until I actually went through the Install process for Wiki. I guess the install process made changes to the registry which had an impact on what I was able to remove in IE, in this case bing?

I went back into IE and selected Wiki as my default search provider, and was then able to delete Bing in the Seach Providers section of the Add-on's.

I tested that it worked for sure by shutting my machine down and then restarting. And found bing is really gone. It's out of my life. I couldnt belive it. Crazy bing. If Microsoft thinks this is a sure way to ensure users will learn about bing and then will actually choose it over Google or FireFox or some other search engine, then they're going about the wrong way. It's turning people away from the idea altogether, even if they were thinking of giving bing a go. No one wants it back once they get rid of it. It's likely a virus. Unbelieveable.

I hope this may work for some other poor soul out there.

Through my travels I have come to suspect that the reason so many users are finding the solution/s for the bing-thing to be varied is perhaps because of the 'type' of Windows they pruchase. Eg my notebook is a HP Pavilion-dv7 and it came with it's own version of Windows. Purchasing Windows outright, or with a specific brand of computer means that the way in which windows is loaded is varied, and has diffrent types of drivers, bloatware and apps bundled with it. So, the removal, or disabling of bing works diffrently for different users? I have no proof as such, its just that I have found a certain pattern in reading people's posts.

 

[roncerr]

It sounds like you may have confused the "toolbar" with the "search provider". IE comes with several Microsoft websites as default (like search, maps, webmail). None of these are programs that would appear in Programs and Features. But a "toolbar" is an add-in program that does appear in P&F. Toolbars are not part of Windows at all and must be manually downloaded and installed by someone. So the procedure to get rid of Bing would be to uninstall the toolbar and also to go to Tools/Manage Addons in IE to remove any addons that may have come with IE by default or may have been added by someone else.

 

[KouldB]

I didn't call it a "toolbar", and nor did I refer to it as one, I think the thread itself was titled as that. I was referring to the specific name IE gives to Bing or Ask as a "search provider". It's located on the top right hand side of the browser (on my machine anyhow) and it's called a "serach provider". I believe that is what people were trying to disable/delete

 

[KouldB]

Uninstall of Bing

Bing was a seperate app that was in add/remove programs. It must have been installed with HP O/S as it had to be installed three times due to some other hardware issue. That was how I was able to uninstall it. I didn't even think of looking there until I saw others mentioning that on their PC it was an 'uninstalable' program. As I said I suspect my version of Win 7 from HP may have it as a bundle.

But can you please do me a favour, now that I have your attention? Can you point me in the right direction regarding the Google Instant feature in Explorer 8?? It is driving me insane and it seems like everyone is trying to get rid of it but most cant? Have I read that right? I know I can't. It's so annoying. Do you know of some other little trick that you may want to share with me/us/the world?? We'd love you for it

 

[BrightBlessings]

Have a look here. About halfway down the page for the IE8 answer, hope this may be of help.

How do I turn off google instant permanently WITHOUT logging in or using cookies? With like a switch or something - Web Search Help

 

[roncerr]

...Google Instant feature in Explorer 8?? It is driving me insane and it seems like everyone is trying to get rid of it but most cant...

I've never heard it described as a "feature in IE8". I hate it also since it prevents me from using a default number of results per page greater than 10. It seems to be a default "feature" of Google. The way I get rid of it is to customize the Google search page using the gear icon in the upper right of the page. Choose "Search Settings". One of the settings lets you select or deselect Google Instant and another is the default number of results per page. Google should save the settings as a cookie on your computer. You should be able to use the search settings page whether or not you also "sign in". I've noticed that I have to go back to the gear icon to reset my settings on occasion. I'm pretty sure that if you delete your cookies you'll have to set them up again.

I generally use the "Advanced Search" page Google Advanced Search which lets me do a more targeted search and also immediately shows the "results per page" that I've customized. If it ever goes back to "10" I know it's time to go back to the gear and resetup the settings.

 

[tarun208]

open this url in the browser(Chrome/FF/IE/..) u want to kick-out bing:
Make Google your Default Search Engine
click "start now"
It will solve all your problems enjoy
Note: everytime you get "Bing" after any microsoft product installation, just do this simple step to keep loving google...

This is only for google lovers
thanks

 

[tarun208]

open this url in the browser(Chrome/FF/IE/..) u want to kick-out bing:
"www.google.com/homepage/search/"
click "start now"
It will solve all your problems enjoy
Note: everytime you get "Bing" after any microsoft product installation, just do this simple step to keep loving google...

This is only for google lovers
thanks

 

[themaverick]

Forget all the advice trying to remove the toolbar from the desktop, IE8 browser/toolbars settings, control panel etc. The only definitive and permanent way of removing this intrusive tool(Bing) bar is through the registry editor :

1. Run Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe)
2. Navigate to following registry key -

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\InternetExplorer\InfoDelivery\Restrictions

Right click on the NoSearchBox data and modify the value from 0 to 1

Finished, this will permanently remove the annoying Bing toolbar from IE8, without even the need to restart and you can be guaranteed the damn thing won't reappear unless the value is switched back!

Trying to remove this but in regedit theres no Internet Exploer under Microsoft at the point you suggest.

 

[roncerr]

Yes, it's not there. Perhaps it could be added to the registry. But I'd suggest reading my post at the top of the page. It can't be so hard to remove Bing that you need to use the registry.

 

[endeavor]

Yes, it's not there. Perhaps it could be added to the registry. [....]

Yes it can be added to the registry ..similar to what 'themaverick' said but he left out information; also it needs to be in HKCU

Here's a Screenshot of the Bing Search Box that is included in a stock Windows 7 w/IE8 installed and is the specific one being referred to in this post; the screenshot shows it turned either On or Off.

To stop the Bing Search Box from displaying in the IE8 can be done by using the Local Group Policy Editor

From Start> Run> type in: gpedit.msc
..then hit Enter.
(Does Policy Editor open? I only ask because Not All Versions of Windows 7 include the Policy Editor = the Home version does not!)

When the Policy Editor opens, go down to
~User Configuration> Administrative Templates> Windows Components> Internet Explorer
~In the right pane go down through the list, find and right-click this listing:

* Prevent Internet Explorer Search box from displaying

..right-click to: Edit> ..and here change it from 'Not Configured' to 'Enabled'

And that will do exactly what it says, it "Prevents Internet Explorer Search box from displaying"
..which means that Bing Search box (or any other search provider within there) will not show up on that IE8 bar anymore.
~To put the Search box back - just reverse the process in the Policy Editor.

~~~~~~~~~

Now, for those of you who only have Windows 7 Home and don't have gpedit.msc (Local Group Policy Editor) to run, or you just want a quick way to do it no matter what version of Win7 you have!
..well you're still in luck since this policy editor is just a fancy registry editor among other things, nevertheless it makes its changes in the registry anyway, and so just doing the above procedure and then software registry tracking all the changes it made, exporting just the specific differences applied, and this below is what it did - it's actually very very simple I was surprised, and works, tested and confirmed!

You can manually add this to your registry if you want, or best just to just copy/paste this info below into notepad and save it as something like noBing.txt, and then of course rename its .txt extension to a .reg extension, and then merge it ..and the next time you open IE8 to a website that Bing Search bar will be gone.

To reverse it just create yourself another copy of your noBing.reg and re-name it something like restoreBing.reg, but inside Be Sure to edit the value 1 back to a 0, i.e. "NoSearchBox"=dword:00000000

REGEDIT4
 
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Infodelivery\Restrictions]
"NoSearchBox"=dword:00000001

..or here, attached, it's done already, I've made the reg files for you to download.