How to remove “Yahoo! Powered” tool on Windows 10

If you’re a casual consumer of third-party applications (especially free ones), you’ve probably seen various offers during the installation, with a variety of different applications. When it comes to “Yahoo! Powered” program, the things are not as transparent. This tool installs in the background and then completely overtakes your browsers. And, seemingly, it’s rather hard to remove once it’s there.

We decided to shed some light on this and provide you with the recommended solutions. Make sure to check them out below.

What’s “Yahoo! Powered” and how to remove it from your PC

What’s Yahoo Powered and is it dangerous

“Yahoo! Powered” is the PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) which tends to install in the background while you’re installing some other third-party application. We already wrote about the adware search bars and browser hijackers and their tendency to hide in the plain sight.

• READ ALSO: 5 best antiviruses for Yahoo Mail to protect your emails in 2018

Say, if you choose the Standard installation (which most users do) instead of the Custom, chances are that the Yahoo PUP will install without you even knowing. So, be careful with freeware applications – they can infect you with something you obviously don’t want. And you won’t be aware until it’s too late.

Once you accidentally get this tool on your PC, it’ll disrupt your browsing experience by changing the home address and default search engine on one or multiple browsers and plague you with ads. However, in comparison to some other similar malicious tools, this application is quite resilient when it comes to uninstalling. And due to its non-virus nature, there’s a chance that antivirus solutions won’t recognize it as a threat.

• READ ALSO: How to sign into Windows 10 Mail with a Yahoo account

Some users reported that it, even after they remove it from the Control Panel, it was still present in their respective browsers. Luckily, there are a few ways to remove it for good.

How to safely remove it from your system

Removing this application from your system requires 3-stage procedure. Firstly, you’ll need to uninstall the carrying program from your PC. Then, we’ll need to run the anti-PUP tool (AdwCleaner by Malwarebytes should suit the purpose). Finally, we’ll need to access all affected browsers and clean them of any remaining extensions and tweaks.

Here’s how to uninstall the “Yahoo! Powered” unwanted program from your system:

1. In the Search bar, type Control and open Control Panel.
2. Click on the “Uninstall a program” under Programs.
3. Remove “Yahoo! Powered” from the list.
4. Use IObit Uninstaller or another third-party uninstaller to remove the remaining files.
5. Restart your PC.

This is how to download and run Malwarebytes AdwCleaner:

1. Download Malwarebytes AdwCleaner, here.
2. Run the tool and click Scan Now.
3. Wait until the tool scans your system and click Clean & Repair.
4. After the cleaning procedure ends, restart your PC.

And this is how to remove all its traces from 3 popular browsers:

1. Google Chrome
   1. Click on the 3-dot menu and open Settings.
   2. Expand the Advanced settings.
   3. Scroll to the bottom and click Reset settings.
   4. Click Reset.
2. Mozilla Firefox
   1. Open the hamburger menu and click Help.
   2. Choose Troubleshooting Information.
   3. Click on the “Refresh Firefox” button.
   4. Click Refresh.
3. Microsoft Edge
   1. Open Edge.
   2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete.
   3. Check all the boxes and click Clear.
   4. Restart Edge.

That’s it. After these steps, the Yahoo-powered tool won’t bother you anymore. Don’t forget to share your thoughts and experience with removal of this tool in the comments section below.

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