# "search the web"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-the-web/253744>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 6, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-the-web/253744 "2004-07-06T04:27:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-the-web/253744/1 "2004-07-06T04:27:39Z")

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Dell Inspiron 5100, 2.8 ghz P4, 384 RAM, WinXP Home. (Anything else?)

I’ve got a toolbar on the right of my taskbar that is a little box that says “Search the Web” and has a welcome-screen-looking green arrow that says “Search”. I don’t remember installing this, so I’m assuming it’s spyware of some sort, unless it really is a windows thing that I’m missing, and activated accidentally. Either way, I don’t want to try it. How do I get the damned thing off? (Oh, Spybot and AdAware test clean.)

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**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-the-web/253744/2 "2004-07-06T04:53:42Z")

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If you right-click on the taskbar, there should be a Toolbars choice where you can deselect the one you don’t want.

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**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-the-web/253744/3 "2004-07-06T05:31:18Z")

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Oh my god, I knew about that in IE, but didn’t notice it there. thanks. I feel like an idiot. (Figured something was up b/c my quick launch was also on, which I hate and usually deactivate through the taskbar properties menu.)

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**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-the-web/253744/4 "2004-07-06T05:40:15Z")

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Yay! Cause I was all out of solutions.

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**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-the-web/253744/5 "2004-07-06T06:58:25Z")

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That’s good. I’m just really spyware-paranoid after [ul]  
[li]I got some something from a link in a buddy’s Info box[/li][li]I reformatted my computer a few weeks ago b/c I was tired of trying to fix some spyware somewhere[/li][li]Hi Opal![/li][/ul]