Did you ask for the Ask Toolbar? Didn't think so..
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at 4:46PM
Chances are, you've had this experience: you weren't really paying attention to all the little checkboxes and fine print when you were installing a software application, and the next time you opened up your Web browser, you found out that you, like countless others before you, had accidentally installed the Ask.com search toolbar. Well, no big deal, it's just a tiny toolbar, right? Not so much. The problem is, it isn't just taking up precious screen real estate on your screen. The Ask Toolbar is frequently referred to as a browser hijacker because it takes control of the Web browser and does things you may not want, such as using Ask.com instead of Google or Bing to perform a search, or setting the Ask.com webpage as your default homepage. Many people call it a virus, but it isn't malware. The security industry generally refers to it as a "PUP," or potentially unwanted program. Users who it hijacks mostly have less polite names for it. Click here for the full article and more importantly, how to get rid of the toolbar.
Reader Comments (2)
So I was using firefox and it works perfectly fine until yesterday when I opened a new tab it brought up something called ask search. I got ask toolbar in firefox while i did not install anything for months (only updated java script and adobe flash player)
I searched a lot and found that ask toolbar are bundled with java update, you can never imagine such a large company like oracle can do such nasty things, if you don't know, It's here:https://www.change.org/petitions/oracle-corporation-stop-bundling-ask-toolbar-with-the-java-installer
I suggest you also read this ask search toolbar removalguide if you still can not get rid of it completely.
When installing anything, read every screen. If you do not, these days you will be allowing unwanted software to install. It's a shame companies essentially trick people into installing crapware, but it is now standard operating procedure for them.