Linkury SmartBar (Removal Guide) - updated Feb 2018
Linkury SmartBar Removal Guide
What is Linkury SmartBar?
Linkury SmartBar – search provider which is not safe to keep on your PC
Linkury is one of these search viruses that do not pose direct harm to computers or their owners.[1] Nevertheless, the name of this questionable browser extension has already received some negative feedback on various security forums and software review sites.
If you are not happy with its services, you can simply carry out Linkury SmartBar removal and choose to use some different browser assistant instead. Beware that it can attack Mac, as well as Windows operating systems.
Linkury has mostly been spread bundled with freeware and shareware[2] as an optional addition to the software. As a result, there are hundreds of users who have been “surprised” by its unexpected appearance.

In addition to its poor distribution method, Linkury initiates several changes on the affected computer system and starts annoying its victims with commercial pop-up notifications, redirects to affiliate websites, slowdowns and similar activity. The main reason why it causes these symptoms is that this software is free and its creators have to find a way to monetize it.[3]
By no means, we recommend ignoring Linkury redirects or extensive advertising on your computer! Otherwise, this toolbar can redirect you to websites owned by shady third-parties that are seeking to infect their users or swindle their personal information.
Besides, Linkury may act a bit like adware-type program[4] and start tracking you and your activity on the Internet. Of course, the date it collects, including your search terms, mostly visited websites, data that you enter on each of these websites are most likely gathered to improve the Linkury SmartBar services. Nevertheless, though such information is considered non-personally identifiable [5], it may reveal more than you which to disclose.
To avoid Linkury virus and its pop-up ads, redirects, tracking, and similar activities, you should pay more attention to the freeware installation. However, you can get rid of its commercial pop-up ads only by removing this application from the system. If it has already shown up on your computer, you should run a full system scan with FortectIntego and remove Linkury with just one click.
Distribution techniques are closely related to bundling
This app can be downloaded from its official website as a search assistant which is ready to improve users' search sessions. However, as we have already mentioned in the first part of this description, it may also arrive on your PC bundled with other programs.
This distribution method is very popular among such programs as adware, search engines, toolbars and similar applications. Because it is not considered to be malicious, it has been actively used to promote these apps behind users' back.
Fortunately, you can prevent PUPs without much effort. To stop their infiltration, you should choose only “Custom” or “Advanced” installation method when downloading freeware from the web. Once you do so, you should uncheck pre-checked check marks that allow installation of optional additions.
This procedure is much easier and faster than Linkury removal option. However, if your web browser has already been affected, don't waste your time and use following steps to fix it.
Linkury SmartBar removal steps
Linkury SmartBar virus is not an actual cyber infection, so you can easily remove it manually or automatically. For manual removal option, you have to open the list of the programs installed on your computer and remove the ones that could be related to this virus. Make sure you get rid of Linkury related entries, Yontoo, and similar apps.
Also, if you can't think of yourself as an advanced computer user, you should think about automatic Linkury removal from your browser. In this case, check the list of programs that we recommend using while trying to get rid of this browser hijacker. After selecting the one that you like, follow its installation wizard to install it on your computer and run a full system scan.
You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
Getting rid of Linkury SmartBar. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Removing Linkury from Windows OS is easy. Follow steps that are given below to finish virus removal in a couple of minutes.
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
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Uninstall Linkury SmartBar and related programs
Here, look for Linkury SmartBar or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
Delete from macOS
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Linkury SmartBar or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
If you are planning to stop using this search provider, get rid of related extensions from Microsoft Edge. Here are the instructions how to do it:
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
To uninstall Linkury SmartBar from Mozilla Firefox, use the following guide:
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data…
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.

- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

Remove from Google Chrome
To fix Chrome browser, you need to remove related extensions and reset the browser by following steps provided here:
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.

Delete from Safari
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences.
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Here, select Extensions and look for Linkury SmartBar or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari....
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Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Linkury SmartBar removal process.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of Linkury SmartBar registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting adware
Access your website securely from any location
When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address.
If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world.
Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks
While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.
Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection.
- ^ Nate Lord. Common Malware Types: Cybersecurity 101. Veracode. Application security.
- ^ Freeware vs. shareware. Diffen. Compare Anything. Diffen. Discern. Decide..
- ^ What is software monetization?. Gemalto. Security to be free.
- ^ Spyware, Adware and Malware, the hidden programs on your computer. Cesitservice. Computer Enhancement Systems, Inc., Internet and Computer Services and Software.
- ^ Personally identifiable information (PII). SearchFinancialSecurity: Financial Services Information Security information, news and tips.