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.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.

Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

Remove from Microsoft Edge
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)
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
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
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.

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1 comment
Sandy
My laptop suddenly became unusable early Jan 2015, so much so I had to shut down manually as everything disappeared from my screen. I reopened it in safe mode with networking and used my free Emsisoft removal tool on full scan which quarantined 147 files - all linkury! Laptop has been running fine ever since.