Click on screenshot to zoom
Danger level 8
Type: Browser Plugins
Common infection symptoms:
  • Annoying Pop-up's
  • Shows commercial adverts
  • Connects to the internet without permission
  • Hijacks homepage
  • Changes default search engine

FreeMaps Toolbar

If you are a frequent traveler you might consider having a browser extension, such as FreeMaps Toolbar, in order to get directions and maps for your journeys, but we must bring bad news about this application; this is just a new bad toolbar from the Mindspark family. Since all the toolbars coming from this family provide users with potentially unreliable third-party services, we recommend that you remove FreeMaps Toolbar and all other browser extensions that are the creations of Mindspark Interactive Network, Inc. This toolbar might present you with potentially unsafe third-party content. Clicking on an ad or link on unreliable websites might, for example, open some backdoors for cyber criminals to get hold of your files or personal details. In order to keep your computer safe, you had better delete FreeMaps Toolbar as soon as possible.

With such a largely general name there is only a slight chance that you can find this toolbar if you search the web. So it is not too likely that you actually have visited the official website at download-freemaps.com and installed this browser extension directly from there. We believe that this bad toolbar simply uses the “good old” means of transport to travel on the virtual highway of the Internet; and that is software bundling. A freeware bundle may hold a number of applications and tools, but, unfortunately, at times, these applications may also be malware infections. That is how most users infect their computers – by downloading such infectious software packages. You may wonder how it is possible to download them at all. Well, very easily if you happen to land on a suspicious file-sharing website and click on a misleading button there, for instance.

You need to know that you can save your computer most of the time from allowing infections on-board. All you need to do is to be careful during the installation. Most installers reveal the content of the package and offer you a way to opt out even if these installation wizards may be a bit misleading on purpose. However, if you let all the applications enter your computer, deleting FreeMaps Toolbar will not save you from the rest. That is why you cannot leave this issue unaddressed; you need to eliminate all other threats as well.

FreeMaps Toolbar offers users free directions, maps, “sophisticated aerial and satellite maps” as well as a search tool. This toolbar, just like all other Mindspark products, including EverydayLookup Toolbar and WorldSport New Tab, uses third-party services to provide you with quick-access links to websites related to travelling, maps, directions, and more. The search tool this toolbar offers is Ask.com, which you can access from the toolbar and the main page as well, which is practically a modified Ask.com page. Unfortunately, you cannot trust these services since this toolbar might modify them by injecting third-party ads and links even in the search results pages. Clicking on such links might take you to unsafe websites where you might be scammed to download fake driver updates, for example, and that would just result in more malware infections on your computer. Therefore, we do believe that you are much safer if you delete FreeMaps Toolbar as soon as you can.

If you follow our instructions below, you can eliminate this threat source in a few minutes actually. What you need to do is to uninstall the application through Control Panel and reset your browsers. For the rest of the malware infections that may be hiding on your PC, we would recommend using a decent antimalware program that can detect and eliminate all known threats and protect your computer from further infections.

Remove FreeMaps Toolbar from Windows

Windows XP

  1. Click the Start button and choose Control Panel.
  2. Click Add or Remove Programs.
  3. Select the unwanted toolbar and press Remove.

Windows Vista/Windows 7

  1. Open the Start menu and choose Control Panel.
  2. Click Uninstall a program.
  3. Select the toolbar and press Uninstall.

Windows 8/Windows 8.1/Windows 10

  1. Tap Win+Q and type in Control Panel. Hit Enter.
  2. Select Uninstall a program.
  3. Right-click on the application and choose Uninstall.

Reset your browsers

Internet Explorer

  1. Tap Alt+T and select Internet Options.
  2. Choose the Advanced tab and press Reset.
  3. Tick the Delete personal settings checkbox.
  4. Click Reset and press Close.

Google Chrome

  1. Open the menu and access Settings.
  2. Click Show advanced settings at the bottom.
  3. Scroll down and click Reset settings.
  4. Press Reset in the pop-up window.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Tap Alt+H and go to Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Press Refresh Firefox.
  3. Click Refresh Firefox again and press Finish.
Download Spyware Removal Tool to Remove* FreeMaps Toolbar
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