Removing Magic-Bar Extension (Browser Hijacker/PUP/Adware)

What is Magic-Bar? And how does it work?
Magic-Bar is browser extension for Google Chrome browser and is advertised as a great choice for users who are tired of the boring home page extensions that do not provide any useful functionality and keep displaying unwanted ads every time users open their browser. Despite its too-good-to-be-true claims, Magic-Bar is actually a browser hijacker, an adware and a potentially unwanted program that could bring harm to your computer.
Magic-Bar is designed to alter your browser’s settings such as the new tab page setting and collect non-personally identifiable data about your browsing activities. According to security experts, Magic-Bar is revealed to be exchanging data with ad servers and helping marketers delivering you with countless of ads. This means that, unlike what it claims to do, Magic-Bar does not really get rid of any unwanted ads. Needless to say, its claims are only a scheme to trick users into installing it. As a matter of fact, whenever you browse the web, you will be constantly bombarded with so many ads that it can really get on your nerves at some point.
According to researchers, the Magic-Bar browser extension from Magic-bat.net has several other clones which were found on pages that are registered under these IP addresses, 109.236.89.43 and 198.105.208.116. The following extensions are the ones that are identical to Magic-Bar:

‘Playbar’ Chrome Extension by Playbar.biz which is found on Chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/playbar/nnomifcpfjadbbfbgbjckcoaigmagjik
‘Solo-Bar’ Chrome Extension by Solo-bar.net which is found on Chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/solo-bar/nglcnlakhnofglledajkgkgpinmdhogi
‘Web-Bar’ Chrome Extension by Web-bar.biz which is found on Chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/web-bar/nfcebimaikecjkklbiednpkalkkahlig
‘Work-Bar’ Chrome Extension by Work-bar.biz which is found on Chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/work-bar/hofngijjpilmembpgefopjcfiimkdkhi

All these other versions of Magic-Bar have the following privileges as seen on the Chrome installation dialog box:

Read and change all your data on [associated site] and query.yahooapis.com;
Replace the page you see every time you open a new tab.

Based on these privileges, it only shows that this extension also has the ability to track your online activity so that it can gather your information. If you really care about your privacy and if you don’t want to put your computer at risk, then removing Magic-Bar would be a great idea.
How is Magic-Bar distributed online?
Magic-Bar extension is found on Chrome which may contain some sponsored content generated by Magic-Bar itself. It can also be found on its official website which is at Magic-bar.net.
Follow the long but detailed process below to remove the Magic-Bar Extension from your browser and computer.
Step 1: Open your Google Chrome browser.
Step 2: Click on the wrench icon. And from the drop-down menu click on Tools and then select Extensions.

Step 3: Under the Extensions tab, select Magic-Bar Extensionand other suspicious browser extensions related to it and then click on the Trash icon.

Step 4: Click on Remove button from the confirmation dialog box.

Step 5: Reset Google Chrome. To do that, click the three stripes icon located at the upper-right corner of your screen. And then select Settings.

Step 6: under Settings, look for Show advanced settings at the bottom of the page and click on it.

Step 7: Then click on the Reset browser settings button.

Step 8: After that, a dialog box pops up, click the Reset button to Reset Chrome.

Step 9: After you reset Chrome, enable the Phishing and Malware Protection in Chrome to prevent browser hijackers like Magic-Bar Extensionfrom infecting your computer again in the future. To do that, click Settings once again.

Step 10: Select the Show advanced settings again.

Step 11: Go to the Privacy section and check the Enable phishing and malware protection option.

Step 12: Restart Chrome and tap the Win + R keys to open Run and then type in appwiz.cpl to open Control Panel to uninstall any suspicious program related to the browser hijacker.
Step 13: Look for the Magic-Bar under the list of installed programs. Once you’ve found it, uninstall it.

Step 14: Close the Control Panel and tap the Win + E keys to open File Explorer. Navigate to the following directories and look for the adware installer like the software bundle it came with as well as other suspicious files and delete them.

%USERPROFILE%\Downloads
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
%TEMP%

Step 15: Close the File Explorer and empty your Recycle Bin.
Follow the advanced steps below to completely remove Magic-Bar and its residues from your computer.
Perform a full system scan using SpyRemover Pro. To do so, follow these steps:

Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
After that, the BIOSscreen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.

To navigate the Advanced Optionuse the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
Windows will now load the SafeMode with Networking.
Press and hold both R key and Windows key.

If done correctly, the Windows Run Boxwill show up.
Type in explorer http://www.fixmypcfree.com/install/spyremoverpro

A single space must be in between explorer and http. Click OK.

A dialog box will be displayed by Internet Explorer. Click Run to begin downloading the program. Installation will start automatically once download is done.