How to remove shortcuts in IE & Explorer toolbars?

[Curt]

How does one remove such a thing (a no-thing..) as a dead / blank shortcut from the toolbars in IE & Explorer??

[dk70]

Try manage add-ons under tools/funktioner. Or Spybot&Destroy, tools, BHOs. Or reinstall whatever it was, then uninstall again. Dont know where toolbar ids are in registry but you could delete it manually I guess. May be search for Foxytunes and see if you get to a toolbar/addon section.

If you notice weird behavior from browser you might want to disable Radio Denmark Toolbar. Comes from www.conduit.com or www.effectivebrand.com They are upfront with data collection I think but some of the toolbars have creative links, trying to make money without telling you. Very much encouraged by Conduit. So you often get sponsored searches, affiliate links. They used to force own search engine or at least one they had a share in, not sure if that has changed. 1000s of toolbars and not all that bad. You can always make your own, takes few minutes.

Same goes for The Office Letter Premium Edition Toolbar.

[Curt]

(...) Radio Denmark Toolbar. Comes from www.conduit.com or www.effectivebrand.com They are upfront with data collection I think but some of the toolbars have creative links, trying to make money without telling you. Very much encouraged by Conduit. So you often get sponsored searches, affiliate links. They used to force own search engine or at least one they had a share in, not sure if that has changed. 1000s of toolbars and not all that bad. You can always make your own, takes few minutes.

Same goes for The Office Letter Premium Edition Toolbar.

It sure can be hard to change an image...

I watch my PC closely and there is absolutely nothing to complain about regarding the two toolbars' I'net contact - no adds, no false results - nothing is wrong.

I've got an okay result using ToolbarCop: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/toolbarcop.html

[dk70]

Missed your post. Why dont you make a Donationcoder toolbar btw?

Well more than a "image" though I perhaps accused your toolbars too directly. Idea of Conduit is not to save the world but a business idea, dont forget that. Also why they just changed the ever so important search engine to Google - sponsored search, Google nicer to share with than Ask I guess. Same toolbar generator used for your safe bars is also used for the "bad". Some toolbars take advantage of what is possible, check out features, and are less than transparent doing it. Sponsored/redirecting links etc. are all over the place so not unique to Conduit - but they also do it or offer the ability to at least. Check their slideshow on how to promote bar. What does that tell you about intentions? Even their site spells it out - this is very much about advertising and revenues. I understand "So what?" but be careful about approving all 10000s of toolbars.

What Im talking about you also see on their forums, banner/link/redirect/ad-tossers seeking answer to "how to make money". The bad side of Conduit is represented and same reason why ALL Conduit bars recently were thrown out of Mozilla Add-on site. Besides being questionable as "true" extensions "authors" played the (weak) system and bumped their stuff to top by changing date for entry. Of course they did.

Technically you should not be so sure there is nothing to worry about with those bars. Mozilla have dumped them before because of bad code, look it up at Bugzilla - cross domain injection or something. They fixed bugs/features and got approved again. As I said should you notice anything strange, remember them. You dont control content, author does so it can change with next update. I did not say they would crash browser and you are doomed And yes they do send each and every click back to HQ, not the same as spying in my book but some see it differently. I believe they once again put up the famous 5000$ reward for proof of Conduit spying on users. No one can claim the money Im sure but why did they feel a need to make a case out of being clean? Reward trick is missing the point of content being questionable - Conduit is not responsible for users code! Also I think toolbar generator is bought from another company, not Conduits product as such. Same machinery behind most toolbars made for IE/Firefox I bet. I forget name, should be easy to locate. You can find toolbar entries in for example Symantec virus database but Conduit say they are due to other companies doing, through licensing generator... Content is what matters.

Actually I think Conduit can be compared to Google in the way they are evaluated. Hell or heaven... Im voting heaven given the choice but take small steps and check them out before installation.

[Curt]

Why dont you make a Donationcoder toolbar

Searchin DC for "toolbar" didn't give any results.
Please tell a little more! 

[Curt]

How does one remove such a thing (a no-thing..) as a dead / blank shortcut from the toolbars in IE & Explorer??

- by installing ViewFolderSize Bar.

Problem solved  but I've no idea as to WHY 

[Curt]

The bad side of Conduit is represented

Forgive me if I am taking too lightly on your warnings, please. The case is, I have never used the Radio_Denmark toolbar for anything but playing music - and that is music from pre-defined stations, Danmarks Radio. Why they bother to insert a search box, I don't know; I never have used it, and never will.

[dk70]

Search box = sharing ads revenue with Google (and before that Ask.com) - why it cant be disabled When you search results dont pop up on a regular Google page but a fixed one.

Dont understand how entry got removed either. Long time ago Ive had similar ghost entrie problem and solution was to reinstall then uninstall - or hunt down keys in registry, may be use a toolbar inspector type of program. Same applies to normal program not uninstalling correctly I guess. Well it is gone.

I meant you could make a DC toolbar. None available I assume. Fire up the generator and publish. May be some can make use of the more advanced html features, I think you can even insert some scripting. Perhaps best if Mouser was author if there really have to be some sponsored revenue making We cant have Curt getting rich on exploiting DC right? See the problem when money gets involved? Tempting? Sure is for some people. Author of the most popular toolbar, 10000s if not 100000s of installations, have shown what appears to be big fat monthly checks from Google and others - he makes a fortune. Personal effort is minimal. Find catchy theme/subject/topic and off you go hunting users - check their promotion help on how-to. Anyone can do it. Part of what created the invisible anti-Conduit movement and Im sure one of the reasons they were pulled off Mozilla site.

There is mile long thread at Mozillazine forums about this should you be interested or very bored. May be you get confused about what I mean since I also post in that. But I got provoked by tossers who claim Conduit is clearly spyware by any definition, have paid off Mozilla Adms to get top spots at Add-on site and much more. There is a weirdo consensus one has to deal with at Mozillazine, like the idea Firefox users are pure angels which must be saved from evil by a select few enlightened heroes... meanwhile Google is making Mozilla rich through exact same scheme namely getting a cut from searching! I like the toolbars, cool to play, with some creativity useful. Have doubts about how much overhead they add to browser, memory - cpu usage - stability. Ive had mixed experiences. Probably depends on content as well as toolbar itself.

They have nothing to do at Add-on site because they are not extensions. "Author" has no or only little relationship to installed code, can not offer suppport, is not responsible for privacy policy etc. A big mess but all comes down to where code comes from I think. So good move they got kicked out. Conduit already have a gallery of toolbars and every one gets own unique url/homepage for promotion purposes. Mozilla Add-on site just another display.

[Curt]

They have nothing to do at Add-on site because they are not extensions. "Author" has no or only little relationship to installed code, can not offer suppport, is not responsible for privacy policy etc. A big mess but all comes down to where code comes from I think. So good move they got kicked out. Conduit already have a gallery of toolbars and every one gets own unique url/homepage for promotion purposes. Mozilla Add-on site just another display.

If they got kicked out of Mozilla Add-ons I'll expect the toolbar will soon be outdated, so I'll have to remove it anyway. I sure will think twice before having any  contact with Conduit again.

Thanks a lot for taking your time to answer me 

[Curt]

If they got kicked out of Mozilla Add-ons I'll expect the toolbar will soon be outdated, so I'll have to remove it anyway.

That didn't make too much sense, did it. The case is that I have the Radio_Denmark toolbar in Firefox, Internet Explorer and Explorer, and for a minute confused which one I was talking about.

[dk70]

No does not work that way. If author updates toolbar you will be notified and directed to the mentioned unique homepage for toolbar. Mozilla Add-on site interfered with that setup but never was important for updating - just a way of promoting toolbar. Another reason why they did not belong there, toolbar can be updated with potentially bad code regardless of it being on Add-on site.

Takes you 1-2 minutes to sign up at Conduit - 5 minutes more and you are toolbar author. Ive considered making one for some family members but since I dont trust stability 100% Ive avoided. But fun to experiment. As a communication tool it is nice alternative/addition to email, IM - if Mouser made a DC-bar he could send out messages, adjust menus to direct users to current relevant pages etc. Has a bit of everything, more than just some link buttons.

So you wont have any contact with Google either I guess? If you can live with toobar phoning home click stats then rest is just plain sharing of advertising revenue. How internet works and Conduit try to exploit it. Problem is if someone base whole toolbar on such "shared" links and not only the default Google box. Then it becomes a money machine and that is bad Sure is if not transparent to users who benefits. Yesterday I was at another forum where someone asked for a program to make logos. Some clown posted a link to whatever program. Ok but link was not to program site but to his own where it could be bought through an affiliate deal = he gets 5$ or something. Stuff like that is evil noise and all over internet in some form or another. Of course maker of program has made up that deal, they are all for it. Question is how transparent money flow is to user. Could say "Support my wallet by buying clicking this link" or something. When not clear I assume something fishy is going on. Money overrules anything...

[dk70]

Firefox and radio means Active-X plugin! Then you are doomed May be not, from what I can tell Active-X plugin for Firefox is pretty safe and only useful for implementing Media Player functionality, not like you have IE inside. Probably some possible exploits I would imagine but dont worry too much about that.

[Curt]

Takes you 1-2 minutes to sign up at Conduit - 5 minutes more and you are toolbar author. Ive considered making one for some family members but since I dont trust stability 100% Ive avoided. But fun to experiment.

I don't understand how you can tell all this about Conduit, and then say that it could be fun to use their program to author a toolbar. If you do so, all the bad stuff would follow, wouldn't it? They don't give a you toolbar for free without incorporating what it is all about to them ("Money overrules anything..."), do they? I can't imagine.

What goes for the ActiveX, well, I'm not too sure what to think of it, which is why I have so many security related programs to watch over me...

[dk70]

Well what you get out of the box I can live with. That is Google search box and the phoning home. Would be happier without both but then no toolbar. Rest is your contribution. What you can "blaim" Conduit for is default not users creativity. They have no worries offering that 5000$ award. Ive heard all the arguments of "unique toolbar ID and click tracking equals spying" - BS for all I know. When you make a toolbar you also get access to a page full of stats - which is what tracking is used for. Also for setting up chat, sending out messages through their servers, updating. Some feature simply requires identification. Many services you sign up for have some personal information, like Google of course. They all claim/promise not to misuse that info. Words. What it comes down to is history/trust. Has Conduit, or Google for that matter, ever been in trouble? Eh, Conduit do have a dark history but has seen the light. Relationship between toolbars and spamming/spyware (look them up, old name EFFECTIVEBRAND) is of no importance Im sure

Also note that no AV/Spyware company have Conduit toolbar in their database, not a current version  Code is clean as you also say. Does not mean all content is or that it runs smoothly.

About the advertising I have the feeling most either dont care about who gets a cut or are in the game them self. I hate all that, including stupid ads on majority of sites/blogs. I block them with pleasure. When they serve a purpose like supporting a site and not just attempts to earn easy money Im all for it. Not really any use in fighting ads in general is there? So a DC toolbar would be ok. No matter how that would turn out Conduit will smile since they have share in EVERY Google result page! DC bar could use own links/deals to other search services. Conduit want to cover them self and so Google box is a requirement. Im not updated on latest Conduit news, may be they have changed policy but be sure they will always benefit. The more users the more benefits and why promotion is so important.

[Curt]

Conduit .. have share in EVERY Google result page!

Hmmm... sounds if they might be quite welthy...

I don't have a Google toolbar, and was of course thinking that any 'DC toolbar' should be made without using Conduit tecnic, if possible. Isn't my FoxyTunes toolbar such a thing? I don't know - never thought about it before.

[dk70]

I understand and as said you can buy Toolbar generator, a crappy looking one here http://www.besttoolbars.net/toolbar_studio_dynamic_ie_toolbar_builder.php?gclid=CNbr8aXao4oCFSoMQgod_3yKvA Ive seen a much better one but cant find it right now, was quite costly like 70-80$ at least. Foxytunes is probably unique but many have got to be build on generator. Rankquest toolbar for example https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1471/ Not made from scratch I think, nothing wrong in that. 

As a service anyone can use I believe Conduit is alone. Sure they make money but much depend on usage. Since I block all ads, and the few I see is not considered clickable I would be a bad customer. Possible they make money just by me installing toolbar, details of their agreement with Google not available. Plenty are more into these things. Considering how internet works and looks today I dont think you should get all upset about their Google box. Same with tracking of clicks but some will disagree. Remember content is up to you not forced by Conduit or Google.

Thinking of DC bar it must also be compatible with both IE and Firefox - more coding if someone would start from A and not take advantage of generator. Bad enough Conduit dont support Opera.