youtube downloader addon has no remove button. How do I remove?
I was on sidereel.com and they asked me if I wanted to download youtube downloader and converter 3.9.1. I declined but youtube downloader was installed anyway as a FF extension or addon. It came gratis with malware: particularly Web-Protect-for-Windows. And that seems to invite hijackers. Regular resetting of FF keeps Web-Protect-for-Windows at bay but does not uninstall youtube downloader and converter 3.9.1. I have used sequentially: AVG 2015, Spybot 2.4, revo uninstall, Malwarebytes, and HitmanPro. All of these take out the registry hooks and pretty well clean Web-Protect-for-Windows out of the system but do not touch youtube downloader and converter 3.9.1. So Web-Protect-for-Windows is reinstalled as FF launches because youtube downloader and converter 3.9.1 is still installed but disabled. Disabled is obviously not good enough.
I tried FF reset twice and got rid of every extension except the unwanted youtube downloader and converter 3.9.1. Help either sends me to programs I have already tried or tells me to just click on the remove button. But youtube downloader and converter 3.9.1 has no remove button it only has an enable button. I even tried enable to see if the remove button would then appear. It did not so I put it back to disabled. I even reinstalled FF fresh from mozilla.org, but the youtube downloader and converter 3.9.1 is still in the fresh version.
Please tell me how to force FF to eradicate, uninstall, or remove completely youtube downloader and converter 3.9.1 addon.
(I am hoping the solution will involve deleting or editing specific text files found under Program files/Mozilla Firefox, but whatever works to get rid of youtube downloader and converter 3.9.1 addon is what I need.)
தீர்வு தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டது
Because Revo Uninstaller was able to uninstall Web-protect-for-Windows but left the delivery trojan (Firefox add-on) YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1. I contacted Revo support. They suggested closing the Extensions folder so that I was back at the Profile folder found after step 2 of "Uninstalling manually" found at: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cannot-uninstall-an-add-on#w_uninstalling-manually close Firefox. Then delete all of the files named extensions.* but not the folder. When I restarted Firefox, I got a window addressed: About:newaddon?id={b9bfaf1c-a63f-47cd-0829-29526ced3667} (That string is the unwanted Youtube extensions ID.) that screen told me: "Another program on your computer would like to modify Firefox with the following add-on:
YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 By getvideosoft.com Location: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\extension\\getvideosoft.xpi"
And asked me to check a box to approve re-installation of the unwanted extension. I did not check it and just hit the continue box and the screen reverted to the normal opening screen for FF. the add-on page and the troubleshooting page both still showed YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 still installed but disabled.
I closed FF and deleted: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\extension\\getvideosoft.xpi When I reopened Firefox the regular FF opening screen came up. Both the add-on screen and the troubleshooting screen showed I had no extensions installed.
Success.
Please pass this method to the people who will add this method to : "Uninstalling manually" found at: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cannot-uninstall-an-add-on#w_uninstalling-manually.
probably a step 8 and step 9. If there is no file named ID.xpi
Thanks for your help and encouragement.
Richard Grubic
Read this answer in context 👍 3All Replies (5)
In order to uninstall a possibly unwanted extension, please do the following:
# From the Firefox window click the Firefox button at the top left and select Add-ons, or, if the Firefox button is not shown, click the Tools menu and click Add-ons. # Once the Add-on Manager has opened in a new tab, click the Extensions button on the left side of the window. # You should now see a list of your installed extensions on the right side together with buttons on the right side of each extension. # To remove an extension from Firefox, simply click the Remove button. You should see a message that informs you about the successful removal of the add-on. # Note that some add-ons require a Firefox restart to be removed completely. To perform a Firefox restart after the add-on removal, click the Restart now link in the message.
You can find further information about uninstalling extensions in the following articles:
Remove a toolbar that has taken over your Firefox search or home page
KUMARESAN.C.S மூலமாக
Reread my statement of the problem. I have already done everything that you have suggested but failed because Youtube downloader 3.9.1 has no remove button. It is 'disabled' but that doesn't make it safe. It needs to be removed.
Check this out :- Cannot uninstall an add-on
Extensions that only have a disable button are installed by other software on your computer.
You will have to find out which software installed the extensions that can't be uninstalled from within Firefox and disable or uninstall them from the setting of that program.
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Installing_extensions
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Adding_Extensions_using_the_Windows_Registry
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Addons/Add-on_Manager/AddonManager#Installation_scopes
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Installing_extensions#Preventing_automatic_install_from_specific_locations
YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 is malware. 1) Nearly all of the symptoms listed at the mozilla support site: How do I know that my Firefox problem is a result of malware? are exhibited on my system. 2) I found Web-protect-for-Windows listed in my control panel add or remove programs list but it refused to uninstall. YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 was not listed there. A Google search for "uninstall Web protect for Windows" found the following useful blog: http://malwaretips.com/blogs/webprotect-virus-removal/ The symptoms of Web-protect-for-Windows were exactly my symptoms. The primary delivery method for Web-protect-for-Windows was a trojan usually caught on a free video site. I caught my malware on sidereel.com. The trojan most often has the words YouTube downloader in the phony name which you are tricked into downloading. The site recommends attempting to remove Web-protect-for-Windows through the control panel first as that not often but sometimes works. Next it recommends the reset button in IE and FF. And that at first alleviated the symptoms, but over the next couple of days they reappeared showing the trojan was still delivering fresh infections of Web-protect-for-Windows. The FF troubleshooting info page showed that reset had removed all of my extensions except for a new one: YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 was listed as disabled and has no remove button. This was one of over a dozen programs offered to me for free download. Web-protect-for-Windows was not among the programs offered for me to approve for download. All of which I declined and later study showed all of which were not only downloaded against my choice but were actually all installed with no chance for me to block run nor install. AVG killed all but Web-protect-for-Windows and YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1. The blog next recommended several anti-malware programs and I ran all of them. They all defanged Web-protect-for-Windows by removing registry hooks, but left YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 as not even identified as a threat, in spite of the fact that it's English description was in the blog as the trojan that delivers Web-protect-for-Windows. Only Revo Uninstaller actually removed Web-protect-for-Windows. Nothing touched YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1.
My web research has turned up no leads for a support site for the malware producers of this trojan, which site could help remove it. But why would they have one. The longer it is not removed the more money they make from their clients. If however, you can get me the support URL I would appreciate it.
Your suggestion Cannot uninstall an add-on was interesting because it suggested a couple of things I had not yet tried. And thank you for that. First the "Installed plugins page showed no listing for "YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1". Second the show folder button on the troubleshooting info page showed my current profile, but the associated extension folder was empty. I enabled YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 and in control panel, appearances and themes, folder options turned on show system and hidden files, but still empty.
So I am basically back to my original question. The unwanted extension YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 is a trojan that continues to infect my system with fresh copies of Web-protect-for-Windows a very obnoxious malware. So I strongly desire to remove YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1. However the malware developer is not playing by the rules, and for their own malicious reasons & $$$, has intentionally omitted the remove button. Normal manual removal does not work, so I desire a way to force removal, because it is plainly malware.
Another way to say this is that I have identified some malware, a trojan that has infected FireFox. The best anti-malware available does not touch this trojan. I am requesting help to eradicate this malware.
Richard Grubic
தீர்வு தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டது
Because Revo Uninstaller was able to uninstall Web-protect-for-Windows but left the delivery trojan (Firefox add-on) YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1. I contacted Revo support. They suggested closing the Extensions folder so that I was back at the Profile folder found after step 2 of "Uninstalling manually" found at: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cannot-uninstall-an-add-on#w_uninstalling-manually close Firefox. Then delete all of the files named extensions.* but not the folder. When I restarted Firefox, I got a window addressed: About:newaddon?id={b9bfaf1c-a63f-47cd-0829-29526ced3667} (That string is the unwanted Youtube extensions ID.) that screen told me: "Another program on your computer would like to modify Firefox with the following add-on:
YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 By getvideosoft.com Location: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\extension\\getvideosoft.xpi"
And asked me to check a box to approve re-installation of the unwanted extension. I did not check it and just hit the continue box and the screen reverted to the normal opening screen for FF. the add-on page and the troubleshooting page both still showed YouTube Downloader and Converter 3.9.1 still installed but disabled.
I closed FF and deleted: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\extension\\getvideosoft.xpi When I reopened Firefox the regular FF opening screen came up. Both the add-on screen and the troubleshooting screen showed I had no extensions installed.
Success.
Please pass this method to the people who will add this method to : "Uninstalling manually" found at: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cannot-uninstall-an-add-on#w_uninstalling-manually.
probably a step 8 and step 9. If there is no file named ID.xpi
Thanks for your help and encouragement.
Richard Grubic