Removing Unwanted Chrome Browser Extensions

Note: The article assumes you're running Chrome on a Windows operating system.

Many times, an unwanted extension can cause system slow downs or make ads appear. To check what extensions you have installed in Chrome go to Settings > then chose extensions from the panel on the left side.

It will look like this:

You can see on the right side a little check box option to enable or disable extensions. This comes in handy, but what if the check box is grayed out? Many harmful extensions can do this, making it appear that you cannot remove them. If the extension doesn't have an entry in your add/remove programs list, take the following steps to try and remove it:


1. Locate the extension ID of the unwanted extension. To do this, enable Developer Mode by checking the Developer Mode box at the top right of the extensions page. This will show you the ID right below the extension. An example ID of one of my extensions is: ID: fljalecfjciodhpcledpamjachpmelml

2. The next step is to locate this ID within the Windows registry. To do this, open the start menu and in the program search box type: regedit. The program will appear in your list. Open that:

Warning: Use caution when using regedit as it alters your system

 Navigate to where the registry key is for the bad extension. The two places to look are:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE, then select Policies > Google > Chrome > ExtensionInstallForcelist.

and 

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER > SOFTWARE, then select Policies > Google > Chrome > ExtensionInstallForcelist.

3. This will show you the installed extensions and most often will show you the ID of the bad extension causing the troubles.

4. In the registry key, look at the path of the key. It will point to a folder location on your hard drive. An example would be C:\\Program Data\   Leave regedit open and in another window, navigate to that location and you should find a folder or files with the same ID name that we found above. Delete the folder or file with that name completely.

5. Go back into regedit and right-click on the registry key of the extension ID that is causing the problems and chose delete.

6. Restart the Chrome browser. You can navigate to your extension list from the settings menu and note that the extension should be gone!

Great job! You've successfully killed your first malware extension within Chrome. Now you know what to do for future cases. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to drop me a line.




~Michael