How to remove the Babylon toolbar, home page and search engine

This article is no longer maintained, so its content might be out of date.

Babylon translation software adds a toolbar and other add-ons to browsers. It also changes Firefox preferences such as your home page and search engine. These changes are done in a way that can be difficult to detect and reverse. This article explains how to fully remove Babylon and reset the Firefox options back to normal.

Note: This article only applies to Windows and macOS. To see instructions, choose Windows or Mac from the dropdown menu under Customize this article.

1. Uninstall Babylon software

  1. Click the Start Menu and select Control Panel. The Control Panel window will open.
    Control Panel - WinXP
  2. In the Control Panel window click on Add or Remove Programs. The Add or Remove Programs window will open.
  3. From the list of currently installed programs, select Babylon.
  4. To begin the uninstall, click the Remove button to the right of Babylon.

    Remove Babylon - WinXP
  5. In the Babylon Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Uninstall and then follow the onscreen instructions.

    Uninstall Babylon
  6. Repeat these steps to remove any other Babylon related software you may have, like Babylon Toolbar, Browser Manager or Browser Protection.
  1. Click the Start Menu and select Control Panel. The Control Panel window will open.
    Control Panel - Win7
  2. In the Control Panel window click the Uninstall a program link under the Programs section.

    Uninstall a program - Win7
  3. From the list of currently installed programs, select Babylon.
  4. To begin the uninstall, click the Uninstall button at the top of the list.

    Remove Babylon - Win7
  5. In the Babylon Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Uninstall and then follow the onscreen instructions.

    Uninstall Babylon
  6. Repeat these steps to remove any other Babylon related software you may have, like Babylon Toolbar, Browser Manager or Browser Protection.
  1. From the Start Screen, click the Desktop tile. The Desktop view will open.
  2. From the Desktop, hover in the lower right-hand corner to access the Charms.
  3. Select Control Panel from the Settings charm. The Control Panel window will open.

    Control Panel - Win8
  4. In the Control Panel window click the Uninstall a program link under the Programs section.

    Uninstall a program - Win7
  5. From the list of currently installed programs, select Babylon.
  6. To begin the uninstall, click the Uninstall button at the top of the list.

    Remove Babylon - Win7
  7. In the Babylon Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Uninstall and then follow the onscreen instructions.

    Uninstall Babylon
  8. Repeat these steps to remove any other Babylon related software you may have, like Babylon Toolbar, Browser Manager or Browser Protection.
Note: These steps are for a previous Windows version but should be similar on Windows 10 and above.
  1. Click the Start Menu and select Control Panel. The Control Panel window will open.
  2. In the Control Panel window click the Uninstall a program link under the Programs section.
  3. To begin the uninstall, click the Uninstall button at the top of the list.

    Remove Babylon - Win7
  4. In the Babylon Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Uninstall and then follow the onscreen instructions.

    Uninstall Babylon
  5. Repeat these steps to remove any other Babylon related software you may have, like Babylon Toolbar, Browser Manager or Browser Protection.
  1. Click the Finder icon in the dock. Your home folder will open, (usually the name of your Mac user account). On the left side of the window, click the Applications folder to open it.
  2. Locate Babylon in the Applications folder and drag it to the Trash.
  3. Click and hold on the Trash icon and then select Empty Trash from the menu to delete Babylon.

The application is now uninstalled. So let's continue to remove its add-ons, changed preferences and other traces.

2. Remove add-ons, fix your home page and search engine by resetting Firefox

The Firefox Refresh feature will remove the Babylon toolbar from Firefox and reset the preferences it has changed. It will also preserve your personal data but it will restore everything else to their default settings.

  1. Click the menu button Fx89menuButton, click Help, and select More Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click Refresh Firefox… then Refresh Firefox in the confirmation window that opens. Firefox will close to refresh itself.
  3. When finished, a window will list your imported information. Click the Finish button. Firefox will open.
  4. Select whether you want Firefox to restore all or some windows and tabs, and click the Let's go! button.
Note: There's a Refresh Firefox button in the Firefox Troubleshoot Mode window, if you can't start Firefox normally. You can also do a manual refresh by creating a new profile and transferring your important data to the new profile.
Babylon will now be fully removed from Firefox. The steps below will help you remove other traces of it from your computer. Learn more about the Refresh feature in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article.

3. Remove add-ons from your other browsers

If you're also using other browsers, you might want to reset them or remove the Babylon-related add-ons too. The following articles link to external support websites:

4. Check your computer for malware

After completing the above steps, check your computer for malware. See How do I get rid of malware? for some recommended malware removal programs.

These fine people helped write this article:

AliceWyman, David Tenser, Underpass, Michael Verdi, scoobidiver, ideato, Matt_G, user633449, Joni, BD
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