What are browser plugins?
Browser plugins are optional additions or ‘extensions’ to your browser which add functionality. As they’re added, you should see them in the toolbar at the top of your browser. These browser additions can sometimes be really useful, but can also quickly become a nightmare of third-party apps you don’t want or need, which slows down your browser. As plugins often have access to everything you do online (so can capture your passwords and track which websites you have visited) they can even put your privacy at risk, so we recommend that you keep your toolbars clean.
Example of a cluttered toolbar, with many browser plugins:
Example of a clean toolbar:
As browser plugins start automatically, they can slow your browser down. CCleaner lets you choose which plugins to disable so your browser can start faster!
How do I manage auto-starting plugins?
To manage browser plugins:
- Click the Tools icon on the left, then click Browser Plugins
- You will see a list of all items that have been set to start automatically with each browser. The browsers are arranged in tabs. Those that have been disabled will state ‘No’ in the Enabled column
- Then do one of the following:
- To prevent an item from starting automatically, select the entry and click Disable.
- To remove the extension, select the entry and click Delete.
NOTE: This will only remove the extension file; you may wish to instead uninstall the program that installed the extension in order to be more thorough.
Why do some plugins show up multiple times?
This simply indicates that there are multiple detected files associated with the plugin, and is quite common.
Simply click Disable each of the entries associated with the intended plugin for best results.
For instance, in the following screenshot, simply Disable both “Lync Click to Call” entries to prevent this plugin from loading.
Which plugins can I prevent from auto-starting?
It is important that you know what the plugin does before you disable it, as some of them start automatically for a reason.
As a general rule, it should be safe to disable any plugins or extensions that you added yourself.
We would recommend that you use Google, or an alternative search engine, to research anything that you are unsure of before disabling it.