How to Disable and Uninstall Skype Toolbar for IE8
Remove the Skype add-on toolbar from Internet Explorer or Firefox!
by
Doug
Updated June 2, 2010
Skype IE Security pop-up box, asking if you want to allow a program to open outside of Protected mode in Intenet Explorer.
The button to manage the Skype add-in for IE is located on the Command bar in Internet Explorer. Look for the Skype icon button.
Skype add-on for IE options box allows you to Turn number highlighting on or off, Turn name highlighting on or off, and uninstall the Skype add-on for IE.
When you install Skype, it will also install a Skype Internet Explorer toolbar and Firefox add-on along with it. This toolbar can be an annoyance in my opinion, especially when you constantly get bombarded with an Internet Explorer Security popup box that says the following:
A website wants to open web content using this program on your computer
Name: SkypeNames
Skype Technologies SA
Skype\Toolbars\Shared\SkypeNames2.exe
To uninstall and remove the Skype add-on from IE do the following:
- Open up Internet Explorer (I'm using IE8).
- On the Command bar look for the Skype button icon and click on the button.
- The Command bar has the Home, RSS, Email and Print buttons, along with other IE Add-on buttons, if you don't see the Skype icon, you may need to click on the double arrow at the far right-end to show the other Add-ons.
- Now in the "Skype add-on for IE" pop-up box click the Uninstall button to remove the Skype add-on from Internet Explorer.
- In the Warning window, click OK to remove the Skype add-on from your computer.
- The Skype add-on for IE will be fully removed after you reopen all IE windows!
- Then a Windows install box will come up, click the Allow button.
- You will then be asked to close Internet Explorer (Choose Automatically or Do not close applications (A Reboot may be required). Save any work that you may be working on, and then click OK.
- The Skype toolbar add-on will the complete the uninstall and should be completely removed from Internet Explorer, once you open up IE.
Also, I'd recommend doing a full restart of your computer. I had to restart mine, because the microphone stopped picking up sound, but was back to normal after restarting. At any rate, that's how to uninstall the Skype add-in for IE.
--
If you're using Firefox and want to uninstall the add-on follow these steps:
- Open Firefox -> go to Tools -> Add-ons -> in Extensions, find the Skype extension for Firefox and click Disable.
- Then click the Restart Firefox button to complete your changes.
- That's it.
---
It would certainly have been nicer if instead of automatically installing the Skype toolbar add-in for both Firefox and Internet Explorer, that there was an option during installing Skype that asked you whether or not I wanted to install the skype IE toolbar.