At the present time, few of the PC users imagine the operation of the device without the presence of the Internet, regardless of whether the computer is used for work or for interesting leisure activities. As practice shows, during the operation of a computer device, users often have to face situations when, after a standard manual or automatic update of browsers, incomprehensible names of applications or programs appear on a PC, which the consumer did not install on purpose.
Naturally, each of these situations requires mandatory user intervention in order to determine the class of the installed application, remove it, if the program can cause some harm, and if the program is “useful”, then understand the features of its operation. Tampermonkey is one of such applications that independently gets on a PC in the process of using Internet resources, the purpose, characteristics and specifics of removal of which, if such a need arises, will be described in the article.
Contents
What is Tampermonkey
Before deciding whether to remove or leave an application installed on a device without the user’s knowledge, it is necessary to understand its characteristics, functionality and purpose. Often, the user will find out about the presence of the Tampermonkey application on the PC by periodically viewing the active plug-ins and add-ons to the browser used.
When asked what kind of program called Tampermonkey it is, you can find many answers on the Internet, indicating both the harmfulness of this element and the usefulness of the application, due to its positive effect on the operation of certain scripts that are necessary during the process of their timely updating, and , respectively, and correct functioning.
Many users adhere to the position that the Tampermonkey program has at least conditionally safe potential, and its presence on a PC is undesirable, since the application provokes the appearance of unnecessary advertising in the browser. The adherents of this version explain their correctness by the translation of the name Tampermonkey, which sounds in Russian as “interfering monkey”, which positions it far from positive.
Where to download the browser extension
If there is an opposite theory, you should not rush to remove the application from the PC. It would be more reasonable to figure out why Tampermonkey is needed, and only after that decide the advisability of its presence in the system.
Although the Tampermonkey application is installed on a PC without the user’s knowledge, it is not a malicious element, it is an extension for browsers that can provide installation and support for custom scripts. In simple words, the resources of the installed extension facilitate downloading media and video content from various social networks, filter ads, work in a complex combination with other plugins, expanding their capabilities. But in addition to positive qualities, the application also has certain disadvantages, which consist in the independent installation of the program on the PC, its deep integration into the browser settings, which affects the decrease in the user’s personal privacy indicators, and, accordingly, makes them worry about security. Some users also claim:With the installation of the application, the percentage of regularly pop-up ads that interfere with viewing content increases in parallel, which can hardly be called a positive aspect of the presence of the extension in the browser.
We will understand in detail how the application gets to the PC, as well as its main functions and capabilities, which will allow the extension to be used correctly and safely.
Specificity of introducing Tampermonkey into the system
Questions about how to install the Tampermonkey tool on a PC rarely arise from users, since in most cases the application itself, without any notification of the owner of the computer or due to his inattention when updating programs, is embedded in browser plugins. If a user needs to download and install an extension, it is very easy to do this:
- Go to the browser menu, and select the item “Extensions” or “Add-ons” depending on which browser is used.
- In the search box that opens, enter the name Tampermonkey, where in the highlighted list press the “Install” button next to the object you are looking for.
- Confirm with the “Allow” key in the confirmation window.
- Restart your browser.
The extension is often installed on its own when downloading any content that contains the Tampermonkey boot file. Most users, when downloading updates or programs, blindly agree to the installation conditions, which provokes an unauthorized extension of the extension into the system. Sometimes the user does not even suspect about the functioning of the application, since it works in the background, notifying about its work only after deep introduction into the system or during synchronous interaction with other plugins while the browser is running.
The fact that Tampermonkey is embedded in the system, installed in the browser will be indicated by the presence on the main browser toolbar of an icon in the form of a black square with smoothed corners on a green background, inside with two large green dots placed horizontally. Let’s consider the positive aspects of Tampermonkey and the peculiarities of its operation.
How to use Tampermonkey
Tampermonkey is a shareware extension, despite many opponents of its presence on PC, and has the following advantages:
- Application resources allow you to install and update scripts, which greatly expands the capabilities of the browser.
- The extension’s functionality smooths out the conflict of scripts, with the ability to write and debug their interaction using the resources of the built-in editor.
- Promotes an increase in the speed of work in the network, by opening a password when pointing the arrow at it with a manipulator.
- Accelerates the interaction with video files, expanding the possibilities and options for their viewing.
- Ensures timely automatic script updates.
- Affects the correct display of pages.
The application does not require specific configuration, it starts functioning automatically after installation, followed by a browser restart.
If, nevertheless, you want to customize the functioning of the application for personal needs, just click on its icon in the open browser, which will open access to the extension menu. The menu, although it has an English-language interface, is intuitive, it provides access to the main settings of the scripts, where it is possible to both rebuild their update mode and write your own script for the browser.
If you think that Tampermonkey’s work interferes with the optimal functioning of your PC, are adherent of the theory that the presence of the discussed application on the computer is unsafe, or think that the extension loads the system and attracts unwanted advertisements, then the following information will be relevant to you. Let’s consider further how to effectively remove the program from the system along with traces of its presence on the device.
How to remove Tampermonkey
Despite the presence of useful features of the Tampermonkey application, the question of how to remove an extension from the system is often asked by users. The reasons for this are different – from a banal preference to use it as an extension for interacting with various plug-ins of another product, to the perception of the program as a malicious and unwanted tool.
Before you start removing the Tampermonkey add-on from your browsers, you must first remove it from your computer’s operating system. To this end, you will need, similarly to the standard regulations, to enter the “Control Panel” through “Start” or “Search bar”, depending on the OS version, followed by a transition to “Uninstall the program”, where you will need to find and remove the program.
After performing this manipulation, it is worth moving on to the direct operation of the application in the browser. For example, if the popular Google Chrome is used as the main working browser on a PC, the uninstall operation is performed according to the following instructions:
- Launch Google Chrome.
- In the field for entering the address, write chrome: // extensions /.
- Find Tampermonkey in the list of add-ons that opens and delete the searched object by clicking on the “Delete” button.
This procedure guarantees one hundred percent removal of the object from the browser, and in parallel, the user will be able to remove other extensions unnecessary for his work in this window.
To remove Tampermonkey from the Mozilla Firefox browser, the procedure will not differ much from the instructions for uninstalling the application from Google Chrome, except for the inscription that is entered in the search field – about: addons. All other points of the instructions are identical.
As for the Safari browser, Tampermonkey is uninstalled through the “Settings” of the browser, where the “Extensions” item is selected, in the list of which the searched for object is marked and uninstalled with the “Delete” button.
In Opera, in order to remove the extension, you must act in accordance with the following regulations:
- Open a browser and go to “Tools”.
- Go through the “Extensions” tab to the “Manage extensions” item.
- Find Tampermonkey in the list and remove it by clicking on the “Remove” inscription.
As an alternative option to eliminate the extension, you can use the resources of powerful antivirus utilities that perceive applications as conditionally unsafe for a PC, for example, use AdwCleaner, Dr. Web Curent or similar software tools.
Summarizing
Tampermonkey, although a product of dubious fame, and is positioned by many as an unwanted component, but is ranked among the multifunctional and useful applications that can facilitate interaction with a variety of custom class scripts.
The article describes in detail the advantages and functions of the application, after reading which, everyone will be able to determine for themselves the need for the Tampermonkey extension, which will help to correctly install the tool on a PC and use its capabilities, and also describes the procedure for removing it from the system, for users who are adherents of the theory of insecurity of the object. In addition, we note that the product is distinguished not only by its ease of installation, but also easily removed from the system, which is often not typical of programs of the viral category.