What is Diigo?

Diigo is a website and publisher of many free online tools in the form of mobile applications, desktop applications, browser helper objects, add-ons, and extensions for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, and operating systems including iOS, Mac OSX, Android, and Windows. The items provided by Diigo are used for social bookmarking and similar activities. While the add-ons and extensions associated with Diigo Inc. claim to be safe and legitimate, it should be noted that many applications linked to the company and website have a very bad online reputation consisting of a a large quantity of bad reviews.

Some Anti-Malware and Antivirus companies have even suggested that associated programs should be considered potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) or potential malware because the tools and websites associated with the services provided by Diigo allegedly act like spyware and inject Javascript into viewed webpages and send personal browsing data back to the remote servers for marketing purposes. It is also said items like Diigo Toolbar and similar products manipulate web content, display sponsored search results, generate targeted advertisements, and have unnecessary permissions set allowing the items to access and collect data on all websites, as well as user data connected to browser tabs and browsing activities.

In can be said for certain that the Diigo Web Collector – Capture and Annotate extension for Google Chrome does have permissions set allowing it to “Read and modify all your data on the websites you visit.”

Other reports suggest that the company resorts to unethical marketing practices by engaging in spam. In particular, the company was noted for using a spambot service in 2011 in order to comment spam a quantity of websites.

It has also been said that they store user information, including passwords and other non-identifiable and identifiable information plain text. A user has reported that “They store your password in plaintext and when I submitted a bug report to them, they sent a confirmation email containing my password in cleartext. This has been confirmed by several other users.” Some users may find this uneasy while others have no problem with it.

In 2008 diigo.com was submitted to numerous blacklist spam databases, including Spacequad AntiSpam Services. An example of recorded Diigo spam during the events that has been detailed below.

<p>
<a href="http://www.diigo.com/profile/incest">Incest stories free.</a> from Teen incest stories.<br>
Daughter incest incest. Incest cartoons. Incest xxx. Free incest movies. Lesbian incest. Free incest photos. <a href="http://www.diigo.com/profile/incest">[read more]</a><br>
Tracked on Tuesday, October 28 2008 @ 01:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time
</p>

Issues relating to spam have been in circulation in the year 2014 as well. Furthermore, in summer of 2014 Google Chrome disabled the Diigo extension, stating that “This extension may have been corrupted by malware.”

In 2012 the domain (website) was hacked and nameservers were changed, which caused traffic to be temporarily misdirected to potentially malicious websites.

User complaints about Diigo Toolbar also suggest that the Toolbar is impossible to hide, the features do not work on all websites, the toolbar may change existing internet browser settings, such as the homepage and internal search engine (causing unwanted redirects), and that the Toolbar will display pop-up and targeted advertisements from third-party platforms after install.

There are also a lot of good reviews of the product that suggests many of the users are happy with the services the item provides. One good review of the product specifically states “It’s great for High School and College students alike. The browsers features allow you to: take and organize notes, highlight important and useful information, bookmark pages directly to your library, create and share information within your own groups, and so on. It has really helped me a lot so far in school, And I’ll continue to use it throughout my career, and own personal use.”

Is Diigo safe?

Although this browser add-on and extension, as well as items it may associate with or have a close relationship with (standalone publisher wise) has bad and good reviews, it is entirely up to the user to decide if this Toolbar and associated items are safe for them to personally use. If you are conscious of your online privacy, do not wish to potentially receive pop-up advertisements or other promotions through other various communications, and do not wish for your internet browser to redirect to http://diigo.searcho.com/ and unknown websites it would be suggested to avoid Diigo, diigo.com, and associated items and websites. *This program not defined as a the Diigo virus or definite malware and can usually be removed by using manual procedures.

1. Manual Removal Guide

How to uninstall Diigo Toolbar

1. Access Windows Start Menu and navigate to the Control Panel (on Windows 8, right click the bottom left corner to gain access to the Windows 8 Start Menu. Windows 8 may also select Programs and Features).

2. In Windows Control Panel, click Uninstall a program or Add and remove a program in the Programs section (If you are using Windows 8 you will bypass the Control Panel).

3. In the list of installed programs, search for Diigo software Once the adware is located, double click the unwanted program or select it with your mouse and click the Uninstall button. *Follow any on-screen instructions that may prompt to remove this program.

How to remove Diigo add-ons and extensions

Google Chrome

1. Click on the Customize icon (wrench or 3 bar icon) next to the address bar and navigate to Tools > Extensions.

2. Search for the Diigo extension and remove it by clicking the trashcan icon next to it.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Type Ctrl+Shift+A.

2. On the Extensions and Plugin search for the Diigo add-on and remove it.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. Click Tools and select Manage add-ons.

2. On the Toolbars and Extensions tab search for the Diigo add-on and remove it if located.

2. Automatic Removal Guide

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

1. Write down the toll free number below in case you run into any issues while following the removal instructions. Our techs will kindly assist you with any problems.

2. Install the free or full version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. The full version enables real-time protection to block malware and unwanted programs from infecting your computer, while the free version is just a free scan and removal tool.

3. Once Malwarebytes is installed, run the Anti-Malware program. Malwarebytes may automatically begin to update and scan your computer at this point.

4. Once Malwarebytes is open click the large Scan Now button or visit the “Scan” tab to manually run a scan. Before the scan is started Malwarebytes may ask to update the software, make sure to do so if prompted to. Malwarebytes may also automatically initiate a scan after install.

5. Once the scan is complete, click the Quarantine All button to isolate and remove the detected files. You may be asked to reboot your computer after removal to completely remove detected files.

6. You can chose to visit the History tab and click Delete All to remove these files from the Quarantine log, although these files no longer provide a threat.

CCleaner by Piriform

CCleaner can be used to automatically repair internet browser settings that have been changed during this infection. It can also fix system startup up settings and help uninstall unwanted software.

1. Install the free or paid version of CCleaner by Piriform.

2. Once installed, open the program and navigate to Cleaner > Windows/Applications and click the Analyze button. Afterwards, click the Run Cleaner button on the bottom right of the program interface.

3. Next, navigate to Tools > Startup and search through each tab starting from windows, internet explorer, etc., all the way to Content Menu, for additional suspicious entries and click Disable and Delete once anything is found.

4. To automatically uninstall unwanted software, navigate to the Uninstall tab and search for the program in the list of installed programs. Uninstall the unwanted software as selected by clicking the Run Uninstaller button.