TyBit Unified Search for Windows

tyBit Unified Search is a toolbar that lets users search multiple search engines at once for a variety of different things. Although we love the idea in theory, in execution, it leaves something to be desired.

We first ran into trouble when we found that the version of the toolbar that was available from Download.com was not compatible with the version of Firefox we were running, or with our version of Internet Explorer. This resulted in some error messages and other general annoyances before we got the program updated and running, at least in Firefox. There we were greeted with a toolbar that gave us options for eight different kinds of searches, including images, videos, news, shopping, and more; there were also eight different search engines to choose from. We really liked the program's interface; it was easy to select the type of search we wanted, which engine(s) we wanted to use, and to turn safe search on and off. Unfortunately, we were only able to complete one search; subsequent search terms resulted in complete inactivity from the toolbar. We restarted Firefox several times, but the problem was never solved, and there was no Help file to guide us. Things in Internet Explorer were even worse; attempts to update the toolbar resulted in error messages and freeze-ups. We weren't ever able to get it up and running. Overall, although we liked the idea of this program, it just didn't perform well.

tyBit Unified Search is free. It installs politely but leaves a folder behind upon removal. We do not recommend this program; until its bugs are fixed or it at least comes with a Help file, it's more trouble than it's worth.