Search.hometab.com virus - How to remove

Search.hometab.com browser hijacker is a product by One Floor App, operated by Widdit. The company had introduced a former version of HomeTab hijacker which lead to Hometab.widdit.com, but now this website is no longer operable. Instead, infected victims can expect to be transferred to Search.hometab.com. It has obtained a solid amount of popularity in Japan, Poland, Brazil, Libya and Mexico. Even though the domain claims to be certified by TRUSTe, it is not. Do not be mislead into thinking that the domain meets comprehensive privacy certification requirements.

Alarming features of Search.hometab.com redirect virus

It is possible that Searchcompletion.com browser hijacker initiates redirects to Search.hometab.com virus, or vice versa. We have definitely noticed that redirection to deceptive websites like Patterntrader-ru.com and Exclusive.lottopoint.com will occur. The latter domain promises awards of 163 million euros but appears to be operated from a high-risk country.

Users will also be recommended to log into messenger and chat with a ChampionBot which is actually a legitimate bot that makes good use of Messenger carousel cards, adding images, gifs, videos as well as buttons to make navigation easy. However, accessing this service through a suspicious domain is not the best idea as you might reveal your email address or phone number, together with a specific password. This information should not be obtained by unreliable people (Cybercriminals step up their games to harvest PII).

The most obvious way to recognize this browser hijacker is to take a look at the browsers’ preferences that should be set to Search.hometab.com rogue search platform. During generation of results to search queries, it briefly shows a Google page, cluttered with codes. This could indicate that online tracking is done from this site and people might have to be constantly monitored by unknown sources.

Search.hometab.com is generated by the same people of Widdit.com. These developers have been noticed to cause issues for security researchers (PUA/Widdit). Users have complained about this domain all the way back in 2012 and emphasized that they saw a box at the lower left corner of their screens, stating that it is “loading widdit.com”. We discovered that there is a very specific classification for this infection: PUA/Widdit.Gen.

However, when browsers’ preferences are modified without authorization, the parasite is categorized as browser hijacker. If users attempt to download software from Hometab.com domain, they are lead to Simplyinstaller.com which has been recognized as a threat (SimplyInstaller).

A HomeTab extension might be currently active in your browser. It makes sure that the fraudulent search engine would continue to serve users as a preference. The application could leave even bigger impact after specific payloads of malware are implanted (Malware viruses). This will definitely complicate the removal of this browser hijacker.

Prevention of malware and removal

To fully get rid of a browser hijacker, we suggest you to scan your operating system with Spyhunter. It is definitely a reliable helper, reassuring that users’ computers would remain properly secured. In addition to this option, we also provide instructions for a free manual removal. Follow the helpful guidelines exactly as they are to make sure that they would work. To sustain computer devices at their best condition, we insist you stop visiting unknown websites or downloading applications that are not considered as respectable. If researchers indicate that any of them have objectionable features, it would be best to avoid them.

For installation processes, always select advanced/custom modes as they will allow users to review Setup Wizards better. For instance, people will be presented with thorough Eula and Privacy Policy documents for a reason. If you neglect them, you might miss some significant details about the program you wish to install. You can also open Windows Task manager and find the amount of utilized CPU resources. If the number is not corresponding with the number of launched processes, then it might be that a malicious infection is sucking those resources.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Proper elimination of Search.hometab.com virus

How to remove hometab virus using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Search.hometab.com virus install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to hometab virus . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Search.hometab.com virus easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove hometab virus from macOS

Delete Search.hometab.com virus from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the hometab virus  app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopHow To remove Search.hometab.com virus from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search.hometab.com virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove Search.hometab.com virus from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Search.hometab.com virus related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to hometab virus , reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.

How to remove Search.hometab.com virus from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search.hometab.com virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Search.hometab.com virus from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall hometab virus and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search.hometab.com virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.