Hsearchtab.org Hijacker - How to remove

Hsearchtab.org is a browser hijacker that comes with Search Tab. Officially, Hsearchtab.org is supposed to be about managing your searches and getting trending links. In reality, when Search Tab is installed on a browser, it changes browser settings with the goal of advertising to the user and collecting their information. Hsearchtab.org opens low-quality sites full of ads that can lead people to scams, junkware, and dishonestly advertised health products. It’s important to remove Search Tab and get rid of Hsearchtab.org redirects.

Details on Hsearchtab.org:

Classification	Adware, browser hijacker.
How adware gets installed	Bundled with other programs, advertised online.
Problems with Search Tab	Replaces your search engine and the new tab page with Hsearchtab.org, promotes junkware and low-quality ads, promotes other browser extensions.
How to remove Hsearchtab.org	Remove malware with anti-malware apps (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, others), uninstall unwanted browser extensions, block annoying notifications.

Dangers of the Hsearchtab.org hijacker

Browser hijacking

Search Tab was made by Eightpoint Technologies. It is described as helping you manage your search from your new tab page. Sounds like it would help you change the default search engine from your new tab. The default search engine is the website that your browser sends your internet search queries to.

Well, Search Tab does not do that. Here are a few of the things that it does do:

• Open Hsearchtab.org whenever you open a new tab page.
• Change your search settings to Hsearchtab.org.
• Read your search terms and browsing history.

That’s impressive. Eightpoint makes browser extensions that replace your browser’s new tab page or the search engine, but Search Tab does both at once. With Search Tab installed, Yahoo delivers your search results whether you type your search queries into your address bar or into the new tab search box.

Potentially dangerous ads

The problems with the new tab don’t end here. Hsearchtab.org promotes dangerous low-quality ads and, if you agreed to receive its notifications, displays pop-ups right on your screen.

Hsearchtab.org itself doesn’t have ads, but it does prominently feature links to Totalvideos.tv, Nationalweatheragency.org, and Myemailcentral.com. These Eightpoint’s websites are mostly filled with clickbait native ads (ads that look like links to articles, videos, and other content) by Adblade and Revcontent. Not only do those ads waste your time, but they are also potentially dangerous.

I went from Hsearchtab.org to one of these sites and followed the first ad I saw, a “This video will soon be banned”. I got offered to make $5700 per day if I registered with eXcentral and deposited at least $250 of my money by providing my full personal details and my credit card information. People who used eXcentral complain about being unable to withdraw that money, being pressured to keep depositing more money, and being flooded with unsolicited phone calls.

Hsearchtab.org leads to those ads, as well as unregulated food supplements, fake antivirus apps, and more clickbait sites.

When Search Tab gets installed, it bundles other browser hijackers that are also made by Eightpoint: Hide My History and My Search Finder. These just change your search engine settings. They get installed on top of one another and overwrite the settings.

How to remove Hsearchtab.org

If you followed any of those clickbait ads, got pop-ups to install junkware, or just want to be extra careful, scan your computer with an anti-malware program, like Combo Cleaner for macOS, Spyhunter for Windows, or others. Anti-malware apps can recognize malicious and potentially unwanted applications and warn you about them. The dishonest and manipulative installation tactics that malicious apps use can result in unintentional installation.

Hsearchtab.org can be removed from your settings after you uninstall Search Tab and the other unwanted browser extensions. You can do it from Hsearchtab.org’s context menu or by going into your browser settings (as shown below).

To stop notification pop-ups that the various clickbait sites send out, block them. Access notification settings:

1. Check your notification settings:
   • Chrome – type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
   • Safari – in the Safari menu, choose Preferences, Websites, Notifications.
   • New Edge – type “edge://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
   • Firefox – open Settings, Preferences, Privacy & Security, scroll down to Permissions, and click on Settings next to Notifications.
2. Find Hsearchtab.org and other unwanted sites. Next to each address, press the button that brings up a little menu, then choose “Block”.

Hsearchtab.org and other sites aren’t blocked by this, just their notifications. If you want to block malicious and potentially dangerous sites, use an anti-malware app with a malicious website blocker, an ad-blocker, or manually block unwanted domains. Anti-malware apps are the best as they have the resources to keep up with all the new malicious sites being created. Either way, any protection is better than nothing.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove browser extensions

TopHow To remove Hsearchtab.org Hijacker 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 Hsearchtab.org Hijacker, 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 Hsearchtab.org Hijacker 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 Hsearchtab.org, 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 Hsearchtab.org Hijacker 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 Hsearchtab.org Hijacker 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 Hsearchtab.org Hijacker, 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.