ShortcutTab Redirects - How to remove

ShortcutTab is a browser extension that redirects search queries to Startpage.gg, Seek.ommento.com, and S.advancedsearchlab.com. Though ShortcutTab offers some potentially useful features, it also injects ads into the user’s webpages. It also seems to be advertised by aggressive and unsafe websites. Based on this, it’s best to remove ShortcutTab and find a safer extension.

About ShortcutTab:

Type of threat	Adware, browser hijacker, potentially unwanted program.
How ShortcutTab affects the browser	Changes the search setting and redirects search queries, making the load time a little longer, reads the browsing history and the search queries, displays ads on some webpages, offers a link to a page from which simultaneous searches on multiple sites can be performed.
How browser hijackers get installed	Bundled with free installers, advertised on unsafe websites, advertised by unwanted notifications.
Removing ShortcutTab	Uninstall ShortcutTab and other suspicious browser extensions, scan your computer for malware with anti-malware scanners, such as Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, and others.

Is ShortcutTab dangerous?

Bad first impression

Online, ShortcutTab has suddenly received a lot of negative attention. It has been declared a search hijacker. And I do think that this negative label is deserved. If you find ShortcutTab installed on your browser, it might be best to remove it.

ShortcutTab can be found on the Chrome Web Store. At first glance, it looks like a normal new tab replacer. But there are a few suspicious things about it. Most obviously that one version of ShortcutTab has over ten thousand users but not a single review or rating, as well as the fact that Advancedsearchlab.com, the site that serves as the search engine for ShortcutTab, is commonly visited with various notification spammers, such as Topflownews.com and Special-offers.online.

At first glance, ShortcutTab isn’t bad. once installed, it doesn’t replace the new tab page and the home page. And it actually has a unique feature – it lets users search for the same query on multiple websites by selecting them on ShortcutTab’s page. I can imagine that being useful to some people.

Ads and spying

However, there’s a big problem with ShortcutTab: it gets access to the user’s search settings even though it does not need them to function. ShortcutTab ignores the search engine selection when searching from the address bar, where the search engine setting is relevant. So why does it need this permission? It should not need to even touch your search settings, it would work fine without that.

We can find the answer by reading ShortcutTab’s privacy policy. Access to the browser’s default search engine allows ShortcutTab (S.advancedsearchlab.com) to collect some valuable data:

• ShortcutTab collects search queries, browsing history, and the user’s IP address.
• This data is used to show relevant advertisements to each user.
• This data may be shared with related companies.

It’s not always wrong for browser add-ons to show ads in users’ browsers. But the developers should be very open about that sort of thing. ShortcutTab would have to say: “We give you a quick link to a page that provides multiple search engine search. We also change your search engine settings and read your browsing history so that we can display ads for you.” That doesn’t sound very attractive.

Avoid browser hijackers

There’s something suspicious about the way that ShortcutTab is installed. Looking at the web analytics of related webpages, it looks like ShortcutTab might be advertised on pirating, adult video, and similar sites, as well as by malicious redirects from infected websites and notification spam. So, the same as most browser hijackers. But it might also be downloaded bundled with some free apps.

To avoid accidentally inviting junkware, avoid download sites that spread it. Many sites that make freeware available to download also bundle it with annoying and dangerous software.

To avoid notification spam, don’t allow notifications from any site that you don’t want to hear from. Also, know that you can block notifications in browser settings.

How to remove ShortcutTab

Go into your browser settings, the section for extensions, find ShortcutTab and remove it. Or right-click ShortcutTab’s icon, the plus ‘+’ in the upper right corner and then select the “Remove” option from the menu.

But don’t stop here. It might be a good idea to check your computer for other suspicious items. Look at your other installed browser extensions, apps, programs. Scan your device with an anti-malware tool (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, etc.) and see if it finds anything.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manually restore browser settings

TopHow To remove ShortcutTab Redirects 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 ShortcutTab Redirects, 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 ShortcutTab Redirects 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 ShortcutTab Redirects, 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 ShortcutTab Redirects 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 ShortcutTab Redirects 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 ShortcutTab Redirects, 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.