TabiTab New Tab - How to remove

TabiTab is a browser add-on that replaces your new tab page and offers various new features to add to it. It’s a little suspicious because it’s made by a company that’s made many browser hijackers – malicious extensions that seek to force the victim to click on sponsor links and visit affiliated websites. TabiTab is not dangerous, but if you use it, you should be aware of possible issues that come with it.

About TabiTab:

Classification	Potentially unwanted program.
How TabiTab works	It replaces the new tab page, it collects user data and may use it for advertising purposes.
How it’s installed	Included with other apps, advertised online.
How to remove TabiTab	Uninstall unwanted apps and browser add-ons, check your device with antivirus scanners (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, others), review the settings of your browser.

What is TabiTab?

An extension by a suspicious developer

TabiTab, found on Tabitab.com, is a browser add-on that changes how your new tab looks, adding various features to it: widgets, background images, etc. In my opinion, it hardly offers anything that would make it an improvement over the vanilla new tab of most browsers. Still, TabiTab seems to not be very different from all the other new tab extensions.

But TabiTab is made by Imali Media, which is infamous for making browser hijackers like MediaNewPage and FunSafeTab. So, I thought that TabiTab is worth looking at closer.

Also, a few antivirus scanners consider Tabitab.com to be Malicious: Virustotal.com. This also made me a little suspicious of TabiTab.

Privacy and search

TabiTab gives users widgets, a todo list, and some other utilities on their new tab page. However, it most prominently features a search box to search the internet.

The search box uses Yahoo by default (as do many, many browser add-ons) but it allows you to switch to Google.  So, that’s two search engines in the new tab. A really disappointing selection, but it’s likely good enough for most users.

TabiTab does not change the search engine used in the address bar, though it did use to have a companion extension called TabiTab Search Manager that would do just that. TabiTab offered Search Manager during its installation, however, that extension has already been removed from the Chrome Web Store. It certainly seems more problematic than the TabiTab new tab add-on.

Being involved in web search, TabiTab has access to some sensitive information, such as what you search for. Interestingly, it considers your search history to be non-identifiable information. Non-personal data may be shared with third parties and/or used for marketing purposes.

Even more interestingly, TabiTab has a private search engine on Psearch.tabitab.com whose privacy policy is a lot less permissive. I’m not sure how the different privacy policies interact with each other.

Regardless, browser add-ons like TabiTab usually make money from advertising, affiliate links, and data collection. Privacy and browser extensions don’t always go together well (Browser extensions collect and sell data with almost no oversight).

How it’s installed

Sometimes, browser add-ons come bundled with free programs, included as optional offers. If you install a lot of free programs from download sites, you’re probably familiar with the practice of ads inside installers.

However, TabiTab also has ads that can be seen online. It shows a variety of ads, including “TabiTab Private Search” and “Play Tons Of Games”. These ads advertise TabiTab’s widgets, but not its core feature – the new tab replacer. I’m not sure if people find such ads to be honest or not.

It’s hard to say. Despite the TabiTab extension having thousands of users, it barely has any reviews. Ordinarily, this means that those who installed the extension either forgot about it or did it unknowingly, such as by being tricked into installing it.

How to remove TabiTab

If you like using TabiTab, then feel safe doing so. It’s not a harmful extension, only slightly suspicious due to its developer.

If you wish to remove it, that’s simple enough to do – just open the Extensions page in your browser settings.

Review your other extensions, be especially suspicious of those that might mess with your search settings. You can use an anti-malware app, such as Combo Cleaner for macOS, Spyhunter for Windows, and others. Anti-malware apps can recognize malicious and potentially unwanted items that might be more dangerous than TabiTab, such as other Imali Media extensions.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove unwanted extensions

TopRemoving TabiTab New Tab from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to TabiTab. Click on the trash bin icon next to TabiTab New Tab or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to TabiTab, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset 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 TabiTab New Tab from Microsoft Edge:Top

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

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to TabiTab New Tab. Click on the "Remove" icon next to TabiTab or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving TabiTab New Tab from Firefox

• 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 TabiTab 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.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to TabiTab New Tab, 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.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

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