Tappdiscovery.tools New Tab Hijacker - How to remove

App Discovery Tools is a simple browser new tab-hijacking extension that tries to change how you search the web so that it can monetize that. It sets Tappdiscovery.tools as your new tab page, which is used to show you more advertisements. As long as it is installed, your web browsing is compromised and your browsing history is collected for the benefit of advertisers.

Problems with and removal of App Discovery Tools:

Type of threat	Browser hijacker, adware.
Hijacking symptoms	New tab replaced by App Discovery Tools, web search results returned by Yahoo, EncryptedSearch, or another alternative search engine.
How Tappdiscovery.tools gets installed	Deceptive advertisements, pop-up ads and redirects, pushed by other extensions, installed by free programs as an optional offer.
How to remove App Discovery Tools	Manually uninstall unwanted extensions, or automatically detect and remove malware (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, etc.).

App Discovery Tools extension

App Discovery Tools is a browser extension. A browser is a program that opens websites for you, while an extension is a little add-on that can change how your browser works. For example, App Discovery Tools changes the default page of your browser program to Tappdiscovery.tools. In that way, App Discovery Tools is Tappdiscovery.tools.

On the surface, this extension is meant to help you find cool apps for your phone. But in truth, Tappdiscovery.tools is little more than an adware virus. It directs users to sponsored search and its creator, Eightpoint Technologies, uses that to make money off of each person who installed App Discovery Tools.

If Tappdiscovery.tools was a good-quality and helpful app, it may justify showing ads. But:

1. Nothing really justifies it hijacking your new tab page; doing that doesn’t serve Tappdiscovery.tools’ functionality.
2. App Discovery Tools is a bad-quality extension and it actually takes features away from your browser by locking down some settings.

How it gets installed

App Discovery Tools can be downloaded from Appdiscovery.tools, installed together with other extensions, or installed by a free bundler. Chrome calls it deceptive installation tactics and it’s when you agree to install Tappdiscovery.tools or another extension without quite realizing it.

Deceptively designed sites trick inexperienced internet users to add unwanted extensions. Appdiscovery.tools offers you to “Get Easy Access to Your Favorite Apps* & sponsored search update on your Chrome New Tab Page” with a big and bright “Continue” button. Seeing as these pages tend to appear as pop-up ads on other sites, clicking the “Continue” button on reflex, without reading the text, is something that a lot of people would do.

Once App Discovery Tools is installed, it may prompt you to install another extension, probably – Encrypted Search. This is a worse hijacker than Tappdiscovery.tools – it replaces your browser’s default search engine.

Here is me being offered Encrypted Search right after the installation, with no prompt that the first one completed:

And here is Email Search Tools right after that:

Tappdiscovery.tools, the search hijacker

A search engine is a site that scours the internet to bring you the results to your queries. Encrypted Search shows a ridiculous amount of poorly-labeled ads above, below, and in the middle of real search results, making your internet searches quite frustrating.

If you have these search hijackers installed alongside App Discovery Tools, it won’t be “Tappdiscovery.tools” in your browser’s address bar, but instead, the name of the last search hijacker that you installed (in my case, it was EmailSearchTools).

Tappdiscovery.tools also promotes an affiliated search engine – Saferbrowser Yahoo.com. The search box in the middle of the new tab page opens it. Yahoo also shows lots of ads, but it’s not as bad as Encrypted Search.

So: Tappdiscovery.tools replaces your new tab and directs you to ad-filled search engines. but what about finding apps? Well, on the new tab page, there’s a link at the top that opens Helloapps.org, which I don’t think is related to App Discovery Tools. That site is the sum total of Tappdiscovery.tools’ relevant features. The rest is fluff that’s meant to make the extension look bigger than it is.

And it’s not like EightPoint worked really hard on it; they probably used a ready-made template. Youronlinespeedtesttab.com, Onlinemanualsapptab.com, and a bunch of other extensions are also made by Eightpoint and they’re barely any different. Most of the effort seems to go into marketing. The more users, the more ad revenue they generate.

How to remove App Discovery Tools

If you wish to remove App Discovery Tools and other unwanted extensions, just follow the illustrated instructions in the last section. If you want to scan your computer for malware or have an anti-malware program remove your browser hijackers automatically, Combo Cleaner for macOS and Spyhunter for Windows are good recommendations.

If Tappdiscovery.tools is sending you pop-up ads, visit this article. It explains how to block unwanted browser notifications.

Be careful when installing new extensions. Red flags to watch out for include:

• negative, fake, or no reviews despite many users (Tappdiscovery.tools totally fails that, just look at its Web Store page),
• unclear who the developer is or the developer has a bad reputation (you can find Tappdiscovery.tools’ developer in its privacy policy),
• excessive permissions requested (App Discovery Tools replaces your new tab page, and also reads your browsing history, and manages your apps and extensions).

Browser extensions are pretty powerful, so only install ones that you trust and don’t hesitate to disable or remove the ones that you have doubts about.

The likes of Tappdiscovery.tools can easily be replaced by just saving your favorite links for quick access. Bookmarking is good for that.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manual removal instructions

TopRemoving Tappdiscovery.tools New Tab Hijacker 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 App Discovery Tools. Click on the trash bin icon next to Tappdiscovery.tools New Tab Hijacker 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 App Discovery Tools, 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 Tappdiscovery.tools New Tab Hijacker 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 Tappdiscovery.tools New Tab Hijacker. Click on the "Remove" icon next to App Discovery Tools 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.