Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

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This article has been created with the sole purpose of helping you by showing how to remove the Searchtab(.)net redirect “virus” completely from your computer system.

Suspicious software, believed to be installed in the form of toolbar associated with the name Searchtab(.)net has started appearing on unsuspecting users computer, displaying various different types of advertisements. The software aims to modify the browsers of the affected computers by it and may change their homepage to Searchtab(.)net – a suspicious website which uses over 16 tracking technologies to collect information from your computer. Since this software may slow down your computer with various third-party advertisements, it is often regarded as a low-level threat. However, since it can also lead you to suspicious third-party websites that in some cases may even be malicious, it is recommended to read the following post and learn how to remove Searchtab(.)net from your computer.

Threat Summary

Name	Searchtab(.)net
Type	Browser Hijacker/PUP
Short Description	Displays suspicious advertisements on your computer, which may eventually lead to infection with malware. Collects information.
Symptoms	A lot of advertisements, slow PC, changed browser home page, browser redirects.
Distribution Method	Spam Emails, Email Attachments, Executable files
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by Searchtab(.)net Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss Searchtab(.)net.

Searchtab(.)net “Virus” How Did I Get It

The main method which could be used by the one spreading this suspicious software could be to utilize a rather aggressive strategy for marketing, also known as bundling. Bundling is basically to include the program files of Searchtab.net hijacker in the installers of other programs. The software may not even be seen in the installer, but if noticed, it may look like it is added “as a free extra” to the current installation.

Besides this method, there are other ways by which this suspicious software could have slithered into your system, such as:

• Other adware or malware that has previously infected your PC.
• Being downloaded by landing on a redirect or advertised page.

Searchtab(.)net “Virus” – Analysis

Generally the Searchtab(.)net software is not regarded as malicious, since it does not perform any administrative modifications on your computer that may be harmful to it or your files. However, we have detected that the software may modify various aspects of your web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) and change their settings to it’s interests. This means that your web page that is set as default, may be changed to Searchtab(.)net, for starters:

Another activity done by this so-called “virus” may be to install suspicious browser extensions on your favorite web browsers which additionally stuff it with unnecessary ads, causing your computer to run slower than usual.

But this is not all. When we take a look at the website itself, we have detected at least 16 different tracking technologies, such as:

• Pixels.
• Tags.
• Cookies.
• LSOs (Local Shared Objects).
• Other.

The tracking tech used by the company, behind the Searchtab(.)net website, called “Apply Advanced Mobile Technologies Inc.” may be used to obtain your:

• IP address.
• Location.
• Language.
• MAC address.
• Browsing History.
• Online clicks history.
• Search history..

The company may even collect personal information and disclose it, while hiding it with clever words under it’s privacy policy, as you can see below:

Reality may be that this information may be used to target you with suspicious advertisements that may either boost someone’s third-party website by having you clicked on the ads or causing browser redirects. The bad news here is that the software works with various third-party websites, which may also result in redirecting you to malicious or phishing websites, that could infect your PC with malware or trick you into entering your financial information, for example. This is the main reason why security experts recommend removing the Searchtab.net related virus from your computer.

Remove Searchtab(.)net Fully from Your PC

If you are seeing all of the symptoms of this suspicious software above, bear in mind that it creates multiple different objects on your computer which prevent it to be deleted the conventional ways. This is why we recommend removing the virus thoroughly by following our removal instructions below.

For maximum effectiveness and fastest removal, be advised that experts recommend using an advanced anti-malware software which will automatically perform all of those activities automatically.

Note! Your computer system may be affected by Searchtab(.)net or other threats.
Scan Your PC with SpyHunter
SpyHunter is a powerful malware removal tool designed to help users with in-depth system security analysis, detection and removal of threats such as Searchtab(.)net.
Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

To remove Searchtab(.)net follow these steps:

1. Uninstall malicious programs from Windows

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria

How to Uninstall malicious programs from Windows:

Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:

Hold the Windows Logo Button and “R” on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear (fig.1).

In the field type in “appwiz.cpl” and press ENTER (fig.2).

This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC.
Select the program that you want to remove, and press “Uninstall” (fig.3).

Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.

2. Clean your Browser and Registry from Searchtab(.)net

Remove Searchtab(.)net by cleaning your Browser and Registry.

Remove an extension from Mozilla FirefoxRemove an extension from Google Chrome Remove an extension from Internet Explorer Remove an extension from Microsoft Edge Fix registry entries created by Searchtab(.)net on your PC.

Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window

Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu.

Select the unwanted extension and click “Remove“

After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red “X” button at the top right corner and start it again.

Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu

Move the cursor over “Tools” and then from the extended menu choose “Extensions“

From the opened “Extensions” menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its “Remove” button.

After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red “X” button at the top right corner and start it again.

Start Internet Explorer:

Click on the gear icon labeled ‘Tools’ to open the drop menu and select ‘Manage Add-ons’

In the ‘Manage Add-ons’ window.

Select the extension you want to remove and then click ‘Disable’. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click ‘Disable’.

After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red ‘X’ button located at the top right corner and start it again.

Start Edge

Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.

From the drop menu select “Extensions”.

Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.

Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.

Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries on your computer to change different settings. This is why cleaning your Windows Registry Database is recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit long and tampering with registries could damage your computer if not done properly you should refer and follow our instructive article about fixing registry entries, especially if you are unexperienced in that area.

IMPORTANT!
Before starting the Automatic Removal below, please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.

Use SpyHunter to scan for malware and unwanted programs

3. Scan for malware and unwanted programs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

Scan your PC and Remove Searchtab(.)net with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Searchtab(.)net and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove Searchtab(.)net. Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.

Step 1: Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.

Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.

Step 1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Malware/PC Scan’ tab. A new window will appear. Click on ‘Start Scan’.

Step 2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the ‘Next’ button.

Step 3: If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

Back up your data to secure it against attacks in the future

IMPORTANT! Before reading the Windows backup instructions, we highly recommend to back up your data with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats. We recommend you to read more about it and to download SOS Online Backup .

SOS Online Backup

Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

More Posts - Website

Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

More Posts - Website