This article has been created to demonstrate how to remove unTabs browser extension virus from your Google Chrome browser and your PC completely.

A suspicious browser extension which claims to be of legitimate character, but is associated with intrusive software has been reported by users. The extension is called unTabs and it is for the web browser Google Chrome. The browser extension is distributed via third-party software and has been associated with information collection and multiple third-party advertisements so it’s removal is strongly advisable. If you have the unTabs browser extension on your computer and are struggling to remove it, we recommend you to read this post.

Threat Summary

Name	unTabs
Type	PUA (Potentially Unwanted Application), Adware
Short Description	unTabs aims to display advertisements from various third-party websites and may collect crucial information from your computer.
Symptoms	May slow down your computer significantly, display various forms of advertisements and be associated with other adware.
Distribution Method	Via third-party installers and bundling.
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by unTabs Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss unTabs.

unTabs Virus Extension -How Did I Get It

The primary method which unTabs uses to spread is to be silently installed on your computer along third-party program installers. Usually these may be freeware programs that you are looking to download on your computer. These programs could be your free media player, codec pack, file converter, torrent downloader or any other app you have googled for. There are some suspicious websites that spread modified installers of freeware programs and unTabs may be bundled within those installers “as a free useful extra”. You can usually encounter the unTabs application in one of the steps of the “Custom” or “Advanced” installation modes in the setup of the program you may have recently installed.

Other methods by which unTabs may have been situated on your computer is if you have visited a suspicious website and approved it as a browser extension on Google Chrome.

unTabs Extension – More Information

The unTabs extension is initially advertised on their web page as a completely legitimate program that helps to save opened tabs for later so that your PC is faster:

However, the app is nothing like it says it is. Instead it aims to display you multiple advertisements and slow down your computer even more.

Once is situated on your PC, it immediately attacks your web browser and your Windows system. For starters, unTabs creates multiple different types of files in the following system folder:

→ %System32%\GroupPolicyUsers
%System32%\GroupPolicy

In addition to creating files in the system directory of Windows, the suspicious application also creates multiple different Windows registries in the Windows Registry Editor. These value strings include attacking the following sub-keys:

• Google Chrome
• Run

After the unTabs virus has already modified your computer, the suspicious extension may collect the following information from it, in order to display it’s targeted advertisements:

• Your IP address and location.
• System language.
• Browsing history.
• Online clicks.

Although this information is not known to be shared with third-parties, the unTabs extension may display you advertisements based on what you have searched online to get you to click on them. And this cannot be good in any way, because some of those advertisements may lead to third-party websites that may be tech support scams, phishing sites or even malicious web sites that may infect your computer.

But this is not where the nightmare ends. The application is reported to also run processes in the background of Windows which may take up system resources, like the CPU and the RAM. This results in your computer slowing down significantly.

How to Remove unTabs Fully from Your Computer and Chrome

Many affected users of the app have reported it very difficult to delete it. Reinstalling Google Chrome does not help either. Many users also report it to have malware-like behavior and similar to malware, this unwanted software stays persistent on your computer. This is why, security experts recommend to use adware-specific software for the removal of the program. It will not only remove one or two files of the program, but permanently eradicate it from your computer, so that you will never have to hear the name unTabs once more.

For more information and removal instructions, we advise you to follow the steps below. They are specifically designed to help you eliminate this unwanted application. For maximum effectiveness it Is recommended to follow the automatic instructions than the manual ones.

Manually delete unTabs from Windows and your browser

Note! Substantial notification about the unTabs threat: Manual removal of unTabs requires interference with system files and registries. Thus, it can cause damage to your PC. Even if your computer skills are not at a professional level, don’t worry. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using a malware removal tool.

2.Remove unTabs from Your Browser

Remove unTabs from Your Browser.

Remove a toolbar from Mozilla FirefoxRemove a toolbar from Google Chrome Remove a toolbar from Internet Explorer Remove a toolbar from Safari

Start Mozilla Firefox Open the menu window

Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu

Select unTabs and click “Remove”

After unTabs is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red “X” in 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 unTabs and click on the garbage bin icon on the right of it.

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

Start Internet Explorer:

Click “‘Tools’ to open the drop menu and select ‘Manage Add-ons’

In the ‘Manage Add-ons’ window, make sure that in the first window ‘Add-on Types’, the drop menu ‘Show’ is on ‘All add-ons’

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

After unTabs has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red ‘X’ in the top right corner and start it again.

Start Safari

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

From the drop menu select ‘Preferences’
In the new window select ‘Extensions’
Click once on unTabs
Click ‘Uninstall’

A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall unTabs. Select ‘Uninstall’ again, and the unTabs will be removed.

Automatically remove unTabs by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove unTabs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

Remove unTabs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove unTabs.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove unTabs.

Step 1: Click here to go to SpyHunter’s download instruction page.
Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to automatically update.

Step1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Scan Computer Now’ button.

Step2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any unTabs files, click on the ‘Fix Threats’ button to remove them automatically and permanently.

Step3: Once the intrusions on your PC have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart it.

2. Back up your data to secure it against attacks related to unTabs in the future

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 automatically with cloud backup and insure it against any type of data loss on your device, even the most severe. We recommend reading more about and downloading SOS Online Backup .

SOS Online Backup

1. For Windows 7 and earlier 1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 1. Enabling the Windows Defense Feature (Previous Versions)

1-Click on Windows Start Menu

2-Type Backup And Restore
3-Open it and click on Set Up Backup

4-A window will appear asking you where to set up backup. You should have a flash drive or an external hard drive. Mark it by clicking on it with your mouse then click on Next.

5-On the next window, the system will ask you what do you want to backup. Choose the ‘Let Me Choose’ option and then click on Next.

6-Click on ‘Save settings and run backup’ on the next window in order to protect your files from possible attacks by unTabs.

1-Press Windows button + R

2-In the window type ‘filehistory’ and press Enter

3-A File History window will appear. Click on ‘Configure file history settings’

4-The configuration menu for File History will appear. Click on ‘Turn On’. After its on, click on Select Drive in order to select the backup drive. It is recommended to choose an external HDD, SSD or a USB stick whose memory capacity is corresponding to the size of the files you want to backup.

5-Select the drive then click on ‘Ok’ in order to set up file backup and protect yourself from unTabs.

1- Press Windows button + R keys.

2- A run windows should appear. In it type ‘sysdm.cpl’ and then click on Run.

3- A System Properties windows should appear. In it choose System Protection.

5- Click on Turn on system protection and select the size on the hard disk you want to utilize for system protection.
6- Click on Ok and you should see an indication in Protection settings that the protection from unTabs is on.

Restoring a file via Windows Defense feature:
1-Right-click on the encrypted file, then choose Properties.

2-Click on the Previous Versions tab and then mark the last version of the file.

3-Click on Apply and Ok and the file encrypted by unTabs should be restored.

Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools

Remove unTabs Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove unTabs.
Step 1: Download STOPZilla by clicking here.
Step 2: A pop-up window will appear. Click on the ‘Save File’ button. If it does not, click on the Download button and save it afterwards.

Step 3: After you have downloaded the setup, simply open it.
Step 4: The installer should appear. Click on the ‘Next’ button.

Step 5: Check the ‘I accept the agreement’ check circle if not checked if you accept it and click the ‘Next’ button once again.

Step 6: Review and click on the ‘Install’ button.

Step 7: After the installation process has completed click on the ‘Finish’ button.

2. Scan your PC with STOPZilla Anti Malware to remove all unTabs associated files completely.
Step 1: Launch STOPZilla if you haven’t launched it after install.
Step 2: Wait for the software to automatically scan and then click on the ‘Repair Now’ button. If it does not scan automatically, click on the ‘Scan Now’ button.

Step 3: After the removal of all threats and associated objects, you should Restart your PC.

How to Protect Yourself in the Future

Cyber-crooks have become very smart in both developing viruses as well as methods of infection of users. Both home users and enterprises should beware and always apply the following advises to the PCs in their networks:

• Make sure to use additional firewall protection. Downloading a second firewall (like ZoneAlarm, for example) is an excellent solution for any potential intrusions.
• Make sure that your programs have less administrative power over what they read and write on your computer. Make them prompt you admin access before starting.
• Use stronger passwords. Stronger passwords (preferably ones that are not words) are harder to crack by several methods, including brute forcing since it includes pass lists with relevant words.
• Turn off AutoPlay. This protects your computer from malicious executable files on USB sticks or other external memory carriers that are immediately inserted into it.
• Disable File Sharing – it is recommended if you need file sharing between your computer to password protect it to restrict the threat only to yourself if infected.
• Switch off any remote services – this can be devastating for business networks since it can cause a lot of damage on a massive scale.
• If you see a service or a process that is external and not Windows critical and is being exploited by hackers (Like Flash Player) disable it until there is an update that fixes the exploit.
• Make sure always to update the critical security patches for your software and OS.
• Configure your mail server to block out and delete suspicious file attachment containing emails.
• If you have a compromised computer in your network, make sure to isolate immediately it by powering it off and disconnecting it by hand from the network.
• Make sure to educate all of the users on the network never to open suspicious file attachments, show them examples.
• Employ a virus-scanning extension in your browser that will scan all the downloaded files on your computer.
• Turn off any non-needed wireless services, like Infrared ports or Bluetooth – hackers love to use them to exploit devices. In case you use Bluetooth, make sure that you monitor all of the unauthorized devices that prompt you to pair with them and decline and investigate any suspicious ones.
• Employ a virus-scanning extension in your browser that will scan all the downloaded files on your computer.
• Employ a powerful anti-malware solution to protect yourself from any future threats automatically.

Vencislav Krustev

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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