Remove Searchnewtab.com Hijacker from Chrome/Firefox/IE

Suddenly Searchnewtab.com took over your homepage and you cannot remove it.

Has your computer been infected? Then you’ve come to the right place as this article is focused solely on the Searchnewtab.com parasite and all of its negative effects. Being a classic browser hijacker, this malicious program will quickly disrupt your online activities as well as expose you to numerous cyber threats in the process. The only reason it exists is to generate web traffic for third-party pages so once the virus gets installed, your Internet experience will turn into a chaotic mess of commercials, unknown and unwanted web pages, potentially corrupted links, fake program updates, etc. In short, you have absolutely no reason to keep this nasty parasite on your PC. Even though Searchnewtab.com looks like a decent web tool at first, a second glance at the program’s official website will reveal some rather curious facts. The page is almost completely empty apart from the search engine itself and a lonely “Privacy” option at the bottom. In case you decide to actually give the search engine a try, you will be immediately redirected. The Searchnewtab.com parasite is light years away from being either useful or harmless, so why keep it around?

How did I get infected with?

Hijackers in general and Searchnewtab.com in particular need your permission to get installed. However, whether you’re aware of the fact that you’re giving the parasite green light, is an entirely different question. The most commonly used distribution method at the moment is called “freeware bundling” and it allows all kinds of infections to sneak in your device silently. The only way to prevent this is to pay close attention to the installation process, react on time and deselect anything that you find suspicious. That is why instead of rushing towards the “Next” button, it’s highly recommended that you go for the Advanced/Custom option in the Setup Wizard. It may take you a bit more time but that’s your opportunity to be completely in control of the software that enters your computer. You cannot take any chances when it comes to your cyber security because thanks to hackers’ creativity, you might compromise your own PC yourself. Also, stay away from third-party web links and spam email-attachments/messages as they could be corrupted as well.

Why is this dangerous?

Being a typical nasty hijacker, this thing affects Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer the minute it gets installed. You will notice that your browser homepage as well as your default search engine have been replaced by Searchnewtab.com. That happens because the parasite adds its malicious extension to all your browsers making sure you never find what you’re searching for online. The program’s developers get paid to redirect you and as you should already know, as long as there is money involved, nothing else matters to crooks. Prepare to be seeing completely unknown and utterly useless web results that could be corrupted and very dangerous. You can’t trust anything brought to you by the hijacker, including the stubborn  Searchnewtab.com ads and the numerous software updates it might try to offer you. Remember, everything you’re seeing on the PC screen is there for a reason and is too unreliable to be worth a click. The Searchnewtab.com parasite’s manipulations go even further – the hijacker has access to your browsing-related information (IP addresses, email addresses, passwords, search queries, pages visited, etc.) and doesn’t hesitate to send it straight into the hands of hackers. Such trickery could lead to some financial scam or even identity theft. To top it all, this infection’s presence slows down the speed of your device and might affect the Internet connection as well. Your overwhelmed browser could occasionally start freezing and everything you might try to do online becomes quite the struggle. You can never be too cautious when it comes to parasites so our advice is uninstall the virus as soon as possible. To help you do so manually, please follow the comprehensive removal guide below.

How to Remove Searchnewtab.com virus

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Searchnewtab.com infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

The Searchnewtab.com adware is specifically designed to make money. It generates web traffic, collects sales leads for other dubious sites, and will display advertisements and sponsored links within your web browser.

STEP 1: Uninstall Searchnewtab.com from Add\Remove Programs

STEP 2: Clean Searchnewtab.com from Chrome Firefox or Internet Explorer

STEP 3: Permanently Remove Searchnewtab.com leftovers from the System

STEP 1 : Uninstall Searchnewtab.com from your computer

Simultaneously press the Windows Logo Button and then “R” to open the Run Command Window

 

Type “regedit”

 

navigate to HKCU\software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

Modify the string with a value data and set it to google.com for example.

STEP 2 : Remove Searchnewtab.com homepage from Chrome, Firefox and IE

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Searchnewtab.com by clicking on the little recycle bin
• Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

• Open Mozilla Firefox

• Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
• Disable the unwanted Extension
• Go to Help
• Then Troubleshoot information
• Click on Reset Firefox

• Open Internet Explorer

• On the Upper Right Corner Click on the Gear Icon
• Click on Internet options
• go to Toolbars and Extensions and disable the unknown extensions
• Select the Advanced tab and click on Reset

• Restart Internet Explorer

How to Permanently Remove Searchnewtab.com Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible registry leftovers or temporary files.