Remove Search.searchttab.com Redirect

Can’t Remove Search.searchttab.com hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Search.searchttab.com Removal instructions!

The appearance of the Search.searchttab.com website is bad news. This page is associated with a nasty browser hijacker. If it has replaced your homepage, be absolutely sure. The Search.searchttab.com hijacker has corrupted your web browsers. Yes, all your browsers are affected by the infection. This parasite is a malicious program that has managed to enter your PC unnoticed. It has spread its poison over your entire system. But don’t worry. It affects only your browsers. The Search.searchttab.com hijacker is designed to generate revenue via pay-per-click mechanism. It injects commercials on every website you visit. It can also redirect your web traffic to specific web pages, and thus claim ad-revenue. Unfortunately, you are the victim in this situation. By carrying its malicious operations, the hijacker slows your Internet connection down. In fact, if you let this parasite operate for too long, it may also affect your computer’s performance. As we said, the Search.searchttab.com hijacker is a program. Yet, it is not a light one. It consumes an enormous amount of computer resources. It may cause some older machines to freeze and crash frequently. The hijacker is not an application you should keep. Find its lurking spot and delete it ASAP!

How did I get infected with?

The Search.searchttab.com hijacker is not an ingenious virus. It is a simple computer application. As any other app, it needs your permission to be installed. Yet, it doesn’t need to ask openly. To reach its victims, this furtive utility uses trickery. It usually travels hidden in software bundles. This technique is quite common nowadays. So, be extremely careful when you are installing programs. Especially if they are free. Opt for an Advanced/Custom installation. It may be a button or a tab. Under it, you will be presented with a list of all programs that are about to be installed. Examine them carefully. These third party apps, more often than not are malicious. Don’t rush. Read the terms and conditions. You can also research the extras online. If you spot anything out of the ordinary, abort the installation immediately. If you use the Standard installation method, however, all extra apps will be installed automatically. Your approval or even acknowledgment won’t be needed. Choose caution over carelessness. This time you were lucky. The Search.searchttab.com hijacker is removable. Yet, other, dangerous parasites also use this technique to reach their victims. Other malware distribution methods include spam messages, fake software updates, and torrents. Your caution can prevent them from succeeding.

Why is this dangerous?

The Search.searchttab.com hijacker should not be underestimated. This parasite’s main task is to display commercials. Yet, they are not an annoyance you should put up with. All commercials are potentially dangerous. The hijacker has no verifying mechanism. Anyone willing to pay can use this furtive utility. Hackers included. People with questionable interests usually use hijackers to redirect its victims to pages partaking in scams. Be advised! You should not trust anything you see on your screen while this infection remains active. You will be redirected to pages promoting financial software, PC optimization boosters, games, adult content, etc., etc. At the very least, these websites are not verified and are likely to arouse unwarranted expectations. At the very worst, you will get redirected to infected pages. A split-second is all it takes for a virus to be distributed to your computer. Keeping the Search.searchttab.com hijacker on board is not a good idea. It causes only troubles. The biggest of which is definitely the privacy issue. The hijacker works in the shadows. It monitors your online activities. It knows which pages you visit, what search inquiries you make, even your pre-infection browsing history. There is nothing private anymore. The problem is, personally identifiable information may also get recorded. Usernames, passwords, credit card details, IP and email addresses. The Search.searchttab.com hijacker will not keep this information for itself. Once it has a sufficient amount of data about you, it will make it available for sale to third parties. Do not wait for this scenario to unfold. Take action against the infection now!

How to Remove Search.searchttab.com virus

The Search.searchttab.com infection is specifically designed to make money to its creators one way or another. The specialists from various antivirus companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, ESET, etc. advise that there is no harmless virus.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Search.searchttab.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.

STEP 1: Track down Search.searchttab.com related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Search.searchttab.com startup location

STEP 3: Delete Search.searchttab.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Search.searchttab.com related processes in the computer memory

• Open your Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys simultaneously
• Carefully review all processes and stop the suspicious ones.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Search.searchttab.com startup location

Reveal Hidden Files

• Open any folder
• Click on “Organize” button
  
• Choose “Folder and Search Options”
• Select the “View” tab
• Select “Show hidden files and folders” option
• Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”
• Click “Apply” and “OK” button

Clean Search.searchttab.com virus from the windows registry

• Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

• A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

• WARNING! be very careful when editing the Microsoft Windows Registry as this may render the system broken.

Depending on your OS (x86 or x64) navigate to:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

• and delete the display Name: [RANDOM]

• Then open your explorer and navigate to: %appdata% folder and delete the malicious executable.

Clean your HOSTS file to avoid unwanted browser redirection

Navigate to %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/host

If you are hacked, there will be foreign IPs addresses connected to you at the bottom. Take a look below:

STEP 3 : Clean Search.searchttab.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Search.searchttab.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

Step 4: Undo the damage done by Search.searchttab.com

This particular Virus may alter your DNS settings.

Attention! this can break your internet connection. Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS for Search.searchttab.com, be sure to write down the current server addresses on a piece of paper.

To fix the damage done by the virus you need to do the following.

• Click the Windows Start button to open the Start Menu, type control panel in the search box and select Control Panel in the results displayed above.
• go to Network and Internet
• then Network and Sharing Center
• then Change Adapter Settings
• Right-click on your active internet connection and click properties. Under the Networking tab, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Left click on it and then click on properties. Both options should be automatic! By default it should be set to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and the second one to “Obtain DNS server address automatically!” If they are not just change them, however if you are part of a domain network you should contact your Domain Administrator to set these settings, otherwise the internet connection will break!!!

You must clean all your browser shortcuts as well. To do that you need to

• Right click on the shortcut of your favorite browser and then select properties.

• in the target field remove Search.searchttab.com argument and then apply the changes.
• Repeat that with the shortcuts of your other browsers.
• Check your scheduled tasks to make sure the virus will not download itself again.

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

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your whole system or network and let all doors wide open for many other infections. 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.