Remove Smartnewtab.com Hijacker from Chrome/Firefox/IE

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

The one smart thing to do concerning Smartnewtab.com’s presence on board is to get rid of it. This pest has been classified as a browser hijacker and it has nothing but threats, issues and dangers to offer you. Why would you let it harass you? Hijackers in general are quite problematic because they could quickly take over your entire Internet experience. The Smartnewtab.com virus is no exception. This program is just about as dangerous as it is annoying. And it’s very annoying. Keeping a hijacker on board only exposes you to malware so the very last thing you should do is underestimate the parasite and its sneaky ways. Instead, take adequate measures and uninstall the hijacker before it gets out of control. After successful installation, Smartnewtab.com installs a highly malicious extension in order to hijack all your browsers. Now that this is complete, the virus replaces both your default search engine and default browser homepage with its own questionable domain. You will be forced to use it every time you attempt to surf the Web. It goes without saying that the hijacker doesn’t bother to ask for some kind of permission or authorization first. This has a very simple explanation –  Smartnewtab.com’s manipulations have nothing to do with your preferences. On the other hand, they have quite a lot to do with hackers’ dubious profit. Once your browsers are infected, the parasite begins to redirect you. That means you will be aggressively redirected towards the specific websites that bring hackers revenue and, obviously, you will struggle to find what you search for online. As we mentioned already, Smartnewtab.com was never really meant to enhance your browsing experience because its goal is to generate web traffic. Not to be beneficial for you. The problem is, if being paid enough, hackers are willing to display all kinds of web links on your PC screen including malicious ones. Clicking a corrupted link disguised as a search result will cause you further damage that you should avoid. You already have a hijacker on board to worry about; you don’t need to install more infections right now. In addition, the hijacker might start generating questionable coupons/discounts/product offers which have to be avoided as well. The virus also slows down the PC speed considerably and causes your browsers to frequently crash and/or freeze. Just to top it all, Smartnewtab.com steals personal data and monitors your browsing-related activities. There is nothing safe about this nuisance so our advice is to delete it the minute you encounter its unwanted presence. You will certainly not regret it.

How did I get infected with?

Being a typical member of the hijacker family, Smartnewtab.com applies mainly sneaky and stealthy infiltration techniques. Therefore, if you can’t recall the exact moment the virus was installed, don’t be surprised. It usually gets attached to safe programs and invades machines in silence. If you often download programs off of the Internet without paying much attention to the process, you should know this is a dangerous online habit. You’re exposing your computer to various threats because hijackers aren’t the only type of parasites that travels the Web bundled. Ransomware and vicious Trojans use the same method. Never skip installation steps and make sure you keep an eye out for “bonus” parasites when installing bundled freeware or shareware. Another thing you should take under consideration is to read the Terms and Conditions or the EULA (End User License Agreement) beforehand. This way you remain in control of the installation and you could easily spot any sneaky virus trying to get installed behind your back. Your own cyber security depends on your actions; keep that in mind.

Why is this dangerous?

The pesky Smartnewtab.com virus doesn’t deviate from the classic hijacker pattern so its manipulations are quite unoriginal. Having said that, the parasite is very effective. Once it invades your PC (via lies and deceit), the virus immediately takes down your browsers. It works just fine with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer so it quickly demolishes your entire browsing experience. Now you stumble across its pile of unreliable web links, ads, pop-ups, program updates and other tricks all the time and the only way to regain control over your PC is by deleting the hijacker. This thing is extremely resourceful so its shenanigans can’t remain unnoticed. In addition, Smartnewtab.com collects IP addresses, passwords, usernames, search queries, browsing history, etc. and it goes without saying that hackers usually send the data they collect. Whatever sneaky monetizing technique they decide to use, this puts you in danger. Don’t jeopardize your own security by keeping the hijacker. Instead, take action and uninstall it. To get rid of this virus manually, please follow the detailed removal guide that you will find down below.

How to Remove Smartnewtab.com virus

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Smartnewtab.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 Smartnewtab.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 Smartnewtab.com from Add\Remove Programs

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

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

STEP 1 : Uninstall Smartnewtab.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 Smartnewtab.com homepage from Chrome, Firefox and IE

• Open Google Chrome

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