How to remove Search-tab.info pop-ups (Virus removal guide)

Search-tab.info pop-ups are a social engineering attack that is created in order to con users into subscribing to spam notifications that go directly to the desktop or the web-browser. It delivers the message stating that you should click ‘Allow’ button in order to download a file, confirm that you are 18+, verify that you are not a robot, watch a video, access the content of the web-page, enable Flash Player, connect to the Internet, and so on.

Once enabled, the Search-tab.info spam notifications will start popping up in the lower right corner of the desktop randomly and spam you with unwanted ads. The push notifications will essentially be advertisements for ‘free’ online games, fake prizes scams, dubious browser add-ons, adult web-sites, and adware bundles as displayed in the following example.

The best method to unsubscribe from Search-tab.info browser notification spam open your web-browser’s settings and follow the Search-tab.info removal tutorial below. Once you delete notifications subscription, the Search-tab.info popups advertisements will no longer display on your desktop.

Where the Search-tab.info popups comes from

Cyber security experts have determined that users are redirected to Search-tab.info by adware software or from malicious ads. Adware is something which created in order to provide third-party advertisements to the user without asking his permission. Adware takes control of web browsers and redirects them to undesired web-sites such as the Search-tab.info every time you browse the Internet. Adware can end up on your computer in various methods. Most often is when you download free applications and forget to uncheck the box for the third-party apps installation.

The most popular method to get adware is free programs setup package. In most cases, a user have a chance to disable all included ‘offers’, but certain installers are created to confuse the average users, in order to trick them into installing PUPs and adware. Anyway, easier to prevent adware rather than clean up your machine after one. So, keep your browser updated (turn on automatic updates), use good antivirus applications, double check free programs before you start it (do a google search, scan a downloaded file with VirusTotal), avoid dubious and unknown webpages.

Threat Summary

Name	Search-tab.info pop up
Type	spam notifications ads, popup ads, pop-ups, popup virus
Distribution	malicious popup advertisements, adwares, PUPs, social engineering attack
Symptoms	pop ups advertisements are loaded without your request unwanted changes in your internet browser speed test good but internet slow
Removal	Search-tab.info removal guide

 

If you want to remove Search-tab.info pop-up ads, you will not succeed, because the adware software is very stubborn. But with the help of the following instructions, you surely can remove Search-tab.info pop-ups completely from your web-browsers.

How to remove Search-tab.info advertisements from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

We are presenting various methods to delete Search-tab.info pop-up advertisements from the Firefox, IE, Edge and Chrome using only internal Windows functions. Most of adware and potentially unwanted apps can be removed via these processes. If these steps does not help to delete Search-tab.info popups, then it’s better to run a free malware removal tools linked below.

To remove Search-tab.info pop ups, perform the steps below:

1. How to manually get rid of Search-tab.info
   • Remove newly installed adware
   • Remove Search-tab.info notifications from internet browsers
   • Remove Search-tab.info pop ups from Chrome
   • Get rid of Search-tab.info from Mozilla Firefox by resetting browser settings
   • Remove Search-tab.info ads from Microsoft Internet Explorer
2. How to completely remove Search-tab.info ads using free tools
   • How to remove Search-tab.info ads with Zemana Free
   • Delete Search-tab.info pop up ads and harmful extensions with Hitman Pro
   • Run MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) to remove Search-tab.info pop-up ads
3. Run AdBlocker to stop Search-tab.info pop-up ads and stay safe online
4. Finish words

How to manually get rid of Search-tab.info

Most adware can be uninstalled manually, without the use of antivirus or other removal tools. The manual steps below will show you how to get rid of Search-tab.info pop-up advertisements step by step. Although each of the steps is easy and does not require special knowledge, but you are not sure that you can complete them, then use the free utilities, a list of which is given below.

Remove newly installed adware

It is of primary importance to first identify and get rid of all PUPs, adware applications and browser hijackers through ‘Add/Remove Programs’ (Windows XP) or ‘Uninstall a program’ (Windows 10, 8, 7) section of your Microsoft Windows Control Panel.

Press Windows button , then click Search . Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then click “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will open the Windows Control Panel as displayed in the following example.

Further, click “Uninstall a program”
It will show a list of all apps installed on your PC system. Scroll through the all list, and remove any suspicious and unknown programs.

Remove Search-tab.info notifications from internet browsers

If you have allowed the Search-tab.info browser notification spam, you might notice that this website sending requests, and it can become annoying. To better control your PC system, here’s how to get rid of Search-tab.info browser notification spam from your web-browser.

Google Chrome	Android
Just copy and paste the following text into the address bar of Google Chrome. chrome://settings/content/notifications Press Enter. Delete the Search-tab.info URL and other rogue notifications by clicking three vertical dots button next to each and selecting ‘Remove’.	Open Chrome. In the top right hand corner, find and tap the Google Chrome menu (three dots). In the menu tap ‘Settings’, scroll down to ‘Advanced’. In the ‘Site Settings’, tap on ‘Notifications’, locate the Search-tab.info URL and tap on it. Tap the ‘Clean & Reset’ button and confirm.
Mozilla Firefox	Edge
In the right upper corner, click the Firefox menu (three bars). In the drop-down menu select ‘Options’. In the left side select ‘Privacy & Security’. Scroll down to the ‘Permissions’ section and click the ‘Settings’ button next to ‘Notifications’. Select the Search-tab.info domain from the list and change the status to ‘Block’. Click ‘Save Changes’ button.	Click the More button (three dots) in the top-right corner. Scroll down to ‘Settings’. In the menu on the left go to ‘Advanced’. Click ‘Manage permissions’ button, located beneath ‘Website permissions’. Click the switch under the Search-tab.info URL and each questionable URL.
Internet Explorer	Safari
Click ‘Tools’ button in the top right hand corner of the window. Go to ‘Internet Options’ in the menu. Select the ‘Privacy’ tab and click ‘Settings under ‘Pop-up Blocker’ section. Select the Search-tab.info and other dubious URLs below and remove them one by one by clicking the ‘Remove’ button.	On the top menu select ‘Safari’, then ‘Preferences’. Select the ‘Websites’ tab and then select ‘Notifications’ section on the left panel. Check for Search-tab.info URL, other dubious URLs and apply the ‘Deny’ option for each.

Remove Search-tab.info pop ups from Chrome

Annoying Search-tab.info pop up ads or other symptom of having adware in your web-browser is a good reason to reset Chrome. This is an easy method to restore the Google Chrome settings and not lose any important information.

1. First, start the Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
2. It will open the Chrome main menu. Choose More Tools, then press Extensions.
3. You’ll see the list of installed addons. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
4. Now open the Chrome menu once again, press the “Settings” menu.
5. Next, click “Advanced” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
6. On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
7. The Google Chrome will display the reset settings dialog box as shown on the image above.
8. Confirm the web-browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
9. To learn more, read the post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.

Get rid of Search-tab.info from Mozilla Firefox by resetting browser settings

If Firefox settings are hijacked by the adware, your web-browser shows annoying pop-up ads, then ‘Reset Firefox’ could solve these problems. However, your saved bookmarks and passwords will not be lost. This will not affect your history, passwords, bookmarks, and other saved data.

Click the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and click the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as displayed on the image below.

A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, press “Refresh Firefox” button as displayed on the image below.

Follow the onscreen procedure to revert back your Firefox web browser settings to their original settings.

Remove Search-tab.info ads from Microsoft Internet Explorer

If you find that Microsoft Internet Explorer web-browser settings such as homepage, new tab page and search provider by default had been changed by adware which cause unwanted Search-tab.info advertisements, then you may return your settings, via the reset internet browser procedure.

First, open the Internet Explorer. Next, click the button in the form of gear (). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” like below.

In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as on the image below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then press “Reset” button.

You will now need to reboot your machine for the changes to take effect.

How to completely remove Search-tab.info ads using free tools

In order to fully remove Search-tab.info, you not only need to uninstall adware from your PC system, but also get rid of all its components in your machine including Windows registry entries. We suggest to download and run free removal tools to automatically clean your PC system of adware which cause undesired Search-tab.info advertisements.

How to remove Search-tab.info ads with Zemana Free

Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) is an amazing tool to delete Search-tab.info ads from the Chrome, IE, MS Edge and Mozilla Firefox. It also deletes malicious software and adware from your PC. It improves your system’s performance by removing PUPs.

1. First, click the following link, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM).
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164033 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web browser will show the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. When the downloading process is done, please close all applications and open windows on your PC. Next, start a file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
4. This will run the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Free onto your computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana Free will run and display the main window.
6. Further, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the adware software that cause popups. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your system. During the scan Zemana will search for threats present on your system.
7. When Zemana Free has completed scanning your system, Zemana Free will show a screen that contains a list of malware that has been detected.
8. Next, you need to press the “Next” button. The tool will remove adware software related to the Search-tab.info pop-ups and move items to the program’s quarantine. When finished, you may be prompted to reboot the PC.
9. Close the Zemana Anti Malware and continue with the next step.

Delete Search-tab.info pop up ads and harmful extensions with Hitman Pro

HitmanPro is a completely free (30 day trial) utility. You do not need expensive methods to get rid of adware software that causes Search-tab.info popup ads and other misleading apps. Hitman Pro will remove all the undesired programs such as adware and hijackers for free.

Download Hitman Pro by clicking on the link below.

After the downloading process is complete, open the folder in which you saved it. You will see an icon like below.

Double click the HitmanPro desktop icon. When the utility is launched, you will see a screen as shown in the figure below.

Further, click “Next” button for checking your system for the adware that causes Search-tab.info popup advertisements in your web-browser. This procedure may take quite a while, so please be patient. As the scanning ends, Hitman Pro will show you the results like below.

All detected threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Next” button. It will display a prompt, click the “Activate free license” button.

Run MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) to remove Search-tab.info pop-up ads

If you are having problems with Search-tab.info pop-ups removal, then check out MalwareBytes Free. This is a tool that can help clean up your computer and improve your speeds for free. Find out more below.

Visit the following page to download MalwareBytes AntiMalware. Save it to your Desktop.

When downloading is done, close all applications and windows on your PC system. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s called mb3-setup similar to the one below.

When the installation starts, you’ll see the “Setup wizard” that will help you set up Malwarebytes on your computer.

Once setup is complete, you’ll see window as on the image below.

Now click the “Scan Now” button to start checking your machine for the adware software that causes multiple unwanted popups. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your system and the speed of your machine.

Once MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) has completed scanning your personal computer, it will open the Scan Results. Review the report and then press “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes will now remove adware that causes multiple annoying pop ups. After that process is complete, you may be prompted to reboot your computer.

The following video explains step-by-step guidance on how to remove hijacker, adware and other malware with MalwareBytes.

Run AdBlocker to stop Search-tab.info pop-up ads and stay safe online

If you surf the Internet, you can’t avoid malvertising. But you can protect your web browser against it. Download and use an ad blocking program. AdGuard is an adblocker that can filter out a large amount of of the malicious advertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading malicious content.

First, click the link below, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of AdGuard.

Once the downloading process is done, double-click the downloaded file to start it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen like below.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick tutorial as shown in the figure below.

Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guide which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your personal computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop undesired ads, block Search-tab.info, as well as other malicious or misleading websites. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that can be found on your desktop.

Finish words

Now your machine should be clean of the adware which causes intrusive Search-tab.info pop ups. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop-ups and intrusive harmful web-sites) and Zemana Free (to periodically scan your PC for new malicious software, browser hijackers and adware software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Microsoft Windows operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new hijackers, malicious programs and adware are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to delete Search-tab.info popup advertisements from your web browser, then ask for help here.