What is Safe Search by SmartTab?
According to security experts, Safe Search by SmartTab is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) belonging to the category of Browser hijackers. The aim of a browser hijacker is to make advertising revenue. For example, a browser hijacker redirects the user’s homepage to the browser hijacker’s page that contains ads or sponsored links; a browser hijacker redirects the user web searches to a link the browser hijacker wants the user to see, rather than to legitimate search engine results. When the user clicks on advertisements in the search results, developers of browser hijackers gets paid. The makers of browser hijackers can gather privacy data such as user browsing habits as well as browsing history and sell this information to third parties for marketing purposes.
Unwanted search ads
When you are performing searches using the web-browser that has been affected with Safe Search by SmartTab, the search results will be returned from Bing, Yahoo or Google Custom Search. The creators of Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker are most likely doing this to earn advertisement money from the advertisements displayed in the search results.
As well as unwanted web browser redirects, the Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker can gather your Internet browsing activity by recording IP addresses, Internet Service Provider (ISP), URLs visited, web sites visited, cookie information and browser version and type. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or confidential info theft. This is another reason why the hijacker should be uninstalled sooner.
How can a browser hijacker get on your PC system
Potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers commonly comes on a computer with free applications. Most often, this unwanted software comes without the user’s knowledge. Therefore, many users aren’t even aware that their computer has been affected by potentially unwanted programs.
Please follow the easy rules in order to protect your personal computer from any unwanted apps: do not install any suspicious applications, read the user agreement and select only the Custom, Manual or Advanced installation method, do not rush to click the Next button. Also, always try to find a review of the program on the Net. Be careful and attentive!
Threat Summary
| Name | Safe Search by SmartTab |
| Type | PUP, browser hijacker, search engine hijacker, redirect virus, start page hijacker |
| Affected Browser Settings | search provider, new tab page URL, startpage |
| Distribution | misleading pop-up ads, fake update tools, freeware installation packages |
| Symptoms | You experience lots of of unexpected advertising pop-ups. When you go to a website, you’re automatically redirected to another website that you do not intend to visit. There is an unexpected program in the ‘Uninstall a program’ section of your Control Panel. New internet browser toolbars suddenly installed on your web browser. Your web-browser home page has replaced and you cannot modify it back. |
| Removal | Safe Search by SmartTab removal guide |
How to remove Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker (removal guidance)
Even if you have the up-to-date classic antivirus installed, and you have checked your personal computer for malware and removed anything found, you need to do the tutorial below. The browser hijacker removal is not simple as installing another antivirus. Classic antivirus programs are not created to run together and will conflict with each other, or possibly crash MS Windows. Instead we recommend complete the manual steps below after that use Zemana, MalwareBytes AntiMalware or HitmanPro, which are free malware removal tools dedicated to find and get rid of unwanted software such as Safe Search by SmartTab. Use these utilities to ensure the hijacker is removed.
To remove Safe Search by SmartTab, complete the steps below:
- How to manually delete Safe Search by SmartTab
- Automatic Removal of Safe Search by SmartTab
- How to stop Safe Search by SmartTab redirect
How to manually delete Safe Search by SmartTab
Most common hijackers can be deleted without any antivirus programs. The manual browser hijacker removal is few simple steps that will teach you how to remove Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker. If you do not want to delete this unwanted software in the manually due to the fact that you are an unskilled computer user, then you can run free removal tools listed below.
Uninstall potentially unwanted apps through the MS Windows Control Panel
The process of browser hijacker removal is generally the same across all versions of Windows OS from 10 to XP. To start with, it is necessary to check the list of installed programs on your device and remove all unused, unknown and dubious applications.
Press Windows button 
, then press Search 
. Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then click “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will show the Windows Control Panel as shown below.
Further, click “Uninstall a program” 
It will open a list of all applications installed on your personal computer. Scroll through the all list, and delete any dubious and unknown programs.
Remove Safe Search by SmartTab from Google Chrome
Another method to remove Safe Search by SmartTab from Chrome is Reset Chrome settings. This will disable malicious extensions and reset Google Chrome settings including default search engine, start page and new tab to default state. It will keep your personal information such as browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and web form auto-fill data.
- First, start the Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
- It will open the Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You will see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the plugin labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- Next, click “Advanced” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
- The Chrome will display the reset settings prompt as shown on the image above.
- Confirm the web browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
- To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Delete Safe Search by SmartTab browser hijacker from Firefox
Resetting your Firefox is good initial troubleshooting step for any issues with your web-browser program. 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 on the image below.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, press “Refresh Firefox” button like below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to revert back your Firefox web-browser settings to their default state.
Get rid of Safe Search by SmartTab browser hijacker from Microsoft Internet Explorer
First, run the Internet Explorer. Next, press the button in the form of gear (
). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, press the “Internet Options” as displayed in the figure below.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then press the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will open the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as displayed below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then press “Reset” button.
You will now need to reboot your device for the changes to take effect.
Automatic Removal of Safe Search by SmartTab
Manual removal guide may not be for everyone. Each removal step above, such as uninstalling questionable applications, restoring infected shortcuts, removing the browser hijacker from system settings, must be performed very carefully. If you are in doubt during any of the steps listed in the manual removal above, then we suggest that you follow the automatic Safe Search by SmartTab removal tutorial listed below.
Run Zemana Anti-Malware to remove Safe Search by SmartTab browser hijacker
If you need a free utility that can easily look for and remove the browser hijacker, then use Zemana Anti-Malware. This is a very handy program, which is primarily developed to quickly search for and remove adware and malicious software affecting web browsers and modifying their settings.
- First, please go to the link below, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of Zemana AntiMalware.
Zemana AntiMalware
164028 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- 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.
- Once the downloading process is finished, please close all software and open windows on your device. Next, start a file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- This will launch the “Setup wizard” of Zemana AntiMalware onto your device. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana will launch and open the main window.
- Further, press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker. When a malware, adware or PUPs are found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
- After the scan is finished, you’ll be shown the list of all detected threats on your PC system.
- Once you’ve selected what you want to remove from your PC click the “Next” button. The tool will start to remove the browser hijacker. Once the clean up is complete, you may be prompted to restart the PC.
- Close the Zemana Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.
Remove Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker from browsers with Hitman Pro
HitmanPro is a free removal utility. It deletes potentially unwanted software, adware software, hijackers and unwanted internet browser add-ons. It will detect and remove Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker. HitmanPro uses very small PC resources and is a portable program. Moreover, HitmanPro does add another layer of malware protection.
Download HitmanPro on your Microsoft Windows Desktop from the following link.
Download and use HitmanPro on your PC. Once started, click “Next” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the Safe Search by SmartTab browser hijacker. Depending on your PC system, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the tool is checking, you can see how many objects and files has already scanned..
Once finished, it will show the Scan Results.
Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and click Next button.
It will display a prompt, press the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to get rid of all malware found.
Delete Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker with MalwareBytes
If you’re still having problems with the Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker — or just wish to scan your device occasionally for hijacker and other malicious software — download MalwareBytes AntiMalware. It is free for home use, and scans for and removes various undesired software that attacks your device or degrades PC performance. MalwareBytes can delete adware, potentially unwanted apps as well as malware, including ransomware and trojans.
Installing the MalwareBytes AntiMalware is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware on your computer by clicking on the link below.
326381 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
After downloading is done, close all applications and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s called MBSetup like below.
When the installation begins, you will see the Setup wizard which will help you install Malwarebytes on your computer.
Once installation is done, you will see window such as the one below.
Now press the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Anti-Malware program will scan through the whole personal computer for the Safe Search by SmartTab browser hijacker. When a threat is found, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is complete.
After MalwareBytes Anti-Malware has finished scanning, you’ll be shown the list of all found items on your computer. Review the results once the utility has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Quarantine” button.
The Malwarebytes will now remove Safe Search by SmartTab hijacker and move the selected threats to the Quarantine. When finished, you may be prompted to reboot your PC system.
The following video explains step-by-step tutorial on how to delete hijacker, adware and other malware with MalwareBytes Anti-Malware.
How to stop Safe Search by SmartTab redirect
Run an ad blocker tool like AdGuard will protect you from malicious ads and content. Moreover, you can find that the AdGuard have an option to protect your privacy and stop phishing and spam web-pages. Additionally, ad blocker programs will help you to avoid annoying pop up advertisements and unverified links that also a good way to stay safe online.
First, visit the following page, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of AdGuard.
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading it, double-click the downloaded file to run it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as on the image 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 guide as on the image below.
Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick instructions which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you start your PC, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block Safe Search by SmartTab redirects, as well as other harmful or misleading web-sites. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which can be found on your desktop.
Finish words
We suggest that you keep Zemana (to periodically scan your PC for new hijackers and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block intrusive popups and harmful web pages). Moreover, to prevent any hijacker, please stay clear of unknown and third party programs, make sure that your antivirus application, turn on the option to scan for potentially unwanted programs.
If you need more help with Safe Search by SmartTab related issues, go to here.
