Search.handy-tab.com virus - How to remove

The Handy-tab.com virus is an infection, originating from the same developers that introduced Cookies Control and Cookies On/Off adware parasites. This time, the investigated product delivers a browser hijacker (TechRadar) which takes control over browsers’ home pages, default search providers, and new tab pages.

Authors of Search.handy-tab.com do not reveal which developing company they belong to, meaning that they do not want to be associated with their own products.

The Handy Tab extension is a rogue Google Chrome plugin and most of its clients only enjoy having this extension because of one specific feature: background images that change every time a new tab is opened.

However, nothing is for free in this world, and Handy-tab.com is no exception. This browser extension is only one of many junk browser extensions that replace your search engine in order to be able to show you more ads. This type of plugin is rarely worth using when you consider the privacy risks and the amount of ads you’ll be exposed to.

Users are still able to explore the Internet via Google but have a more stylish home page. This should not be enough to convince users about the respectability of a tool.

Handy-tab.com features:

Type of threat	Search hijacker PUP (potentially unwanted program) Adware
Symptoms	Home page replaced by Handy Tab Main search engine replaced by search.handy-tab.com Ads by Handy Tab on other websites
Similar programs	Cookies On/Off Cookies Control History Open History Button Tabs 2 Grid UnTabs
Remove the virus	Scan your computer for malware and remove it if any is found (SpyHunter (PC), Combo Cleaner (Mac)) Manually remove the Handy Tab extension from your browser

Why Search.handy-tab.com Is Malicious

These developers have constructed many ad-based infections like History Open and History Button. When installing browser extensions, pay attention to the permissions that they require: unstable apps could be authorized to read and change the content of all visited domains, modify browsers’ history, find out about bookmarks and control other programs, themes, and add-ons. If unreliable tools receive permissions to proceed as they please, it could cause some serious trouble (BullGuard).

From July of 2017, the activity of Search.handy-tab.com virus became more noticeable. It unexpectedly jumped into a position of 102,300 top-visited websites in India. It also got some users from the United States, Brazil, Philippines, and China. Now, in 2019, the site is 25,234th worldwide. Tabs 2 Grid is also one of the browser extensions that are related to the infection we are discussing today. UnTabs is classified among tools belonging to this family of potentially unwanted tools as well.

If your Chrome browser is infected, you should see a small icon next to the three dot menu. In this case, it is a square with a plus sign in the middle.

Within the first few months of being around, the Handy-tab.com infection has already shown some disturbing persistence. If you do not want to be exposed to sponsored results to search queries (LinkedIn), do not depend on unknown search providers. Even if they lead to services like Google or Yahoo, know that browser hijackers will never miss an opportunity to profit from pay-per-click schemes. Also, it could promote paid services, programs and make other propositions as well. If you make a purchase from a website that a virus promoted, then the owners of the infection will receive some commission.

Since profits could be considered as a priority, Handy-tab.com redirect virus might promote services that are not reliable and should be avoided. Some of the presented pop-ups could be like Raw6help.xyz message and display technical support scams (LifeWire) or aim to infect you with more malware samples. Advertisements should not receive replies from surfers. It is known that even credible-looking promotions could be aiming to compromise users with viruses or threaten hem with phishing scams.

How To Protect Against Search.handy-tab.com

Worried about your device? Does it constantly show signs of a malware infection? The best option, in this case, is to get an anti-malware tool and run a scan with Spyhunter (PC) or Combo Cleaner (Mac). It will reveal all of the frightening threats in your operating system. If you only wish to remove this browser hijacker, we suggest removing Handy Tab extension from the list of active add-ons. If this does not help and the tool continues to control browsers’ preferences and other settings, we hope you will run a scan with the recommended software.

Browser hijackers, adware parasites, and Trojans are all lurking on the Internet. To be properly protected, you should have an anti-malware tool. In addition to this, users should become educated about the ways of malware distribution. If you will be aware of the techniques that hackers exploit to transmit digital diseases, you will be able to avert them. For instance, do not install random extensions even if they are found in the Google Chrome Web store.

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Defeat Search.handy-tab.com virus

How to remove handy-tab virus using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Search.handy-tab.com virus install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to handy-tab virus . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Search.handy-tab.com virus easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove handy-tab virus from macOS

Delete Search.handy-tab.com virus from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the handy-tab virus app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopHow To remove Search.handy-tab.com virus from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search.handy-tab.com virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove Search.handy-tab.com virus from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Search.handy-tab.com virus related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to handy-tab virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.

How to remove Search.handy-tab.com virus from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search.handy-tab.com virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Search.handy-tab.com virus from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall handy-tab virus and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search.handy-tab.com virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.