uTab Extension - How to remove

uTab is an extension for Google Chrome browser. It modifies the default home page and search engine settings to uTab New Tab Search. As long as the extension is enabled, it will control all these important browser parameters, so you will not be able to change them manually. The amendments introduced by the extension are not appreciated by the majority of people. They want to restore their browser back to the initial parameters, however, this requires additional knowledge, especially if you have never experienced such problems before.

uTab is often installed through bundling with other free programs. The extension may be found on the Chrome Web Store, however, it is quite unlikely that you will make your personal decision to download and install it. For this reason, its developers refer to the practice of integrating the installation files of the extension with other free applications. During the setup process, this information may not be clearly mentioned or provided in a small-print form. Therefore, people might simply not realize that they are actually installing some other programs apart from the main free app they found online.

In summary, uTab is a browser extension that displays some problematic behaviors and can hurt your browsing experience, so it’s not unusual to want to remove it from your browser.

Symptoms	New new tab page of the browser. New default search engine.
Why uTab is installed	To display ads to you. To promote a certain search engine. To track your browsing habits.
Harms of a hijacked browser	Reduced productivity due to the changed browser environment. Leaked private data. uTab is a very powerful extension: if it abused its permissions, it could totally and completely hijack your browser.
Solutions to a hijack by uTab	Remove uTab from your browser manually. Check your device for PUPs (Spyhunter). Avoid bundlers and be very careful when installing anything.

How does uTab affect your browser

We all make our own choices in our lives. We do not want other people to make these choices instead of us, do we? The same pattern of behavior relates to our browsing preferences. You may be the regular visitor of the specific website, so you make it as your default startup page. The majority of Internet surfers trust Google Search as their default search engine and do not want to use other services, even though they may be decent search engines too. However, the uTab extension actually makes these important choices instead of you. Once installed and activated, this is what it performs with your browser:

• amending the default home page into uTab New Tab;
• modifying the default search provider into uTab New Tab Search;
• changing the blank new tab into uTab New Tab.

The uTab extension is able to amend the new tab functionality for the purpose of launching the amended search portal page. The add-on no longer lets you browse the web through Google Search. Instead, it will redirect all your search queries through Yahoo Search. On top of these search results, there will be a lot of advertisement banners and sponsored links that may eventually forward your browser to the wide range of insecure places on the web. This way the developers and the distributors of the extension get the revenue for promoting third-party content.

To make the ads displayed by the uTab more relevant to you, the extension performs spying functions in your browser. It regularly tracks your browsing habits, for example, your search queries, visited IP addresses and URLs, geographic locations and other strictly private information. This information may become available to third parties, however, it may also be sold to third parties in an absolutely illegal way. Thus, your personal data may be manipulated. To stop the damaging effect by the uTab, we recommend to immediately remove the extension from the browser.

How to uninstall the uTab extension

Considering the fact that uTab is installed directly through its page on the Chrome Web Store, it can be easily removed by accessing the Google Chrome settings:

• in Google Chrome, click on the button that looks like a circle with three vertical dots;
• click on “More Tools”;
• select “Extensions”;
• find uTab, disable and delete it.

The uTab extension may be also promoted through bundling with certain free programs. The bundle normally contains a lot of other third-party programs that are absolutely not needed, however, they may be installed as a result of the user’s failure to be careful during the setup process. A good idea is to additionally check the list of all your available programs. Access the Control Panel of your PC and check whether there are some other unwanted utilities enabled. You may sort the list of the programs according to their installation date.

Once you identify the applications that look suspicious and you do not remember installing them directly, get rid of them right away. Unfortunately, many malicious programs may be active without being mentioned in the list of installed software. We recommend that you scan your computer with either Spyhunter to identify the concealed malware and to get rid of it effectively in an automatic way.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove uTab Extension using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like uTab Extension 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 uTab Extension . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make uTab Extension 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 uTab Extension from macOS

Delete uTab Extension from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the uTab Extension 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.

TopRemove malicious extensions from Internet Explorer

• Press on the Gear icon→Manage Add-ons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to uTab Extension and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
  
• Close the Options.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to uTab Extension, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Press on the Gear icon->Internet Options.
  
• Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset button.
  
• Select a “Delete personal settings” checkbox and click on the Reset button.
  
• Click on the Close button on the confirmation box, then close your browser.
  

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

TopRemoving uTab Extension from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to uTab Extension. Click on the trash bin icon next to uTab Extension or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to uTab Extension, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

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

TopRemoving uTab Extension from Firefox

• 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 uTab Extension 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.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to uTab Extension, 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.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

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

How to remove uTab Extension from Microsoft Edge:Top

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

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to uTab Extension. Click on the "Remove" icon next to uTab Extension or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving uTab Extension from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the uTab Extension. Remove all other unknown or suspicious entries too. If you are not sure whether you need the extension or not, you can simply uncheck the Enable check-box to disable the extension temporarily.
  
• Restart Safari.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to uTab Extension, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the 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.