Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker - How to remove

Hsmartsearching.net (and the associated browser extension Smart Searching Tab) is a browser hijacker and a search hijacker. Smart Searching Tab being installed on your browser allows Hsmartsearching.net to hijack your new tab page and internet searches. This results in search results being returned by Yahoo.com.

In short about Smart Searching Tab:

Classification	Browser hijacker, adware.
How Smart Searching Tab hijacks browsers	Replaces the default search engine, changes the new tab page,
How it gets installed	Bundled with other programs, advertised online.
How to remove Smart Searching Tab	Uninstall all suspicious browser extensions, scan your computer with an antivirus application, such as Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, and similar, block unwanted notifications.

What does Smart Searching Tab do?

Smart Searching Tab is, in theory, supposed to give you “useful searching tools” like quick links to popular websites and Yahoo internet search. But this extension only limits your choices in your web browser by hiding your bookmarks and restricting your search engine settings. It’s objectively worse than no extension.

When installing Smart Searching Tab, you are shown its permission requests:

• read and change your data on Hsmartsearching.net,
• change your new tab page,
• read your browsing history,
• and change your default search settings to Hp.hsmartsearching.net.

Smart Searching Tab changes your browser’s default page and the default search engine. This gives it a lot of control over how you connect to the internet.

For example, a browser’s new tab page is often the one with your most visited sites listed. Some people prefer it to be their default search engine. So, when Hsmartsearching.net hijacks it, it becomes inconvenient to access your favorite sites. Instead, you might click on the links that Hsmartsearching.net offers. This way, Hsmartsearching.net can influence how people search the internet – and make money off of it.

Smart Searching Tab also uses its access to collect data about people’s browsing habits. This information is used is to help advertisers connect with you. This is according to Hsmartsearching.net’s privacy policy.

How it got installed

Smart Searching Tab is made by Eightpoint Technologies. This company’s browser extensions (Get Search Plus, Current Weather Tab, Check My Email Tab, and others) all do a similar thing in how they take over the browser’s search and new tab settings. And they often get installed deceptively. With Smart Searching Tab having over 60 thousand users and only 5 ratings, it’s likely that most people did not even install it intentionally.

One of the main methods used by browser hijackers is to trick people with fake Download buttons and vague Continue buttons. Just buy some ad space and redirect people to the installation page.

Smart Searching Tab might have also come bundled with some freeware. Some free programs make their money by letting other software buy a spot in the installer. During its installation, the free program then offers you a few optional offers and, if you fail to refuse them, they get installed automatically.

There’s nothing good about Hsmartsearching.net or Smart Searching Tab. They didn’t get thousands of users because of their merits.

How to remove Hsmartsearching.net

Scan your computer with an antivirus app (any that you trust, for example, Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS, etc.). The scan results will tell you if Smart Searching Tab is the only problem, or if there are more suspicious and potentially unwanted programs on your computer. Adware and malware apps often come in groups and promote each other, so it’s important to check.

Smart Searching Tab and other extensions can be removed very easily. The quickest way is to find the extension icon in your browser, right-click it, and choose the “Remove” option. But you can also do it from browser settings.

If Hsmartsearching.net is sending you notifications, you can also block those in browser settings:

• Chrome – type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Safari – in the Safari menu, choose Preferences, Websites, Notifications.
• New Edge – type “edge://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Firefox – open Settings, Preferences, Privacy & Security, scroll down to Permissions, and click on Settings next to Notifications.

There’s a list of all the sites that can send you notifications and it might include more than Hsmartsearching.net. To block any new notifications, click the button next to Hsmartsearching.net, and choose “Block”.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove browser extensions

TopRemoving Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker 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 Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker. Click on the trash bin icon next to Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker 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 Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker, 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.

How to remove Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker 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 Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker 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 Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker. 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 Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker, 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.

TopRemoving Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker 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 Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker 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 Hsmartsearching.net Hijacker, 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.