MetroHotspot New Tab - How to remove

MetroHotspot is a browser extension that helps you explore local classifieds and promotions in your web browser. Though that could come in useful, MetroHotspot is not considered safe by some reputable antivirus programs (VirusTotal link for a MetroHotspot installer). It is primarily adware and even tries to get you to install more browser extensions, like Ask. In the end, MetroHotspot is probably not the best tool to access classifieds and should maybe be uninstalled.

MetroHotspot

Classification	Adware, browser hijacker, potentially unwanted program.
Symptoms of MetroHotspot hijacking	MetroHotspot (hp.myway.com/metrohotspot/ttab02) may appear when you open a new tab in your browser, your web search results may return in Ask.com, MyWay.com, MySearch.com, or MyWebSearch.com.
Problems with MetroHotspot	Takes over your browser beyond what is needed, has very limited functionality, reads your browsing history, gets installed together with other hijackers.
Remove MetroHotspot	Uninstall bad extensions and programs, scan your device for malware (SpyHunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac).

What is MetroHotspot and why is it unwanted?

Web browsers (programs for interacting with the internet, such as Google Chrome) usually let you choose your homepage and modify your new tab page however you want: add links and bookmarks, move them around. For those who want to change their new tab page more drastically, there are many browser extensions to choose from. One such new tab extension is MetroHotspot, which changes your homepage and new tab page to, supposedly, help you get your classifieds, local deals, giveaways, and other cool stuff.

A big problem with MetroHotspot is that it’s not that helpful at all: it has links to websites that offer those things, but it doesn’t help you browse them more effectively. MetroHotspot has a list of 18 somewhat relevant links (such as eBay Classifieds, ClassifiedAds, CouponCabin, etc.) and a few less relevant ones (Triviago, Booking, Amazon). Nothing that you couldn’t do by favoriting websites that are useful to you. To say the least, MetroHotspot is disappointing.

At the same time, it does try to get you to use an unfamiliar search engine and reads your browsing history for use in targeted ads. While MetroHotspot is not malicious, it’s a potentially unwanted program.

MetroHotspot is associated with the Myway.com and Ask.com search engines (sites where you search the web, for example. Bing.com) and is created by the company Mindspark. This is not the first time that Mindspark has released a browser extension: there is also TrackaPackage, MapMyWayFree, StreamlinedDIY, and many others. They share a lot of similarities in how they:

• take over your new tab page (even though they don’t really need to),
• set up a search box that leads to MyWay.com (regardless of your actual default search engine),
• read your browsing history for no reason,
• promote an extension that changes your default search engine to Ask.com (made by the same company).

The end goal of these extensions seems to be advertising. It’s up to you to decide if MetroHotspot is worth it.

How do browser hijackers spread?

MetroHotspot has existed since mid-2015 and has changed somewhat since then. For example, it used to spread MyWebSearch instead of MyWay. It used to only support Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox and only Windows operating systems. It’s since expanded to support Chrome and Mac OS and has amassed over a hundred thousand users on Chrome (if we add together the users of separate instances of the extension). MetroHotspot has always been available for download from its main website, but many people who install it didn’t download it on their own.

MetroHotspot has likely been distributed by other free programs as an optional inclusion. It’s called bundling, or Pay-per-install and is a way to offer a program to people who aren’t interested in it. Basically, during the installation of a free program, you may be offered to install MetroHotspot. The problem is that many people ignore these offers – don’t read them or don’t notice them at all – and install the free program normally. That way, people may install MetroHotspot without realizing it.

For some reason, MetroHotspot seems to be associated with info.com and other dubious search engines. These have been used by fraudsters to monetize searches without actually delivering much of a service and sometimes their ads promote browser hijackers like MetroHotspot.  Currently, advertisements are a pretty popular way for people to find MetroHotspot.

You can avoid hijackers if you scan every download and regularly check your list of installed programs and extensions.

How to remove MetroHotspot

If you decide to remove MetroHotspot, you can choose between manual removal and automatic. Or you can combine both.

Manually uninstalling MetroHotspot and other unwanted browser extensions is simple, just choose the remove option in the extensions settings in your browser. Detailed instructions with screenshots are in the next section.

It’s also good to scan your computer with anti-malware scanners, for example, SpyHunter for Windows or Combo Cleaner for Mac OS. They can flag suspicious browser extensions and desktop applications. You might want to delete the files (if you have any) that brought MetroHotspot to your computer to avoid reinstalling it by accident. And you might want to remember how exactly you got infected originally so that you can avoid it happening again in the future.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove MetroHotspot New Tab using Windows Control Panel

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

Delete MetroHotspot New Tab from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the MetroHotspot New Tab 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 MetroHotspot New Tab 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 MetroHotspot New Tab, 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 MetroHotspot New Tab 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 MetroHotspot New Tab. Click on the trash bin icon next to MetroHotspot New Tab 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 MetroHotspot New Tab, 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 MetroHotspot New Tab 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 MetroHotspot New Tab 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 MetroHotspot New Tab, 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 MetroHotspot New Tab 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 MetroHotspot New Tab. Click on the "Remove" icon next to MetroHotspot New Tab 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 MetroHotspot New Tab from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the MetroHotspot New Tab. 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 MetroHotspot New Tab, 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.