SmashTab Search Hijacker - How to remove

SmashTab is a browser hijacker. If you have it installed, then Smashtab.net might briefly appear in your address bar while you’re searching the internet. SmashTab doesn’t appear to be harmful (though it’s not good for your privacy), but it has the potential to be dangerous. It would be best to remove it if you have it installed.

SmashTab in short:

Classification	Adware, browser hijacker.
How SmashTab works	It replaces the default search engine and redirects searches, it reads your browsing history.
How it gets installed	Bundled with other programs, advertised dishonestly online.
How to remove SmashTab	Delete all malware ( with Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, others), remove suspicious browser extensions, change your search engine settings, if needed.

SmashTab is a hijacker

SmashTab doesn’t do much. It:

• Reads your browsing history.
• Replaces your default search engine with Smashtab.net.

As a result, when you use your browser to search the internet, it is up to SmashTab to decide which site will deliver your search results. In my case, it was Google, but it might not always be.

Case in point, SmashApps. This is a very similar and likely related browser hijacker that has recently been removed from the Chrome Web Store (thus it being replaced with PowerSmash and SmashTab). SmashApps would also, once installed, redirect searches, but not to Google – instead, it would open an affiliated site like S3redirect.com, Searchred01.xyzm, or Searchdimension.com. These sites have nothing to offer other than too many ads. They lack basic features like filtering results by type. They’re terrible and you wouldn’t want to use them for everyday web searching.

By the way, if you go to Smashtab.net (the search engine that SmashTab forces on you), you see a Conduit-like page. Conduit used to be a tool for making a custom search engine. Like Google’s Custom Search Engine now, Conduit used to be exploited by scammers who would make the most basic search engine, configure it to show as many ads as possible (this is how they make money), and then force people to use it.

How SmashTab spreads

Extensions like SmashTab don’t get installed intentionally by people. After all, SmashTab has no features to make it worth using. At best, it makes searches slower. At worst, it opens unexpected and unwanted sites in your browser. (SmashTab’s privacy policy claims that it’s a recipe sharing site, same as PowerSmash, but I think it’s a mistake or else a deliberate lie.)

Even without being invited, there are a few ways that SmashTab could get installed:

• It could be installed by the installer of another program. Have you ever had additional programs offered while installing an unrelated program? These offers aren’t always properly displayed – sometimes they’re hidden and easy to miss.
• A misleading advertisement could be responsible. Some ads are designed to look like security warnings and update prompts – very deceptive ads, they sometimes even use the images of companies like Apple and Google.

And since browser extensions are so simple to install, it’s easy to do it and forget it. In addition, some malicious add-ons take a few days to start working. This makes it difficult to track the cause of your browser suddenly misbehaving.

How to remove SmashTab

Avoid malicious add-ons

Add-ons like SmashTab have to cheat their way into people’s browsers. But there are ways that you can avoid at least some of these deceptive ads.

One is to use an anti-malware program that blocks malicious and suspicious sites (HTML:Script-inf). Another is to use an ad-blocker on suspicious sites.

Also, when you’re installing new programs, check all of their settings, don’t skip any of the setup pages, and always go for custom installation. Though, often enough, even if you refuse various optional offers, they still get installed. So, try to avoid sites that bundle installers with optional offers.

Remove SmashTab

It’s always a good idea to scan your computer with an anti-malware program (Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for macOS, and others) and remove suspicious items if any are detected.

But you can also just SmashTab yourself. As well as any other browser extensions that you may not want to be installed.

Don’t forget to check your default search engine settings (instructions below).

Automatic Malware removal tools

Check browser settings

TopHow To remove SmashTab Search Hijacker 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 SmashTab Search Hijacker, 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 SmashTab Search Hijacker 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 SmashTab Search Hijacker, 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 SmashTab Search Hijacker 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 SmashTab Search 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.
  
• 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 SmashTab Search 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.
  
• 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.