Are your web-browser’s new tab page, home page and search provider by default overridden and when you try to open your homepage, you are automatically redirected to the Searchtab.win site? Then it’s possible that your web browser is infected by obnoxious unwanted software from the browser hijacker family. It is a type of malware that is created to alter browsers settings. To remove the browser hijacker virus you need to clean your web-browser from any add-ons you have recently installed on your machine and perform a scan using a trustworthy antimalware or antivirus program.
When you’re performing searches using the web browser that has been affected by Searchtab.win, the search results will be returned from Bing, Yahoo or Google Custom Search. The makers of Searchtab.win virus are most probably doing this to make advertisement money from the advertisements shown in the search results.
Often, the system which has been infected with Searchtab.win hijacker virus, will be also infected with ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) which opens tons of various ads. It can be pop-ups, text links in the pages, banners where they never had. What is more, the adware can replace the legitimate ads with malicious ads that will offer to download and install malware and unwanted programs or visit the various dangerous and misleading pages.
The browser hijacker virus such as Searchtab.win often alter all browser shortcuts that located on your Desktop to force you visit some annoying sites and show undesired pop-ups. As a result, your web-browser can still redirect you to an undesired page despite your browser is actually clean of browser virus.
We suggest you to remove Searchtab.win virus and clean your PC of virus ASAP, until the presence of the browser virus has not led to even worse consequences. Complete the steps below that will allow you to completely remove Searchtab.win redirect virus, using only the built-in Windows features and a few of specialized free utilities.
Table of contents
- What is Searchtab.win
- Searchtab.win virus removal guidance
- Block Searchtab.win and other unwanted web pages
- Do not know how your web browser has been hijacked by Searchtab.win hijacker virus?
- Finish words
Searchtab.win virus removal guidance
There are present several free browser virus removal utilities. Also it is possible to remove Searchtab.win redirect virus manually. But we recommend to combine all these solutions below into the one removal algorithm. Follow the steps of the guidance. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to close your web browser or reboot your PC system.
Manual Searchtab.win redirect virus removal
Read this section to know how to manually get rid of the Searchtab.win virus. Even if the step-by-step tutorial does not work for you, there are several free malicious software removers below which can easily handle such hijacker infections.
Remove suspicious programs using Windows Control Panel
The process of virus removal is generally the same across all versions of Windows OS from 10 to XP. To start with, it is necessary to check the list of installed programs on your personal computer and uninstall all unused, unknown and suspicious software.
Press Windows button 
, then press Search 
. Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then press “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will show the Windows Control Panel as shown below.
Further, press “Uninstall a program” 
It will show a list of all applications installed on your computer. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any suspicious and unknown applications.
Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to get rid of Searchtab.win redirect virus
Now you need to clean up the internet browser shortcuts. Check that the shortcut referring to the right exe-file of the browser, and not on any unknown file.
Open the properties of the web-browser shortcut. Right click on the shortcut of infected web-browser and select the “Properties” option and it will display the properties of the shortcut. Next, choose the “Shortcut” tab and have a look at the Target field as shown on the image below.
Normally, if the last word in the Target field is chrome.exe, iexplore.exe, firefox.exe. Be sure to pay attention to the extension, should be “exe”! All shortcuts which have been altered by virus like Searchtab.win usually point to .bat, .cmd or .url files instead of .exe as shown in the figure below
Another variant, an address has been added at the end of the line. In this case the Target field looks such as …Application\chrome.exe” http://site.address as on the image below.
In order to fix a shortcut, you need to insert right path to the Target field or remove an address (if it has been added at the end). You can use the following information to fix your shortcuts which have been altered by virus.
| Chrome | C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe |
| C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe | |
| Mozilla Firefox | C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe |
| Microsoft Internet Explorer | C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe |
| C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | |
| Opera | C:\Program Files (x86)\Opera\launcher.exe |
| C:\Program Files\Opera\launcher.exe |
Once is finished, press OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all web-browsers which are re-directed to the Searchtab.win annoying site.
Remove Searchtab.win from Google Chrome
In order to be sure that there is nothing left behind, we suggest you to reset Chrome web-browser. It’ll revert back Chrome settings including homepage, newtab and search provider by default to defaults.
Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It will open the drop-down menu. Next, press to “Settings” option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, like below and press the “Reset settings” button.
Confirm your action, press the “Reset” button.
Delete Searchtab.win virus from Internet Explorer
If you find that Internet Explorer browser settings such as new tab page, start page and search engine by default having been hijacked, then you may return your settings, via the reset internet browser process.
First, open the Internet Explorer, click 
) button. Next, press “Internet Options” as shown on the screen below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The IE will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings prompt. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.
You will now need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. It will get rid of Searchtab.win hijacker virus, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings like homepage, newtab and default search engine to default state.
Get rid of Searchtab.win from Firefox by resetting browser settings
If your FF web browser home page has changed to Searchtab.win without your permission or an unknown search provider opens results for your search, then it may be time to perform the browser reset.
Press the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and click the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as shown in the figure below.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button like below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to revert back your Firefox web browser settings to its original state.
How to automatically remove Searchtab.win hijacker virus
The easiest method to get rid of Searchtab.win browser hijacker virus is to run an antimalware application capable of detecting viruss including Searchtab.win. We recommend try Zemana Anti-malware or another free malware remover that listed below. It has excellent detection rate when it comes to ad-supported software, viruss and other PUPs.
How to automatically remove Searchtab.win with Zemana Anti-malware
We suggest using the Zemana Anti-malware which are completely clean your PC system of the hijacker virus. The utility is an advanced malware removal program designed by (c) Zemana lab. It’s able to help you remove PUPs, browser viruss, ad supported software, malware, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your personal computer for free.
- Download Zemana anti malware (ZAM) by clicking on the link below.
Zemana AntiMalware
164112 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- Once the download is finished, close all software and windows on your computer. Open a folder in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is finished, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the Searchtab.win virus and other security threats. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC system. While the tool is checking, you may see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
- After the scan get finished, it will open a scan report. All found threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Next”. After the cleaning process is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your PC.
Use Malwarebytes to remove Searchtab.win virus
We suggest using the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your system of the hijacker virus. The free tool is an advanced malware removal program designed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular antimalware technology. It’s able to help you delete viruss, potentially unwanted programs, malware, adware, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your machine for free.
Download Malwarebytes Free on your PC by clicking on the link below. Save it on your desktop.
326461 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
When the downloading process is done, close all windows on your personal computer. Further, run the file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown below, press the “Yes” button.
It will show the “Setup wizard” which will help you set up Malwarebytes on the PC. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is finished successfully, press Finish button. Then Malwarebytes will automatically run and you can see its main window as shown below.
Next, click the “Scan Now” button to begin checking your computer for the Searchtab.win browser hijacker virus and other security threats. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your PC and the speed of your machine.
Once that process is finished, you’ll be displayed the list of all found threats on your PC. All found items will be marked. You can get rid of them all by simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The Malwarebytes will remove hijacker that designed to redirect your web browser to the Searchtab.win page. After disinfection is complete, you can be prompted to reboot your system. We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the Malwarebytes to remove hijacker infections, ad-supported software and other malware.
Double-check for potentially unwanted programs with AdwCleaner
The AdwCleaner tool is free and easy to use. It may scan and delete browser virus such as Searchtab.win, malware, PUPs and adware in Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Edge internet browsers and thereby return their default settings (homepage, newtab page and search provider by default). AdwCleaner is powerful enough to find and remove malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the computer.
- Download AdwCleaner from the link below.
AdwCleaner download
225298 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
- When downloading is done, double click the AdwCleaner icon. Once this utility is started, click “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the Searchtab.win browser hijacker infection and other web-browser’s malicious addons. This task may take quite a while, so please be patient.
- After the scan is finished, it’ll display you the results. In order to delete all items, simply press “Clean” button. It will open a prompt, click “OK”.
These few simple steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
Block Searchtab.win and other unwanted web pages
If you browse the World Wide Web, you can’t avoid malvertising. But you can protect your web browser against it. Download and run an ad blocker program. AdGuard is an ad blocker which can filter out a huge number of of the malicious advertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading harmful content.
- Download AdGuard program by clicking on the following link.
Adguard download
26657 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- When the downloading process is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- When the installation is done, press “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop advertisements, Searchtab.win redirect, as well as other malicious or misleading sites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon named AdGuard, that is located on your desktop.
Do not know how your web browser has been hijacked by Searchtab.win hijacker virus?
In many cases Searchtab.win virus come bundled with various freeware, as a bonus. Therefore it’s very important at the stage of installing programs downloaded from the World Wide Web carefully review the Terms of use and the License agreement, as well as to always select the Advanced, Custom or Manual install mode. In this method, you can turn off all unwanted add-ons, including the Searchtab.win hijacker virus, which will be installed along with the desired program. Of course, if you uninstall the free programs from your computer, your favorite browser’s settings will not be restored. So, to restore the Google Chrome, FF, Edge and Internet Explorer’s newtab page, startpage and search provider by default you need to follow the steps above.
Finish words
Now your PC should be free of the Searchtab.win redirect virus. Remove AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted advertisements and intrusive malicious web sites) and Malwarebytes (to periodically scan your computer for new malware, browser hijackers and ‘ad supported’ software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new viruss, malicious programs and adware are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of Searchtab.win redirect virus from your internet browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
