How to remove Search.combotab.com [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

If your Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge web browser start page have changed to Search.combotab.com somehow, and you have tried to return your homepage and search engine from web browser settings, but it did not help, then most probably that your system has become a victim of the undesired software from the browser hijacker category. The browser hijacker infection is an one type of unwanted applications that makes some changes to certain settings of installed web-browsers without your’s permission, to redirect you into unwanted pages like the Search.combotab.com. The Search.combotab.com browser hijacker mostly modify the FF, Microsoft Internet Explorer, MS Edge and Google Chrome current new tab, search provider and start page with its own.

While redirecting, your browser’s status bar may show the following messages: ‘Waiting for Search.combotab.com’, ‘Transferring data from Search.combotab.com’, ‘Looking up Search.combotab.com’, ‘Read Search.combotab.com’, ‘Connected to Search.combotab.com’.

The Search.combotab.com browser hijacker takes over your browser’s default search engine and controls what will be displayed to you whenever you do a searching. Other than the search results, it also provides a lot of undesired ads on the search page. Some of these advertisements made to mislead you into buying certain questionable products and applications. Moreover, sometimes, those ads could redirect you to misleading or malicious sites.

The Search.combotab.com browser hijacker infection commonly affects only the Firefox, MS Edge, IE and Google Chrome. However, possible situations, when any other internet browsers will be affected too. The hijacker will perform a scan of the machine for browser shortcuts and modify them without your permission. When it infects the web-browser shortcuts, it will add the argument like ‘http://site.address’ into Target property. So, each time you launch the internet browser, you will see the Search.combotab.com intrusive page.

So, it is very important to clean your machine of hijacker sooner. The step-by-step instructions, which is shown below, will allow you to remove Search.combotab.com search from the Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox and other web browsers.

Remove Search.combotab.com redirect (removal steps)

Most commonly browser hijacker infections requires more than a simple uninstall with the help of MS Windows Control panel in order to be fully removed. For that reason, our team created several removal methods that we have summarized in a detailed guide. Therefore, if you’ve the unwanted Search.combotab.com browser hijacker infection on your machine and are currently trying to have it deleted then feel free to follow the step by step instructions below in order to resolve your problem. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to shut down your web browser or restart your computer.

To remove Search.combotab.com, execute the steps below:

1. Manual Search.combotab.com search removal
   • Remove Search.combotab.com associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
   • Remove Search.combotab.com from Firefox by resetting web browser settings
   • Delete Search.combotab.com redirect from IE
   • Remove Search.combotab.com startpage from Google Chrome
   • Fix web browser shortcuts, altered by Search.combotab.com hijacker
2. Scan your machine and remove Search.combotab.com with free tools
   • How to automatically delete Search.combotab.com with Zemana AntiMalware
   • Run Malwarebytes to remove hijacker infection
   • Delete Search.combotab.com search from web-browsers with AdwCleaner
3. How to stop Search.combotab.com
4. How did Search.combotab.com browser hijacker get on your computer
5. Finish words

Manual Search.combotab.com search removal

The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually remove Search.combotab.com from the Google Chrome, IE, Firefox and MS Edge.

Remove Search.combotab.com associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel

First, go to MS Windows Control Panel and uninstall questionable applications, all programs you don’t remember installing. It’s important to pay the most attention to programs you installed just before Search.combotab.com browser hijacker appeared on your browser. If you do not know what a program does, look for the answer on the Internet.

1. If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then click Windows button, next press Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
2. If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then click “Start” button and press “Control Panel”.
3. It will show the Windows Control Panel.
4. Further, click “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
5. It will open a list of all applications installed on the computer.
6. Scroll through the all list, and delete suspicious and unknown programs. To quickly find the latest installed software, we recommend sort programs by date.

See more details in the video guide below.

Remove Search.combotab.com from Firefox by resetting web browser settings

The Mozilla Firefox reset will keep your personal information such as bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill data and delete unwanted search provider and homepage like Search.combotab.com, modified preferences, extensions and security settings.

First, start the Mozilla Firefox and click button. It will display the drop-down menu on the right-part of the browser. Further, click the Help button () as displayed in the figure below.

In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the browser adress bar and press Enter. It will open the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown on the image below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, press the “Refresh Firefox” button.

It will open the confirmation prompt. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will start a task to fix your problems that caused by the browser hijacker infection that developed to redirect your web browser to the Search.combotab.com web site. After, it’s finished, click the “Finish” button.

Delete Search.combotab.com redirect from IE

If you find that Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser settings like newtab page, default search engine and home page having been hijacked, then you may restore your settings, via the reset internet browser procedure.

First, open the Microsoft Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon . It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the web-browser, then press the “Internet Options” as displayed on the image below.

In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then press the “Reset” button. The IE will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” prompt. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button as displayed in the figure below.

When the process is finished, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and restart your computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your web-browser’s newtab page, start page and default search engine to default state.

Remove Search.combotab.com startpage from Google Chrome

In order to be sure that there is nothing left behind, we recommend you to reset Chrome web browser. It will return Chrome settings including new tab page, search engine and startpage to defaults.

First run the Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal dots ().

It will open the Chrome menu. Choose More Tools, then press Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guide: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.

Open the Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option called “Settings”.

The browser will open the settings screen. Another method to open the Google Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the web browser adress bar and press Enter

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as displayed on the image below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

The Google Chrome will open the confirmation prompt as displayed in the figure below.

You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The internet browser will run the task of cleaning. Once it’s done, the web browser’s settings including search engine by default, newtab page and homepage back to the values which have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your computer.

Fix web browser shortcuts, altered by Search.combotab.com hijacker

Now you need to clean up the browser shortcut files. Check that the shortcut file referring to the right exe-file of the web-browser, and not on any unknown file.

Right click on the shortcut file of infected internet browser as displayed below.

Select the “Properties” option and it will show the shortcut’s properties. Next, press the “Shortcut” tab and then delete the “http://site.address” string from Target field as shown in the figure below.

Then click OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all web-browsers that are rerouted to the Search.combotab.com intrusive web site.

Scan your machine and remove Search.combotab.com with free tools

After completing the manual removal guide above all unwanted programs and browser’s plugins that causes browser redirects to the Search.combotab.com web-site should be removed. If the problem with Search.combotab.com hijacker infection is still remained, then we advise to check your computer for any remaining malicious components. Use recommended free browser hijacker removal software below.

How to automatically delete Search.combotab.com with Zemana AntiMalware

We recommend using the Zemana Free that are completely clean your computer of the hijacker. The utility is an advanced malicious software removal application designed by (c) Zemana lab. It is able to help you remove potentially unwanted software, hijackers, adware, malicious software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your computer for free.

1. Visit the page linked below to download Zemana Anti-Malware. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop or in any other place.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164104 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your browser will open the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. When the downloading process is done, please close all apps and open windows on your personal computer. Next, launch a file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
4. This will start the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Anti-Malware onto your PC system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana Free will start and open the main window.
6. Further, click the “Scan” button for scanning your computer for the browser hijacker that causes browsers to show intrusive Search.combotab.com web-page. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your machine and the speed of your computer. During the scan Zemana will search for threats present on your personal computer.
7. After finished, Zemana will display a list of all threats detected by the scan.
8. Review the results once the tool has done the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply press the “Next” button. The tool will delete browser hijacker that responsible for web-browser reroute to the unwanted Search.combotab.com web-page and add items to the Quarantine. Once disinfection is complete, you may be prompted to restart the PC system.
9. Close the Zemana and continue with the next step.

Run Malwarebytes to remove hijacker infection

We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your machine of the browser hijacker. The free utility is an advanced malware removal program developed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular antimalware technology. It is able to help you get rid of hijacker infections, PUPs, malware, ad supported software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your computer for free.

1. Installing the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware from the following link. Save it on your Windows desktop.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware
   326458 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: April 15, 2020
   
2. After the download is complete, close all programs and windows on your computer. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
3. Further, press Next button and follow the prompts.
4. Once installation is done, click the “Scan Now” button to scan for browser hijacker responsible for redirects to Search.combotab.com. This task may take quite a while, so please be patient.
5. As the scanning ends, a list of all threats found is created. In order to get rid of all threats, simply click “Quarantine Selected”. Once disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to reboot your machine.

The following video offers a instructions on how to delete browser hijackers, ad supported software and other malware with MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM).

Delete Search.combotab.com search from web-browsers with AdwCleaner

AdwCleaner is a free program which created to remove malware, potentially unwanted apps, ‘ad supported’ software and hijackers from your PC running Windows 10, 8, 7, XP (32-bit and 64-bit). It’ll allow to look for and delete browser hijacker infection responsible for redirecting your web browser to Search.combotab.com site, including its files, folders and registry keys.

Please go to the link below to download AdwCleaner. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

After downloading is finished, open the folder in which you saved it. You will see an icon like below.

Double click the AdwCleaner desktop icon. When the utility is opened, you will see a screen as displayed in the following example.

Further, click “Scan” button . AdwCleaner utility will start scanning the whole computer to find out browser hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches to Search.combotab.com. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. After the scan get completed, AdwCleaner will open you the results as shown on the screen below.

Next, you need to click “Clean” button. It will show a prompt as shown in the following example.

You need to click “OK”. After that process is finished, the AdwCleaner may ask you to restart your system. When your PC is started, you will see an AdwCleaner log.

These steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.

How to stop Search.combotab.com

It is also critical to protect your browsers from harmful web-pages and ads by using an adblocker program like AdGuard. Security experts says that it will greatly reduce the risk of malware, and potentially save lots of money. Additionally, the AdGuard can also protect your privacy by blocking almost all trackers.

1. Click the following link to download the latest version of AdGuard for Windows. Save it to your Desktop.
   
   

   Adguard download
   26655 downloads
   Version: 6.4
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 15, 2018
   
2. After the downloading process is complete, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once the setup is finished, press “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you run your PC, AdGuard will run automatically and block advertisements, Search.combotab.com 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 called AdGuard, which is located on your desktop.

How did Search.combotab.com browser hijacker get on your computer

The hijacker is usually gets on your personal computer along with freeware and install themselves, with or without your knowledge, on your PC system. This happens especially when you are installing a free programs. The application setup file tricks you into accepting the installation of third party applications, that you do not really want. Moreover, some paid apps may also install third-party software that you don’t want! Therefore, always download freeware and paid programs from reputable download pages. Use ONLY custom or manual install option and never blindly press Next button.

Finish words

Now your machine should be free of the browser hijacker infection which changes web-browser settings to replace your start page, new tab page and search engine with Search.combotab.com page. Remove AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop-ups and unwanted malicious web pages) and Zemana Free (to periodically scan your PC system for new malicious software, browser hijackers and ad supported software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for MS Windows operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijackers, harmful programs and ‘ad supported’ software are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of Search.combotab.com startpage from your web browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.