The NewTab_searchsmart is an unwanted web-page which can be set as your home page and search provider by a PUP (potentially unwanted program) from the browser hijacker family. Most often, the undesired program installs on the PC system in abundle with freeware that you downloaded and installed from the Internet. Once it gets inside your web browser, it will modify certain internet browser’s homepage, search engine and new tab page to NewTab_searchsmart. The NewTab_searchsmart is made in order to redirect user’s web browser and show lots of unwanted advertisements and sponsored links from AdSense or another third-party vendors in your search results.
In addition, the NewTab_searchsmart browser hijacker infection can also alter the search engine selected in the web browser. When you try to search on the infected browser, you’ll be presented with search results, consisting of advertisements and Google (or Yahoo, or Bing) search results for your query. Among these search results may occur links that lead to unwanted and ad pages.
While the NewTab_searchsmart hijacker is active, you won’t be able to restore the Firefox, Edge, Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer’ settings such as newtab, home page and search provider. If you try to set your start page to be Google, Bing or Yahoo, those settings will be automatically modified to NewTab_searchsmart with the next PC restart. But this does not mean that you should just ignore it or get along with this fact. Because this is not the best option, due to the NewTab_searchsmart home page you can have problems with the Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Edge, intrusive advertisements and even confidential info theft.
So, it’s very important to free your system of browser hijacker ASAP. The steps, which is shown below, will allow you to remove NewTab_searchsmart from the Firefox, Chrome, IE and MS Edge and other internet browsers.
Remove NewTab_searchsmart (removal steps)
There are several steps to deleting NewTab_searchsmart start page, because it installs itself so deeply into Microsoft Windows. You need to remove all suspicious and unknown applications, then remove malicious add-ons from the IE, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and MS Edge and other web browsers you’ve installed. Finally, you need to reset your web browser settings to get rid of any changes NewTab_searchsmart browser hijacker infection has made, and then scan your computer with Zemana Free, MalwareBytes AntiMalware or HitmanPro to ensure the hijacker is fully removed. It will take a while.
To remove NewTab_searchsmart, complete the steps below:
- How to manually get rid of NewTab_searchsmart
- How to automatically remove NewTab_searchsmart hijacker
- How to block NewTab_searchsmart redirect
- How did NewTab_searchsmart browser hijacker get on your PC
- Finish words
How to manually get rid of NewTab_searchsmart
Most common hijackers may be removed without any antivirus software. The manual browser hijacker removal is few simple steps that will teach you how to get rid of the NewTab_searchsmart startpage.
Uninstall NewTab_searchsmart related apps through the Control Panel of your PC
Some of potentially unwanted software, adware and browser hijacker can be removed using the Add/Remove programs utility that can be found in the Microsoft Windows Control Panel. So, if you are running any version of MS Windows and you have noticed an unwanted program, then first try to remove it through Add/Remove programs.
Make sure you have closed all browsers and other apps. Press CTRL, ALT, DEL keys together to open the MS Windows Task Manager.
Click on the “Processes” tab, look for something dubious that is the hijacker infection that changes web-browser settings to replace your new tab page, search engine by default and start page with NewTab_searchsmart webpage then right-click it and select “End Task” or “End Process” option. Most often, malicious software masks itself to avoid detection by imitating legitimate Microsoft Windows processes. A process is particularly suspicious: it’s taking up a lot of memory (despite the fact that you closed all of your programs), its name is not familiar to you (if you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for its name in Google, Yahoo or Bing).
Next, delete any unwanted and suspicious applications from your Control panel.
Windows 10, 8.1, 8
Now, press the Windows button, type “Control panel” in search and press Enter. Select “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.
Look around the entire list of apps installed on your computer. Most probably, one of them is the hijacker infection which alters internet browser settings to replace your newtab, search engine and home page with NewTab_searchsmart webpage. Choose the suspicious program or the application that name is not familiar to you and remove it.
Windows Vista, 7
From the “Start” menu in Microsoft Windows, choose “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, choose “Uninstall a program”.
Select the questionable or any unknown applications, then press “Uninstall/Change” button to uninstall this unwanted program from your system.
Windows XP
Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.
Select an unwanted program, then press “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.
Get rid of NewTab_searchsmart from IE
The IE reset is great if your web-browser is hijacked or you have unwanted addons or toolbars on your web browser, which installed by a malware.
First, start the Microsoft Internet Explorer, press 
) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as displayed on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, press Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.
You will now need to reboot your personal computer for the changes to take effect. It will remove hijacker related to NewTab_searchsmart startpage, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the Microsoft Internet Explorer’s settings such as startpage, new tab and search provider to default state.
Remove NewTab_searchsmart from Firefox by resetting web browser settings
If the Firefox web browser application is hijacked, then resetting its settings can help. The Reset feature is available on all modern version of Firefox. A reset can fix many issues by restoring Firefox settings like search provider by default, homepage and new tab to its default state. It’ll save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, and open tabs.
Start the Mozilla Firefox and click the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the web-browser screen. Next, click the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will show the slide-out menu.
Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you are unable to access the Help menu, then type “about:support” in your address bar and press Enter. It bring up the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown in the figure below.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The Mozilla Firefox will start a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the browser hijacker which cause NewTab_searchsmart web site to appear. After, it is finished, press the “Finish” button.
Remove NewTab_searchsmart from Google Chrome
Reset Google Chrome settings is a easy way to remove the browser hijacker, harmful and adware extensions, as well as to restore the internet browser’s newtab page, homepage and search engine by default that have been changed by browser hijacker.
Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (
). It will open the drop-down menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
Carefully browse through the list of installed addons. If the list has the plugin labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.
Open the Google Chrome main menu again, click to “Settings” option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as shown on the screen below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
How to automatically remove NewTab_searchsmart hijacker
Manual removal is not always as effective as you might think. Often, even the most experienced users can not completely remove browser hijacker from the infected machine. So, we suggest to check your PC system for any remaining malicious components with free browser hijacker removal programs below.
Delete NewTab_searchsmart redirect with Zemana Free
We suggest using the Zemana Free which are completely clean your PC system of the browser hijacker. The utility is an advanced malware removal application made by (c) Zemana lab. It’s able to help you remove PUPs, browser hijackers, adware, malicious software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your computer for free.
Please go to the link below to download Zemana Free. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
164114 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
When downloading is finished, close all windows on your personal computer. Further, open the install file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.
It will show the “Setup wizard” which will allow you install Zemana Free on the computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once install is complete successfully, Zemana Anti Malware will automatically run and you can see its main window as displayed on the screen below.
Next, click the “Scan” button . Zemana application will scan through the whole computer for the browser hijacker that cause NewTab_searchsmart site to appear. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is finished.
When Zemana Free has finished scanning, Zemana will display a list of all threats found by the scan. You may get rid of threats (move to Quarantine) by simply press “Next” button.
The Zemana Free will begin to delete browser hijacker that responsible for web browser redirect to the undesired NewTab_searchsmart page. Once that process is complete, you may be prompted to reboot your computer.
Remove NewTab_searchsmart from internet browsers with HitmanPro
HitmanPro is a free removal tool. It removes potentially unwanted applications, ad-supported software, hijacker infections and undesired web browser add-ons. It will detect and get rid of hijacker that responsible for web-browser redirect to the unwanted NewTab_searchsmart web-page. Hitman Pro uses very small computer resources and is a portable program. Moreover, Hitman Pro does add another layer of malware protection.
Click the link below to download the latest version of HitmanPro for MS Windows. Save it to your Desktop.
Once downloading is finished, open the file location. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the HitmanPro desktop icon. When the utility is started, you will see a screen as on the image below.
Further, press “Next” button to perform a system scan for the hijacker infection responsible for modifying your internet browser settings to NewTab_searchsmart. Depending on your personal computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. As the scanning ends, HitmanPro will produce a list of undesired and adware as on the image below.
Review the results once the utility has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Next” button. It will open a prompt, click the “Activate free license” button.
How to remove NewTab_searchsmart with Malwarebytes
You can remove NewTab_searchsmart automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malicious software removal tool because it may easily remove browser hijacker infections, adware, potentially unwanted applications and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Click the link below to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM). Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.
326466 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
After downloading is complete, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the MalwareBytes Free will try to update itself and when this task is finished, click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan for the hijacker that causes web-browsers to show unwanted NewTab_searchsmart web-page. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. While the utility is checking, you can see how many objects and files has already scanned. All detected threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) is a free program that you can use to get rid of all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malware removal utility, we advise you to read and follow the step-by-step tutorial or the video guide below.
How to block NewTab_searchsmart redirect
If you browse the Net, you can’t avoid malvertising. But you can protect your web browser against it. Download and use an ad blocker program. AdGuard is an ad-blocker that can filter out lots of of the malicious advertising, stoping dynamic scripts from loading malicious content.
Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard by clicking on the link below. Save it on your MS Windows desktop or in any other place.
26660 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading it, double-click the downloaded file to launch it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen like below.
Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick tutorial as shown on the screen below.
Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you start your PC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and block pop up ads, pages like NewTab_searchsmart, as well as other malicious or misleading pages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.
How did NewTab_searchsmart browser hijacker get on your PC
Many of the free software out there install undesired internet browser toolbars, adware and potentially unwanted programs like the browser hijacker infection responsible for changing your web-browser settings to NewTab_searchsmart along with them without your knowledge. One has to be attentive while installing free software in order to avoid accidentally installing optional software. It is important that you pay attention to the EULA (End User License Agreements) and select the Custom, Manual or Advanced installation type as it will typically disclose what bundled apps will also be installed.
Finish words
Now your personal computer should be clean of the browser hijacker responsible for modifying your browser settings to NewTab_searchsmart. We suggest that you keep Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) (to periodically scan your PC system for new hijackers and other malicious software) and AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted ads and malicious web sites). Moreover, to prevent any browser hijacker, please stay clear of unknown and third party apps, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to search for PUPs.
If you need more help with NewTab_searchsmart redirect related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
