What is Bright Tab?
The computer security researchers have determined that Bright Tab is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that falls under the category of Browser hijackers. A browser hijacker is a part of software that is created to take over the web browser and control user’s surfing preferences. It commonly aims at Google Chrome web-browser, but it’s possible that it can hijack other internet browser too. The browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs can sneak into the computer unnoticed due to the fact that it’s actively being promoted in freeware. We advise that you delete Bright Tab as soon as you notice the changes it has made to your search engine, new tab and startpage.
Bright Tab redirects user seaches to Bing
Most often, hijackers promote fake search providers by setting their address as the default search engine. In this case, the browser hijacker installs tailsearch.com as a search engine. This means that users whose web-browser is infected with the browser hijacker are forced to visit tailsearch.com each time they search in the Web, open a new window or tab. And since tailsearch.com is not a real search engine and does not have the ability to find the information users need, this web page redirects the user’s internet browser to the Bing or Yahoo search engine.
Unwanted search ads
And finally, the Bright Tab hijacker has the ability to collect sensitive information about you such as what web-sites you are opening, what you are looking for the Net and so on. This information, in the future, can be used for marketing purposes.
Thus, potentially unwanted programs does not really have beneficial features. So, we recommend you delete Bright Tab from the PC system ASAP. This will also prevent the browser hijacker from tracking your online activities. A full Bright Tab removal can be easily carried out using manual or automatic way listed below.
How can a browser hijacker get on your computer
The majority of PUPs and browser hijackers like Bright Tab spreads bundled with free software or even paid software which World Wide Web users can easily download online. The setup packages of such apps, most often, clearly show that they will install bundled apps. The option is given to users to stop the install of any optional applications. So, in order to avoid the installation of any browser hijackers: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, select only Custom or Advanced setup method and reject all additional programs in which you are unsure.
Threat Summary
| Name | Bright Tab |
| Type | PUP, browser hijacker, home page hijacker, redirect virus, search engine hijacker |
| Affected Browser Settings | startpage, new tab URL, search engine |
| Distribution | fake software updaters, dubious popup advertisements, free programs setup files |
| Symptoms | Advertising pop ups won’t go away. You keep getting redirected to unfamiliar web-sites. Unexpected program installed without your say-so. New internet browser addons suddenly added on your browser. Your web browser search provider has changed without your permission. |
| Removal | Bright Tab removal guide |
How to remove Bright Tab hijacker
Fortunately, it’s not hard to get rid of the browserb hijacker. In the following steps, we will provide two methods to free your computer of this hijacker. One is the manual removal way and the other is automatic removal way. You can choose the way that best fits you. Please follow the removal instructions below to remove Bright Tab right now!
To remove Bright Tab, complete the following steps:
- How to manually get rid of Bright Tab
- Automatic Removal of Bright Tab
- Run AdBlocker to stop Bright Tab redirects
- To sum up
How to manually get rid of Bright Tab
Steps to remove Bright Tab without any apps are presented below. Be sure to carry out the step-by-step instructions completely to fully remove this browser hijacker.
Uninstall suspicious applications using Windows Control Panel
First of all, check the list of installed apps on your device and uninstall all unknown and newly installed applications. If you see an unknown program with incorrect spelling or varying capital letters, it have most likely been installed by malicious software and you should clean it off first with malware removal utility such as Zemana Anti-malware.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, click the Windows button
, then click Search 
. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, click “Start” and select “Control Panel”.
It will display the Windows Control Panel as displayed in the figure below.
Next, click “Uninstall a program” 
It will show a list of all software installed on your device. Scroll through the all list, and delete any dubious and unknown programs. To quickly find the latest installed apps, we recommend sort programs by date in the Control panel.
Remove Bright Tab from Chrome
If Chrome newtab page, search provider and homepage were hijacked by Bright Tab then ‘Reset Chrome’ is a solution which helps to return the internet browser to its factory state. To reset Chrome to the original defaults, follow the guidance below.
First launch the Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal dots (
).
It will open the Chrome menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the add-on signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guide: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Open the Google Chrome menu once again. Further, press the option called “Settings”.
The browser will display the settings screen. Another method to open the Google Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the browser adress bar and press Enter
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as on the image below and press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
The Google Chrome will display the confirmation prompt as on the image below.
You need to confirm your action, press the “Reset” button. The web browser will start the process of cleaning. When it’s done, the web-browser’s settings including search provider, start page and newtab page back to the values which have been when the Chrome was first installed on your computer.
Remove Bright Tab hijacker from IE
In order to restore all web-browser start page, newtab and default search provider you need to reset the Internet Explorer to the state, that was when the Microsoft Windows was installed on your PC.
First, launch the Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon 
. It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the browser, then press the “Internet Options” as shown on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The IE will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, press the “Reset” button as displayed on the image below.
Once the process is done, press “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and restart your device for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your web-browser’s newtab page, startpage and search engine by default to default state.
Remove Bright Tab hijacker from Firefox
Resetting Mozilla Firefox web browser will reset all the settings to their default values and will remove Bright Tab, malicious add-ons and extensions. Your saved bookmarks, form auto-fill information and passwords won’t be cleared or changed.
First, open the Mozilla Firefox and click 
button. It will display the drop-down menu on the right-part of the browser. Further, press the Help button (
) like 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 show the “Troubleshooting Information” page similar to the one below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will display the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will start a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the Bright Tab browser hijacker. After, it’s done, press the “Finish” button.
Automatic Removal of Bright Tab
Manual removal instructions does not always help to get rid of browser hijacker completely, as it’s not easy to identify and remove components of browser hijacker and all malicious files from hard disk. Therefore, it’s recommended that you use malware removal utility to completely get rid of Bright Tab off your computer. Several free malicious software removal tools are currently available that can be used against the hijacker. The optimum method would be to run Zemana, MalwareBytes Anti Malware and HitmanPro.
Run Zemana to remove Bright Tab browser hijacker
You can download and use the Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) for free. This anti-malware tool will scan all the Microsoft Windows registry entries and files in your device along with the system settings and web browser addons. If it finds any malware, adware software or harmful extension that is responsible for Bright Tab hijacker then the Zemana AntiMalware will delete them from your device completely.
Installing the Zemana is simple. First you’ll need to download Zemana AntiMalware from the following link. Save it on your Desktop.
164107 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
After the download is complete, start it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the Zemana Free will try to update itself and when this procedure is done, click the “Scan” button to locate Bright Tab hijacker.
While the Zemana program is scanning, you can see number of objects it has identified as threat. You may delete items (move to Quarantine) by simply click “Next” button.
The Zemana will remove Bright Tab browser hijacker and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine.
Run Hitman Pro to remove Bright Tab hijacker
HitmanPro is a free removal utility which can scan your computer for a wide range of security threats like adware software, malware, potentially unwanted programs as well as Bright Tab browser hijacker. It will perform a deep scan of your device including hard drives and Windows registry. When a malware is found, it will allow you to remove all detected threats from your PC with a simple click.
Visit the following page to download the latest version of HitmanPro for Microsoft Windows. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.
Download and use Hitman Pro on your computer. Once started, click “Next” button . Hitman Pro tool will begin scanning the whole PC to find out Bright Tab hijacker. Depending on your computer, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a malicious software, adware or PUPs are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. .
Once that process is done, HitmanPro will display you the results.
In order to remove all items, simply click Next button.
It will open a prompt, click the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to delete all malware found.
Remove Bright Tab browser hijacker with MalwareBytes Free
If you are still having problems with the Bright Tab hijacker — or just wish to scan your PC system occasionally for browser hijacker and other malicious software — download MalwareBytes Free. It is free for home use, and searches for and removes various undesired apps that attacks your computer or degrades computer performance. MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) can get rid of adware, potentially unwanted software as well as malicious software, including ransomware and trojans.
- Download MalwareBytes Anti Malware on your computer by clicking on the following link.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326460 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web-browser will show the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- After the download is finished, please close all apps and open windows on your personal computer. Double-click on the icon that’s named MBSetup.
- This will start the Setup wizard of MalwareBytes Free onto your computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes Anti Malware will start and open the main window.
- Further, press the “Scan” button to find the Bright Tab hijacker. While the tool is scanning, you may see count of objects and files has already scanned.
- When MalwareBytes completes the scan, the results are displayed in the scan report.
- When you are ready, click the “Quarantine” button. Once the cleaning procedure is finished, you may be prompted to reboot the device.
- Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.
Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.
Run AdBlocker to stop Bright Tab redirects
Use ad-blocking program like AdGuard in order to block advertisements, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install malicious and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons that affect your computer performance and impact your computer security. Browse the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!
- Click the link below to download the latest version of AdGuard for Windows. Save it on your Desktop.
Adguard download
26656 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- Once the downloading process is done, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- After the install is finished, click “Skip” to close the installation application and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you run your PC system, AdGuard will run automatically and stop unwanted ads, block Bright Tab redirects, as well as other harmful or misleading web pages. 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, which can be found on your desktop.
To sum up
Now your computer should be clean of the Bright Tab hijacker. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popups and undesired harmful web sites) and Zemana Anti-Malware (to periodically scan your device for new malware, browser hijackers and adware). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Microsoft Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijackers, harmful applications and adware software are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to remove Bright Tab from your web-browser, then ask for help here.
