What is Tail Box?
The cyber security professionals have determined that Tail Box is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) belonging to the group of Browser hijackers. The aim of browser hijackers is to generate advertising revenue. For example, a browser hijacker redirects the user’s homepage to the browser hijacker’s page that contains advertisements or sponsored links; a browser hijacker redirects the user web searches to a link the browser hijacker wants the user to see, rather than to legitimate search engine results. When the user clicks on ads in the search results, developers of browser hijackers gets paid. The developers of browser hijackers can collect confidential info such as user browsing habits as well as browsing history and sell this information to third parties for marketing purposes.
The Tail Box hijacker will modify your web browser’s search engine so that all searches are sent through tailsearch.com that redirects to Bing, Yahoo or Google Custom Search engine which shows the search results for your query. The devs behind this hijacker are utilizing legitimate search provider as they may make money from the ads that are displayed in the search results.
Another reason why you need to remove Tail Box is its online data-tracking activity. It can gather user data, including:
- IP addresses;
- URLs visited;
- search queries/terms;
- clicks on links and ads;
- browser version information.
How can a browser hijacker get on your device
Potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers like Tail Box come from browser toolbars, browser extensions, BHOs (browser helper objects) and optional apps. Most commonly, these items claim itself as software which improve your experience on the Internet by providing a fast and interactive home page or a search engine that does not track you. Remember, how to avoid the unwanted applications. Be cautious, start only reputable applications which download from reputable sources. NEVER install an unknown and suspicious application.
Threat Summary
Name | Tail Box |
Type | redirect virus, search provider hijacker, browser hijacker, home page hijacker, PUP |
Affected Browser Settings | start page, newtab page URL, search provider |
Distribution | misleading popup advertisements, fake software updaters, free software installation packages |
Symptoms | Popup ads won’t go away. Every time you perform an Internet search, your browser is re-directed to another web page. New entries appear in your Programs folder. New browser extensions suddenly installed on your web browser. Your web browser settings are being changed without your request. |
Removal | Tail Box removal guide |
How to remove Tail Box hijacker
If you have unwanted homepage or search engine, constant pop-ups or ads, slow personal computer, freezing PC system problems, you are in need of browser hijacker removal assistance. The step-by-step guidance below will guide you forward to get Tail Box hijacker removed and will assist you get your PC operating at peak capacity again.
To remove Tail Box, complete the following steps:
How to manually remove Tail Box
To get rid of browser hijacker, adware and other unwanted software you can try to do so manually. Unfortunately some of the hijackers won’t show up in your applications list, but some browser hijackers may. In this case, you may be able to get rid of it through the uninstall function of your PC. You can do this by following the steps below.
Uninstall Tail Box related applications through the Control Panel of your PC system
In order to remove Tail Box, first thing you need to do is to delete unknown and questionable programs from your device using Windows control panel. When removing this hijacker, check the list of installed apps and try to find suspicious programs and uninstall them all. Pay special attention to recently installed software, as it is most likely that the Tail Box browser hijacker сame along with it.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, click Windows button , then click Search . Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as displayed below.
After the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as on the image below.
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as shown in the figure below.
Very carefully look around the entire list of programs installed on your computer. Most likely, one of them is the Tail Box browser hijacker. If you have many applications installed, you can help simplify the search of harmful apps by sort the list by date of installation. Once you’ve found a questionable, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel such as the one below.
When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ such as the one below.
You will see a list of apps installed on your PC system. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the software that were installed last. Most likely, it’s the Tail Box hijacker. If you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. Once the application which you need to remove is found, simply press on its name, and then press ‘Uninstall’ as shown on the image below.
Remove Tail Box hijacker from web browsers
If you’re still seeing an unwanted homepage that won’t go away, you might have malicious add-ons installed on your browser. Check your internet browser for browser hijackers using the steps below.
Google Chrome | Mozilla Firefox |
---|---|
You can also try to delete Tail Box hijacker by reset Google Chrome settings. |
If you are still experiencing problems with Tail Box browser hijacker removal, you need to reset Mozilla Firefox browser. |
Internet Explorer | Safari |
Another solution to get rid of Tail Box browser hijacker from IE is reset Internet Explorer settings. |
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Automatic Removal of Tail Box
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 PC system. So, we advise to check your computer for any remaining malicious components with free hijacker removal apps below.
Remove Tail Box hijacker with Zemana
Zemana Anti-Malware is free full featured malware removal utility. It can check your files and MS Windows registry in real-time. Zemana Anti-Malware can help to remove Tail Box browser hijacker, other potentially unwanted apps and adware. It uses 1% of your personal computer resources. This tool has got simple and beautiful interface and at the same time effective protection for your PC.
Download Zemana AntiMalware on your PC by clicking on the following link.
164115 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
When downloading is complete, close all apps and windows on your personal computer. Double-click the install file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as displayed below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Zemana on your PC. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is finished successfully, Zemana will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed on the image below.
Now click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the Tail Box hijacker. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC. While the utility is scanning, you can see count of objects and files has already scanned.
After Zemana has finished scanning your PC system, Zemana will produce a list of unwanted programs and browser hijacker. When you are ready, click “Next” button. The Zemana Anti-Malware will remove Tail Box hijacker and move the selected threats to the program’s quarantine. After disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to reboot the personal computer.
Run Hitman Pro to delete Tail Box browser hijacker
In order to make sure that no more harmful folders and files related to Tail Box browser hijacker are inside your PC system, you must run another effective malicious software scanner. We suggest to use Hitman Pro. No installation is necessary with this utility.
- Installing the Hitman Pro is simple. First you’ll need to download HitmanPro on your computer from the following link.
- When the downloading process is complete, start the Hitman Pro, double-click the HitmanPro.exe file.
- If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
- In the Hitman Pro window, click the “Next” for checking your personal computer for the Tail Box browser hijacker. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the HitmanPro program is scanning, you can see count of objects it has identified as threat.
- Once that process is complete, you can check all threats found on your computer. Once you have selected what you want to delete from your computer click “Next”. Now, press the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to remove all malware found.
How to get rid of Tail Box with MalwareBytes AntiMalware
We suggest using the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware. You may download and install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware to detect and get rid of Tail Box browser hijacker from your device. When installed and updated, this free malware remover automatically identifies and deletes all threats present on the PC system.
- Installing the MalwareBytes is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes AntiMalware on your computer by clicking on the link below.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326468 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web-browser will open the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- After downloading is finished, please close all software and open windows on your PC system. Double-click on the icon that’s called MBSetup.
- This will launch the Setup wizard of MalwareBytes AntiMalware onto your PC system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes AntiMalware will launch and display the main window.
- Further, click the “Scan” button to start scanning your computer for the Tail Box hijacker. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your device. During the scan MalwareBytes will search for threats present on your PC.
- Once finished, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will show a list of detected items.
- 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 press the “Quarantine” button. Once finished, you may be prompted to restart the PC system.
- Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.
Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.
How to stop Tail Box redirect
The AdGuard is a very good ad blocker application for the Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and MS Edge, with active user support. It does a great job by removing certain types of intrusive ads, popunders, popups, intrusive new tab pages, and even full page ads and web site overlay layers. Of course, the AdGuard can stop the Tail Box redirects automatically or by using a custom filter rule.
First, click the following link, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of AdGuard.
26660 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading it, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as on the image below.
Follow the prompts. When the installation is complete, you will see a window such as the one below.
You can click “Skip” to close the install application and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial that will assist 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 run your personal computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block Tail Box redirects, as well as other harmful or misleading websites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which may be found on your desktop.
To sum up
We suggest that you keep Zemana (to periodically scan your device for new browser hijackers and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop-up advertisements and malicious webpages). Moreover, to prevent any hijacker, please stay clear of unknown and third party software, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to scan for potentially unwanted software.
If you need more help with Tail Box related issues, go to here.