Alientab takes over web browsers and forces you to use a suspicious search engine
Alientab is an untrustworthy extension that may trick you into downloading it because of its user-friendly appearance. However, before you start using it for your searches, keep in mind that it is a suspicious search site that often emerges in victim’s browsers unexpectedly. This shady site belongs to Victory Commerce, Ltd which is known for releasing other potentially unwanted programs (PUP) like Planktab.com, Bitmotion virus, and others.
It appears that Alientab spreads via freeware and shareware bundles, which explains why so many users install a browser hijacking software without knowing it. Reportedly, the majority of compromised computers are in India, Pakistan and UK[1].
After appearing instead of homepage and default web search provider, this potentially unwanted program starts blocking other search engines. In fact, all of these browser-hijacking programs[2] are designed to take control of browser’s settings and prevent the user from changing them.
Alientab.net forces you to use a shady search engine that serves sponsored content primarily. It means that instead of receiving relevant search results, you will likely run into pages of ads leading to questionable external sites. If you browser through them, sooner or later you will run into potentially dangerous websites.
The whole point of serving sponsored search results and causing redirects to shady websites is making money using pay-per-click scheme. The described search engine reroutes users to specific websites and drives traffic to them this way. As a result, the victim has to enter potentially dangerous websites without realizing it. If you care about your privacy and security, better remove Alientab ASAP.
The reason why we mentioned privacy is the fact that this suspicious browser hijackers employs tracking cookies to supervise victim’s activity online. Once the victim enters a search query via the shady search site, the tracking cookies grab it. The same happens with every URL the victim enters into browser’s URL bar, also clicks on ads and other browsing-related information.
The hijacker can’t collect personally identifiable information about the victim; therefore it won’t grab your login details. We must clarify that it might collect personally identifiable information you enter into search engines.
If you are tired of the hijacker’s activity and you would like to start browsing the Internet without interruptions, we highly suggest you implement Alientab removal. To complete this task, you should use instructions provided below the article or anti-malware software like FortectIntego.
Browser hijackers can be stopped – find out how
You can stop browser hijackers from meddling with your browser’s settings, but you must be attentive when installing the free software you downloaded from the Internet. Do not rush to install your new program just by clicking the “Next” button in the installer repeatedly. Everything written above this button matters.
Although some software setup stages are not as important as others, you must pay all of your attention to the “settings” stage. Here, you have to switch the selection from Default/Standard to Custom/Advanced. This slight configuration gives you access to all programs bundled with your download and allows deselecting them. You shouldn’t miss such opportunity and make those checkmarks next to them disappear.
To avoid installing potentially dangerous software, you should avoid installing programs from untrustworthy web pages as well. In addition, avoid illegal software packs or cracks[3] because they are known as sources of spyware/malware.
Remove Alientab.net from your system and enjoy regular web browsing sessions again
Do not use the suspicious search engine any longer and remove Alientab.net virus today. Once you delete the culprit that made unexpected changes to your browsers, configure browser settings according to your needs. You can find an in-depth explanation on how to delete the hijacker and reset browser settings down below.
In case the provided tutorial didn’t help you to get rid of the hijacker or if you find the provided guidelines confusing, you can opt for automatic Alientab.net removal. To complete it, you need to have an anti-malware software. If you do not have such program yet, you may want to take a look at ones we recommend.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.
Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).
Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.
- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.
Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.
Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.
Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.
Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.
Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.
Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.
Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.
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