Search.movies-tab.com virus (Virus Removal Instructions) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

Search.movies-tab.com virus Removal Guide

What is Search.movies-tab.com virus?

Search.movies-tab.com – a browser hijacker that fills your search results with deceptive ads

Download Search.movies-tab.com virusThe PUP changes default browser settings to redirect search traffic and spy on your browsing habits.

Search.movies-tab.com is a website related to the questionable application that allows watching the latest movies online for free. We won’t talk about the legitimacy of this tool, but we can ensure that the installation of this extension leads to numerous browsing-related problems.

name Search.movies-tab.com
type Browser hijacker, redirect virus, PUP
Symptoms Altered default browser settings; search result contain numerous ads and are provided from a different supplier; diminished browsing speed
Dangers Privacy loss, malware infections
Distribution Deceptive ads, official website, software bundling
Elimination Use reliable anti-malware tools to remove the browser hijacker from your device
System health Fix all system-related irregularities by performing system diagnostics with the FortectIntego optimization software

The article's culprit's extension is classified as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that operates as a browser hijacker. It has an official website and is available on Chrome Web Store.[1] If you decide to install this program (not recommended), you will receive a confirmation pop-up telling you that this add-on can:

  • Read and change your data on movies-tab.com
  • Replace the page you see when opening a new tab

Even though the official site does not include the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy on the official website, the latter document is included in the Chrome Store. It links to Personal Browser Privacy Policy which is a search tool created by Babylon Ltd. This company is known for creating numerous browser hijackers, such as Babylon Toolbar.

However, apart from legit download sources, the application might end up on the browser unnoticed with the help of a software bundle. Due to this distribution method, it is often referred to as Search.movies-tab.com virus. However, it does not deserve such a strong title. It’s only a potentially unwanted program that might:

  • alter browser’s homepage, default search engine, and new tab URL address;
  • display questionable ads;
  • redirect to commercial or promotional websites aggressively;
  • include sponsored links into search results page;
  • track information about users;
  • prevent removing its set default search engine.

After installing the browser hijacker on your device, the program quickly alters some system and browser settings in order to prevent users from uninstalling it easily. Additionally, these changes are needed to display third-party ads and initiate redirects.

The Search.movies-tab.com redirect virus helps to generate revenue for the developers from user’s clicks on ads and visits to third-party sites. It goes without saying that the authors of the program want to make as much income as possible and put the user’s experience to the second plan.

However, there might be few threats as well. Some ads or redirects might lead to potentially dangerous websites created for spreading malware[2] or trying to get users' personal information. Thus, it’s better to remove Search.movies-tab.com with Malwarebytes or SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner if it sneaked into your device unnoticed.

Manual removal is also possible and its instructions are presented at the bottom of the article. But we recommend using the automatic method as all components of the PUP are automatically deleted. Afterward, use the FortectIntego system diagnostics tool to fix virus damage.

Image of Search.movies-tab.com virusSearch.movies-tab.com virus is a browser hijacker that pretends to be a legit free video streaming platform.

How browser hijackers are distributed?

We have mentioned about three ways how users can directly or indirectly install the application:

  • the official website;
  • Chrome Web Store;
  • software bundling.

The latter method is tricky because users might be tricked into installing an unwanted add-on without even realizing it. It might be included in software packages as an optional component and hidden under Quick/Standard settings. For this reason, using these installation settings is not recommended.

Security experts from Los Virus[3] advise using Advanced/Custom settings to avoid accidental installation of browser hijackers, adware, or other PUPs. The wizard will reveal “optional downloads” and allow unmarking the ticks to stop their installation.

Guidelines to quickly remove Search.movies-tab.com

Of course, you have to uninstall Movies Tab extension from the browser. However, it may not be enough to entirely remove the browser hijacker. You have to remove suspicious plugins that might have been installed without your knowledge too, reset the browsers, and of course, make sure that any unknown programs were not installed on the system.

You can follow the removal guides below if you want to get rid of this cyber threat without the help of reputable anti-malware software. However, we recommend downloading one of the suggested tools to completely remove the threat and prevent similar perils in the future.

You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.

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Compatible with Microsoft Windows Compatible with macOS
What to do if failed?
If you failed to fix virus damage using Fortect Intego, submit a question to our support team and provide as much details as possible.
Fortect Intego has a free limited scanner. Fortect Intego offers more through scan when you purchase its full version. When free scanner detects issues, you can fix them using free manual repairs or you can decide to purchase the full version in order to fix them automatically.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Fortect, try running SpyHunter 5.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Intego, try running Combo Cleaner.

Getting rid of Search.movies-tab.com virus. Follow these steps

Uninstall from Windows

Follow these steps to remove the PUP and its components from Windows OS entirely:

Instructions for Windows 10/8  machines:

  1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 1
  3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
  4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
  5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
  6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK. Uninstall from Windows 2

If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 7/XP
  3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
  4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
  5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
  6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Delete from macOS

This guide will help you to find and delete all components related to the browser hijacker from Mac OS X:

Remove items from Applications folder:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
  3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash) Uninstall from Mac 1

To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
  3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
  4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files. Uninstall from Mac 2

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click on Uninstall at the bottom. Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear. Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Disable if you found any suspicious domain.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. 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. Reset MS Edge

If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.

  1. Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
  2. Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
  3. Right-click on them and pick Delete Advanced MS Edge reset 1
  4. Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
  5. When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:

    Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose Advanced MS Edge reset 2

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove. Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now. Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset. Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select unwanted plugin and click Remove. Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Options.
  3. Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data…
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear. Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information. Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox. Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove. Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data. Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. 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:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings. Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. In the new window, pick Extensions.
  3. Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall. Remove extensions from Safari

Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Clear History…
  2. From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
  3. Confirm with Clear History. Clear cookies and website data from Safari

Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. Go to Advanced tab.
  3. Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  4. From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches. Reset Safari

After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of Search.movies-tab.com registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.

How to prevent from getting browser hijacker

Access your website securely from any location

When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address.

If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world.

 

Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks

While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.

Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection. 

 

About the author
Lucia Danes
Lucia Danes - Virus researcher

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