Search.movies-tab.com virus. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
Search.movies-tab.com should not be trusted
Search.movies-tab.com or movies-tab.com are websites related to questionable application that allows watching 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.
The Movies Tab 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 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 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 software bundle. Due to this distribution method, it is often referred to as Search.movies-tab.com virus. However, it does not deserve such 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 Search.movies-tab.com removal.
After the Search.movies-tab.com hijack, 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 authors of the program want to make as much income as possible and put 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 that are created for spreading malware[2] or trying to get user’s personal information. Thus, it’s better to remove Search.movies-tab.com with Reimage if it sneaked into your device unnoticed.
Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'
Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL
Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'
Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again
Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
Select 'Clear' button
Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'
Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'
Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'
Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes
Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times
Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Distribution methods of the browser extension
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 unwanted add-on without even realizing. 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.
Terminate Search.movies-tab.com from the browser
Of course, you have to uninstall Movies Tab extension from the browser. However, it may not be enough to remove Search.movies-tab.com entirely. 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 Search.movies-tab.com removal guide below if you want to get rid of this cyber threat manually. However, you can speed up the process and opt for the automatic elimination.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, Malwarebytes MalwarebytesCombo Cleaner, Plumbytes Anti-MalwareMalwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Search.movies-tab.com virus, follow these steps:
Eliminate Search.movies-tab.com from Windows systems
Follow these steps to remove Search.movies-tab.com virus and its components from Windows OS entirely:
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
- Uninstall Search.movies-tab.com and related programs
Here, look for Search.movies-tab.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Search.movies-tab.com from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. -
Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariRemove Search.movies-tab.com from Mac OS X system
This guide will help you to find and delete all components related to the browser hijacker from Mac OS X:
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Search.movies-tab.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Erase Search.movies-tab.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
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Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Search.movies-tab.com and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
-
Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
-
When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Search.movies-tab.com removal.
Get rid of Search.movies-tab.com virus from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
-
Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
-
Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
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When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
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Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Search.movies-tab.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariDelete Search.movies-tab.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select Search.movies-tab.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
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Click OK to save these changes.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Search.movies-tab.com removal.
Uninstall Search.movies-tab.com from Google Chrome
Open Chrome's extensions and look up for Movies Tab. You should also look up for Babylon Toolbar, Personal Browser and similar entries that may have been installed without your knowledge. Then reset the browser.
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Search.movies-tab.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
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Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Search.movies-tab.com removal.
Eliminate Search.movies-tab.com from Safari
- Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Search.movies-tab.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Search.movies-tab.com, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Search.movies-tab.com removal process.
About the author
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References
- ^ Michael Mimoso. Google Busy Removing More Malicious Chrome Extensions from Web Store. Threat Post. Security news.
- ^ Graham Cluley. Forbes Website Used to Spread Malware – But What Can Other Businesses Learn?. Tripwire. Cybersecurity solutions .
- ^ Los Virus. Los Virus. Spanish cyber security news.
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