Stop Tasty Online Recipes from hijacking your browser
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is Tasty Online Recipes?
Tasty Online Recipes is a rogue application, supposedly capable of providing quick access to various recipes and other cooking-related content. Based on appearances alone, this app appears legitimate and handy. However, it is classified both as a browser hijacker and a PUA (potentially unwanted application).
Tasty Online Recipes modifies browsers and promotes its fake search engine (search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com), it also gathers intel on users' browsing activity.
Due to most users installing this application inadvertently, it is considered to be a PUA. It is also pertinent to know, that Tasty Online Recipes is often distributed alongside another unwanted application called Hide My Searches.
The most common browser hijacker targets are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and other popular browsers. The hijacking applications promote fake search engines by assigning them as browser's homepages, default search engines and new tab/window URLs.
Therefore, users attempting to use a browser, hijacked by Tasty Online Recipes, will find that every new tab/window opened and every search query typed into the URL bar will redirect to search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com. Most fraudulent web searching tools are unable to generate search results, so they redirect to (or cause redirections chains ending with) a legitimate search engine.
This is the case with search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com, it redirects to search.yahoo.com. While the changes that browser hijackers make may seem relatively easy to undo, without removal of the rogue app - that is not possible. Any changes users make are automatically reset and/or access to certain settings is outright denied.
Tasty Online Recipes has data tracking abilities, which are deemed a huge threat to user privacy. By monitoring browsing activity, these applications can gather personal information (e.g. IP address, geolocation and personal details). This sensitive data is then shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals), intent on misusing it to generate revenue.
In summary, PUAs can cause various browser and system invasions/infections, as well as lead to severe privacy issues (even identity theft). To ensure device and user safety, all dubious apps and browser extensions/plug-ins must be removed immediately.
| Name | Tasty Online Recipes |
| Threat Type | Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab |
| Detection Names | Avast (Win32:AdwareSig [Adw]), DrWeb (Adware.Spigot.145), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentially Unwanted), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Win32.WebSearch.gen), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Browser Extension(s) | Recipes, Tasty Online Recipes |
| Supposed Functionality | Access to food recipes. |
| Promoted URL | search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com |
| Serving IP Address (search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com) | 34.206.62.241 |
| Affected Browser Settings | Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine |
| Symptoms | Manipulated Internet browser(s) settings (homepage, default Internet search engine, new tab settings). User's are forced to visit hijacker's website and search the Internet using their search engines. |
| Additional Information | Tasty Online Recipes is distributed alongside with another browser hijacker called Hide My Searches. |
| Distribution methods | Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers. |
| Damage | Internet browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites. |
| Malware Removal (Windows) | To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. |
Most PUAs are similar, some are even identical. Browser hijackers akin to Tasty Online Recipes are: TotalRecipeSearch Toolbar, My Weather Live, Inbox Manager and many others. It must be emphasized, that the only purpose of these undesirable applications is to generate profit for their developers.
Therefore, despite how useful the features they offer sound - most of them are nonfunctional. Instead of operating as advertised, PUAs cause redirects to various unreliable and even malicious websites, run intrusive advertisement campaigns and gather private data.
How did Tasty Online Recipes install on my computer?
Tasty Online Recipes has an official website, where it can be downloaded for free. However, PUAs can invade devices without user consent and/or knowledge. These apps are furthered through download/installation setups, sneaking onto systems alongside desired content.
This deceptive marketing tactic, pre-packing ordinary software with PUAs, is called "bundling". By rushing through the download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps, using pre-set options and etc.) - users risk allowing unwanted or malicious apps into their devices.
Intrusive advertisements are also known to spread undesirable applications. By clicking on such ads, users can trigger them to execute scripts, designed to make autonomous downloads/installs.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
To protect their systems from PUAs, users should be very cautious when downloading/installing content and when browsing the Internet. It is recommended to only use official and verified sources for downloading software.
Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, free file hosting websites, third party downloaders and other similar channels - are considered to be untrustworthy, therefore advised against using. Download/installation setups should be carefully analyzed.
Skipping steps and/or using original settings is ill-advised, instead users should use the "Custom/Advanced" settings (or other similar sections) and opt-out from downloading/installing additional apps/tools. When browsing, users should avoid visiting questionable sites and refrain from clicking on random advertisements.
Intrusive adverts usually look legitimate and harmless, however they redirect to untrustworthy webpages (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating and similar). Should users experience ads/redirects of this type, they are strongly urged to remove all suspicious applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins.
If your computer is already infected with Tasty Online Recipes, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.
Tasty Online Recipes browser hijacker installer set-up:
Tasty Online Recipes browser hijacker asking for various permissions:
Website promoting Tasty Online Recipes browser hijacker:
Instant automatic malware removal:
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Quick menu:
- What is Tasty Online Recipes?
- STEP 1. Uninstall Tasty Online Recipes application using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove Tasty Online Recipes browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com redirect from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
Tasty Online Recipes browser hijacker removal:
Windows 11 users:
Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.
Windows 10 users:
Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.
Windows 7 users:
Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.
macOS (OSX) users:
Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.
In the uninstall programs window: look for any recently installed suspicious applications (for example, "Tasty Online Recipes"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications (which cause browser redirects to the search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com website), scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
Tasty Online Recipes browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:
Video showing how to remove browser redirects:
Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:
Click the "gear" icon 
(at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".
Change your homepage:
Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Internet Options", in the opened window remove hxxp://search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you launch Internet Explorer. You can also enter about: blank to open a blank page when you start Internet Explorer.
Change your default search engine:
Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". In the opened window, select "Search Providers", set "Google", "Bing", or any other preferred search engine as your default and then remove "Tasty Online Recipes".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com redirect, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.
Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.
Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.
Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.
In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.
Click the Reset button.
Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.
Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
Click the Chrome menu icon 
(at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate "Tasty Online Recipes" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons (e.g., "Hide My Searches"), and remove them.
Change your homepage:
Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, disable "Tasty Online Recipes" or "Hide My Searches", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com or hxxps://hidemysearches.com) below the “Open a specific or set of pages” option. If present click on the three vertical dots icon and select “Remove”.
Change your default search engine:
To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list look for "hxxp://search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com" and "hxxp://hidemysearches.com", when located click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Remove from list".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com redirect, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.
After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.
In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.
Remove malicious plugins from Mozilla Firefox:
Click the Firefox menu 
(at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "Tasty Online Recipes" (or simply "Recipes"), as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins (e.g., "Hide My Searches").
Change your homepage:
To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Options", in the opened window disable "Tasty Online Recipes" (or simply "Recipes") or "Hide My Searches", remove hxxp://search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com or hxxp://hidemysearches.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.
Change your default search engine:
In the URL address bar, type about:config and press Enter.
Click "I'll be careful, I promise!".
In the search filter at the top, type: "moz-extension"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.
Optional method:
Computer users who have problems with search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com redirect removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.
Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.
Select Troubleshooting Information.
In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.
In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.
Remove malicious extensions from Safari:
Make sure your Safari browser is active and click Safari menu, then select Preferences...
In the preferences window select the Extensions tab. Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions and uninstall them.
In the preferences window select General tab and make sure that your homepage is set to a preferred URL, if its altered by a browser hijacker - change it.
In the preferences window select Search tab and make sure that your preferred Internet search engine is selected.
Optional method:
Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...
In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.
Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:
Click the Edge menu icon 
(at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate any recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.
Change your homepage and new tab settings:
Click the Edge menu icon (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section look for the name of the browser hijacker and click "Disable".
Change your default Internet search engine:
To change your default search engine in Microsoft Edge: Click the Edge menu icon (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Privacy and services", scroll to bottom of the page and select "Address bar". In the "Search engines used in address bar" section look for the name of the unwanted Internet search engine, when located click the "Disable" button near it. Alternatively you can click on "Manage search engines", in the opened menu look for unwanted Internet search engine. Click on the puzzle icon 
near it and select "Disable".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.tastyonlinerecipestab.com redirect, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.
In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.
Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.
- If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.
Summary:
A browser hijacker is a type of adware infection that modifies Internet browser settings by assigning the homepage and default Internet search engine settings to some other (unwanted) website URL. Commonly, this type of adware infiltrates operating systems through free software downloads. If your download is managed by a download client, ensure that you decline offers to install advertised toolbars or applications that seek to change your homepage and default Internet search engine settings.
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