How to remove the UP Tab browser hijacker

What is UP Tab?

UP Tab (also known as CoinUp) is a browser hijacker, and yet endorsed as a tool that provides current time and date directly from the browser's new tab/window. It operates by making unauthorized changes to browsers and promoting its associated fake search engine (coinup.org).

This rogue application also has data tracking capabilities, which it employs to record users' browsing activity. Due to its dubious proliferation methods, UP Tab is categorized as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA).

Typically, browser hijackers target Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and other popular browsers. After successful infiltration, they assign their fake search engine addresses as the homepage, default search engine, and new tab/window URLs. UP Tab promotes coinup.org in this way.

Therefore, each new tab and window opened and each search query typed into the URL bar redirects to coinup.org. These changes may seem simply a nuisance, however, they are not easy to undo. Any user changes made to browsers are automatically reset (if indeed access to the settings is permitted).

The hijacking application must be eliminated to recover the affected browser. Most browser hijackers can track data, and UP Tab is no exception. By monitoring users' browsing habits (URLs visited, pages viewed, search engine history, etc.), it gathers personal information (IP addresses, geolocations, and other details).

This sensitive data is then shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) intent on misusing it for financial gain.

Therefore, the presence of data tracking applications on systems can lead to serious privacy issues, financial loss, and even identity theft. To protect devices from potential system infiltration and infection, and to ensure user safety, remove all suspicious apps and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.

Threat Summary:

Name	UP Tab
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	UP Tab.
Promoted URL	coinup.org
Serving IP Address (coinup.org)	104.27.138.232
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine.
Symptoms	Manipulated Internet browser settings (homepage, default Internet search engine, new tab settings). Users are forced to visit the hijacker's website and search the Internet using their search engines.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Browser hijackers are released by the thousand and most share certain traits. Convert My Vid Search, QuickTemplateFinder, Current Weather App are some examples of applications akin to UP Tab. In general, PUAs tend to be similar.

Unwanted apps created by the same designers are usually identical. These applications may seem legitimate and offer various "useful" and "beneficial" features to trick users into downloading/installing them, however, these features rarely work as advertised and, in most cases, are nonoperational.

Note that the only purpose of PUAs is to generate revenue for the developers. They have no real value. Rather than delivering any useful features, unwanted applications hijack browsers, cause redirects to untrustworthy and malicious websites, run intrusive advertisement campaigns (pop-ups, surveys, banners, coupons, etc.), and collect vulnerable data.

How did UP Tab install on my computer?

Some PUAs have "official" download web pages, however, they often proliferate via the download/installation set-ups of other programs. This deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing normal software with unwanted or malicious content is called "bundling".

Rushing download/install processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps, using pre-set options, etc.) increases the risk of potential system infiltration and infections. Intrusive advertisements are also known to proliferate these rogue apps. When clicked they can be triggered to execute scripts designed to download/install PUAs without users' consent.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Research software and content to verify its legitimacy before downloading/installing. Use only official and verified download sources. Do not use P2P sharing networks (BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule, etc.), unofficial and free file-hosting websites, third party downloaders, or similar channels, as they are untrusted.

Download/Installation processes should be treated with caution. Read the terms, study possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings, and decline download/install of additional apps, tools, features, etc. Intrusive ads usually seem legitimate and innocuous, however, they can redirect to dubious websites (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating, etc.).

If you experience ads/redirects of this type, remove all suspect applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins without delay. If your computer is already infected with UP Tab, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

UP Tab browser hijacker asking for various permissions:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is UP Tab?
• STEP 1. Uninstall UP Tab application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove coinup.org redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove UP Tab browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove coinup.org homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove coinup.org redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

UP Tab 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, "UP Tab"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications that cause browser redirects to the coinup.org website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

UP Tab 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://coinup.org 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 "UP Tab".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the coinup.org 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 "UP Tab" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, 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 "UP Tab", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.coinup.org) 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 "coinup.org", and 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 coinup.org 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 plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "UP Tab", as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins.

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 "UP Tab", remove hxxp://coinup.org 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: "coinup"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with coinup.org 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 coinup.org 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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