Stop redirects to search.packagestrackertab.com
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is Packages Tracker?
Packages Tracker is a rogue application, advertised as a tool for easy access to various international package tracking services. It is supposedly capable of providing tracking information for packages sent using FedEx, USPS, UPS, DHL, Canada Post, Royal Mail and other shipping services.
In fact, it is classified as both a browser hijacker and a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA). As a browser hijacker, Packages Tracker makes unauthorized changes to browsers to promote search.packagestrackertab.com (a fake search engine). Packages Tracker is classified as a PUA due to its dubious proliferation methods.
Furthermore, Packages Tracker monitors users' browsing activity and gathers their personal information. Note that Packages Tracker is often distributed with another PUA called Hide My Searches.
Browser hijackers commonly target Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and other popular browsers. After successful infiltration, these applications assign the homepage, default search engine, and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of their fake search tools.
With Packages Tracker installed, these are set to search.packagestrackertab.com. Therefore, each new tab/window opened and each search query typed into the URL bar redirects to search.packagestrackertab.com. Most bogus web searchers cannot provide unique results and simply redirect to (or cause redirection chains ending with) a legitimate search engine.
In the case of search.packagestrackertab.com, it redirects to search.yahoo.com. These modifications may seem insignificant, and yet they diminish the browsing experience. Any changes users attempt to make to their browsers are automatically reset - if indeed access to settings is allowed at all.
This makes recovery of hijacked browsers impossible, unless the rogue app is removed. Browser hijackers usually possess data tracking capabilities, and Packages Tracker is no exception. It monitors and collects information such as browsing and search engine histories, IP addresses, geolocations, and other details.
This vulnerable data might be shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) intent on misusing it to generate revenue. The presence of data-tracking content on devices can result in serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft. Therefore, remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.
| Name | Packages Tracker |
| Threat Type | Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab. |
| Detection Names | Avast (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentiall), Emsisoft (Gen:Variant.Ser.Ursu.17195 (B)), Fortinet (Riskware/WinWrapper), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Browser Extension(s) | Packages Tracker |
| Supposed Functionality | It supposedly provides various tracking information. |
| Promoted URL | search.packagestrackertab.com |
| Serving IP Address (search.packagestrackertab.com) | 3.226.49.154 |
| 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. |
| Additional Information | Packages Tracker is distributed with another browser hijacker called Hide My Searches. |
| 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. |
Express Package Finder Tab, Recall Alerts, My Flight Finder, and Parcel Finder are just some examples of browser hijackers similar to Packages Tracker. In general, all PUAs share certain qualities. These apps often seem legitimate and tempt users to install with offers of "useful" and "beneficial" features.
These rarely work as promised and, in most cases, are nonoperational. As well as browser hijacking and fake search engine promotion, PUAs have other capabilities geared towards creating revenue for their developers. Unwanted applications can cause redirects to sale-based, untrustworthy, compromised, deceptive/scam and malicious websites.
Others can deliver intrusive advertisements (pop-ups, banners, surveys, coupons, etc.), which affect the browsing experience and are a threat to system safety. Regardless of type, most PUAs can track private data.
How did Packages Tracker install on my computer?
Some PUAs such as Packages Tracker have "official" promotional pages, on which they are typically endorsed as "free" and "useful" software. These applications are often downloaded/installed inadvertently with other products. This deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing regular programs with unwanted or malicious content is called "bundling".
Rushing download/installation processes (e.g. skipping steps and sections, etc.) increases the risk of unintentionally allowing bundled software onto systems. When clicked, intrusive advertisements can execute scripts designed to stealthily download/install PUAs.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications
Research all content, prior to downloading/installing. Use only official and verified download sources. Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.), free file-hosting sites, third party downloaders and similar channels are untrusted, and should not be used.
When downloading/installing, read the terms, study all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, functions and so on. Intrusive ads often seem normal, however, they can redirect to highly dubious web pages (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating and others).
If you encounter advertisements/redirects of this kind, inspect the device and immediately remove all suspicious applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with Packages Tracker, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.
Packages Tracker browser hijacker installer set-up:
Packages Tracker browser hijacker asking for various permissions:
Website promoting Packages Tracker browser hijacker:
Instant automatic malware removal:
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Quick menu:
- What is Packages Tracker?
- STEP 1. Uninstall Packages Tracker application using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove search.packagestrackertab.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove Packages Tracker browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove search.packagestrackertab.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove search.packagestrackertab.com redirect from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
Packages Tracker 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, "Packages Tracker"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications that cause browser redirects to the search.packagestrackertab.com website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
Packages Tracker 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.packagestrackertab.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 "Packages Tracker".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.packagestrackertab.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 "Packages Tracker" 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 "Packages Tracker" or "Hide My Searches", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://search.packagestrackertab.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.packagestrackertab.com" and "hxxp://hidemysearches.com", 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 search.packagestrackertab.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 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 "Packages Tracker", 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 "Packages Tracker" or "Hide My Searches", remove hxxp://search.packagestrackertab.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: "packagestrackertab"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.
Optional method:
Computer users who have problems with search.packagestrackertab.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.packagestrackertab.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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