How to uninstall the Test Speed Here Tab browser hijacker
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is Test Speed Here Tab?
Test Speed Here Tab is a rogue application categorized as a browser hijacker and a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA). It is advertised as an easy access tool to various internet speed testing services. This app operates by modifying browsers to promote search.htestspeedhere.com, a fake search engine.
Furthermore, Test Speed Here Tab has data tracking capabilities, which are employed to monitor users' browsing activity. It is classified as a PUA, since most users install it unintentionally. Note that Test Speed Here Tab is often distributed together with another PUA called Hide My History.
Browser hijackers primarily target Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and other popular browsers with large user bases. These rogue applications reassign the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of their bogus search engines.
Test Speed Here Tab promotes search.htestspeedhere.com in this manner. To detail how these modifications affect browsing, with Test Speed Here Tab installed, each search query typed into the URL bar and each new tab/window opened redirects to search.htestspeedhere.com.
Few fake search engines can provide unique results and simply redirect to (or cause redirection chains ending with) legitimate site. In this context, search.htestspeedhere.com is no exception - it redirects to search.yahoo.com. Furthermore, recovering the hijacked browser without removing the hijacker app is impossible.
Any changes users attempt to make are automatically reset (if access is even allowed). As mentioned, Test Speed Here Tab can track data, which is a common trait of PUAs. It can record users' browsing habits (URLs visited, web pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and collect their personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details).
This vulnerable data is often shared with third parties intent on misusing it for profit - potentially, by putting it to criminal use. Therefore, the presence of data tracking software on systems can result in serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft. You are advised to eliminate all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.
Name | Test Speed Here Tab |
Threat Type | Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab. |
Detection Names | Avast (Win32:AdwareSig [Adw]), Fortinet (Riskware/WinWrapper), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentiall), DrWeb (Adware.Spigot.155), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
Browser Extension(s) | Test Speed Here Tab |
Supposed Functionality | Easy access to internet speed test tools. |
Promoted URL | search.htestspeedhere.com |
Serving IP Address (search.htestspeedhere.com) | 52.72.119.210 |
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. |
Game Finder Pro, TV Search, PDF Opener, and World Events Today are some examples of other browser hijackers. They often seem legitimate and tempt users into download/installation with offers of "useful" functions. Despite how good these features may seem, they are usually nonoperational. In fact, this applies to all PUAs.
The only purpose of these unwanted applications is to generate revenue for the developers, whilst regular users receive no value. PUAs hijack browsers, cause redirects to untrusted and malicious websites, run intrusive advertisement campaigns and gather sensitive data.
How did Test Speed Here Tab install on my computer?
Some PUAs, such as Test Speed Here Tab, have "official" promotional sites, from which they can be downloaded, however, they can also be downloaded/installed together with other programs. This deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions.
Rushing download/installation processes (e.g. skimming or ignoring terms, skipping steps, using pre-set options, etc.) endangers devices with potential infiltration and infections originating from bundled content. When clicked, intrusive ads can execute scripts to download/install PUAs, without users' permission.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications
You are advised to research all content prior download/installation or purchase. All downloads should be performed from official and verified sources, as opposed to untrusted channels (e.g. Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, free file-hosting websites and other third party downloaders).
Treat download and installation processes with caution. Read the terms, study all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and decline download/installation of supplementary apps, tools, features and so on. Intrusive ads typically seem normal and harmless, however, they can redirect to highly dubious web pages (e.g. gambling, adult-dating, pornography and others).
If you encounter these ads/redirects, check the system and remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins without delay. If your computer is already infected with Test Speed Here Tab, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.
Test Speed Here Tab browser hijacker installation setup:
Test Speed Here Tab browser hijacker asking for various permissions:
Website promoting Test Speed Here Tab browser hijacker.
IMPORTANT NOTE! This deceptive site asks to enable web browser notifications:
Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:
Google Chrome (PC):
- Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen
- Select "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and click "Advanced"
- Scroll down to the "Privacy and security" section, select "Content settings" and then "Notifications"
- Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)
Google Chrome (Android):
- Click on the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and click "Settings"
- Scroll down, click on "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
- In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and click on them one-by-one
- Select "Notifications" in the "Permissions" section and set the toggle button to "OFF"
Mozilla Firefox:
- Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen
- Select "Options" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen
- Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications"
- In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs, click the drop-down menu and select "Block"
Internet Explorer:
- Click the Gear button on the right upper corner of the IE window
- Select "Internet options"
- Select the "Privacy" tab and click "Settings" under "Pop-up Blocker" section
- Select suspicious URLs under and remove them one by one by clicking the "Remove" button
Microsoft Edge:
- Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window
- Scroll down, find and click "Settings"
- Scroll down again and click "View advanced settings"
- Click "Manage" under "Website permissions"
- Click the switch under each suspicious website
Safari (Mac):
- Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner of the screen and select "Preferences..."
- Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane
- Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option for each
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:
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Quick menu:
- What is Test Speed Here Tab?
- STEP 1. Uninstall Test Speed Here Tab application using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove search.htestspeedhere.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove Test Speed Here Tab browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove search.htestspeedhere.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove search.htestspeedhere.com redirect from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
Test Speed Here 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, "Test Speed Here Tab"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications that cause browser redirects to the search.htestspeedhere.com website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
Test Speed Here 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://search.htestspeedhere.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 "Test Speed Here Tab".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.htestspeedhere.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 "Test Speed Here 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 "Test Speed Here Tab", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.search.htestspeedhere.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 "search.htestspeedhere.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.htestspeedhere.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 "Test Speed Here 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 "Test Speed Here Tab", remove hxxp://search.htestspeedhere.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: "extensionControlled"
Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.
Optional method:
Computer users who have problems with search.htestspeedhere.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.htestspeedhere.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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