How to uninstall the My Social Tab browser hijacker

What is My Social Tab?

My Social Tab reassigns certain browser settings to hmysocialtab.net. This app is a browser hijacker designed to promote a fake search engine.

Apps of this type also gather browsing-related data. Since users often download and install browser hijackers unintentionally, they are categorized as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs). Note that My Social Tab is distributed together with another PUA called Hide My History.

My Social Tab forces users to visit hmysocialtab.net when they open a browser, new tab or enter search queries into the URL bar. It achieves this by assigning the URL as the address of the homepage, new tab and default search engine. When opened, hmysocialtab.net displays results generated by Yahoo.

I.e., it simply redirects users to search.yahoo.com and does not generate unique results (and is thus a fake search engine). To remove hmysocialtab.net from the aforementioned settings, users must uninstall My Social Tab, otherwise the PUA will reassign settings after each attempt to undo or change them.

This is not the only reason to remove this PUA and others installed on the system. Commonly, browser hijackers collect information relating to users' browsing habits. For example, IP addresses, entered search queries, addresses of visited/opened websites, geolocations.

Some apps of this type target sensitive, personal details as well. The data might be sold to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it to generate revenue in other ways. In summary, browser hijackers are designed to promote fake search engines and can cause problems relating to privacy, browsing safety and even identity theft.

Never download or install any PUAs. If My Social Tab, Hide My History or other PUAs are already installed on the browser and/or operating system, remove them immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	My Social Tab
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Detection Names	Avast (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), AVG (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentially Unwanted), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:Downloader.Win32.WinWrapper.lnx), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal).
Browser Extension(s)	My Social Tab
Supposed Functionality	This app supposedly provides quick access to popular social media pages.
Promoted URL	hmysocialtab.net
Serving IP Address (hmysocialtab.net)	52.207.168.226
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	My Social Tab is distributed with another browser hijacker called Hide My History.
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.

Some examples of PUAs that are also classified as browser hijackers include File Converter Live, My Horoscope Tab and Maps N' Direction Hub. Commonly, apps of this type are advertised as useful, and supposedly improve the browsing experience, provide a quick access to popular pages and other value.

In fact, most are useless and cause serious issues. Browser hijackers are usually downloaded and installed inadvertently.

How did My Social Tab install on my computer?

In most cases unwanted downloads/installations are caused by clicking deceptive ads, or when software developers distribute them using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling". They use this method to trick users into downloading and installing PUAs together with other software by including them into set-ups as 'additional offers'.

Generally, these offers are mentioned (and can be declined) through "Custom" or "Advanced" settings. Users who fail to check and change these settings often allow additional PUAs to infiltrate. When clicked, deceptive ads can also cause unwanted downloads and installations by executing certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised against downloading or installing any files/software from unofficial, dubious websites, through Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule), third party downloaders, installers or other channels of this kind. All files and programs should be downloaded from official websites and through direct links.

Check all "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings of the download/installation set-up and decline offers to download or install additionally-included, unwanted software. Do not click intrusive advertisements that are displayed on dubious websites, since they can open other untrusted pages or cause download/installation of unwanted apps.

Remove any unwanted, suspicious extensions, add-ons and plug-ins installed on the browser, and programs of this kind installed on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with My Social Tab, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

My Social Tab browser hijacker installation setup:

Notification stating that My Social Tab can read and change certain data:

Website promoting My Social 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

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Quick menu:

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

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

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

My Social 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://hmysocialtab.net 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 "My Social Tab".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the hmysocialtab.net 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 "My Social Tab" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons (e.g., "Hide My History"), 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 "My Social Tab" or "Hide My History", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://hmysocialtab.net or hxxps://hidemyhistory.co) 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://hmysocialtab.net" and "hxxp://hidemyhistory.co", 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 hmysocialtab.net 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 "My Social Tab", as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins (e.g., "Hide My History").

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 "My Social Tab" or "Hide My History", remove hxxp://hmysocialtab.net or hxxp://hidemyhistory.co 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 hmysocialtab.net 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 hmysocialtab.net 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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