How to uninstall the Package Tracking Tab browser hijacker

What is Package Tracking Tab?

Package Tracking Tab is a potentially unwanted application, a browser hijacker which promotes packagetrackingtab.com (a fake search engine). Like most apps of this type, it achieves this by modifying certain browser settings. Browser hijackers also collect data relating to users' browsing activities.

They are categorized as potentially unwanted programs (PUAs), since people often download and install them inadvertently. Note that Package Tracking Tab is distributed with another PUA called Safeplex Search.

Generally, browser hijackers promote fake search engines by changing settings such as the address of the homepage, default search engine and new tab. In this way, they force users to visit the address of a certain fake search engine when they open a browser, new tab or enter search queries into the URL bar.

Package Tracking Tab changes the aforementioned settings to packagetrackingtab.com. Commonly, the only way to stop the browser hijacker from opening a certain address on these occasions is to uninstall it. In this case, packagetrackingtab.com can be removed from browser settings when Package Tracking Tab is uninstalled.

Note that packagetrackingtab.com is classified as a fake search engine, since it does not generate any unique results. When used, it simply redirects to search.yahoo.com (displays Yahoo results). 

Furthermore, browser hijackers often gather information relating to users' browsing activities such as IP addresses, entered search queries, addresses of visited pages, geolocations, and other details of this kind. Some PUAs record personal, sensitive information as well.

The data is sold to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it to generate revenue in other ways. Therefore, users of hijacked browsers might become victims of identity theft, experience problems relating to browsing safety, online privacy, and other issues.

You are strongly advised not to download or install apps of this type. If a browser hijacker (including Package Tracking Tab and Safeplex Search) is already installed on the browser or operating system, remove it immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	Package Tracking Tab
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	Package Tracking Tab
Supposed Functionality	This app supposedly provides a package tracking service.
Promoted URL	packagetrackingtab.com
Serving IP Address (packagetrackingtab.com)	104.31.70.185
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	Package Tracking Tab is distributed with another browser hijacker called Safeplex Search.
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.
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There are many browser hijackers on the internet. Some other examples are Template Creator Tab, Get Online Recipes and Secured Search. Most serve the same purpose: to promote a fake search engine. These apps also record data. Browser hijackers are useless and can be the reason behind serious issues.

As mentioned, people often download and install them unintentionally.

How did Package Tracking Tab install on my computer?

Typically, users download and install PUAs when they click deceptive ads or download/install programs that have unwanted apps included into the set-ups. This second distribution method is called "bundling". Developers use it to deceive users into downloading and installing PUAs with their required software.

Information about additionally-included apps can often be found in "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings, however, many users leave these unchecked and unchanged, and fail to decline unwanted offers of PUAs. This allows the PUAs to be downloaded and installed with the regular software.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised against using third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks such as torrent clients, eMule, unofficial websites, or other channels to download or install files and programs. Use official websites and direct links.

Check all download and/or installation settings such as "Advanced" and Custom" and decline offers to download or install additionally-included software before completing the process. Note that deceptive ads often open dubious web pages or even cause unwanted downloads and installations.

Therefore, do not click them. These ads can appear on dubious pages, however, in some cases, they might also appear on legitimate pages.

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

Notification stating that Package Tracking Tab can read and change certain data:

Website promoting Package Tracking 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 Package Tracking Tab?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Package Tracking Tab application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove packagetrackingtab.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Package Tracking Tab browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove packagetrackingtab.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove packagetrackingtab.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

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

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

Package Tracking 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://packagetrackingtab.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 "Package Tracking Tab".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the packagetrackingtab.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 "Package Tracking Tab" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons (e.g., "Safeplex Search") 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 "Package Tracking Tab" (and/or "Safeplex Search"), look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.packagetrackingtab.com or  hxxp://www.safeplexsearch.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 "packagetrackingtab.com" (and/or "safeplexsearch.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 packagetrackingtab.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 "Package Tracking Tab", as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins (e.g., "Safeplex Search").

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 "Package Tracking Tab" (and/or "Safeplex Search"), remove hxxp://packagetrackingtab.com  (and/or hxxp://safeplexsearch.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 packagetrackingtab.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 packagetrackingtab.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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