How to remove the Trafc Tab browser hijacker

What is Trafc Tab?

Trafc Tab is a browser hijacker. Software categorized as such typically operates by making modifications to browser settings to promote fake search engines, however, the behavior of Trafc Tab is decided by users' geolocations. I.e., this browser hijacker does not necessarily modify browser settings.

Trafc Tab promotes tailsearch.com, yet it uses different methods to promote this bogus web searcher. Furthermore, this browser hijacker collects browsing-related information. Due to the dubious methods used to proliferate Trafc Tab, it is also classified as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA).

Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and other popular browsers are common targets of browser hijackers. They usually operate by reassigning the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of fake search engines.

Therefore, with a browser hijacker installed, each new browser tab/window opened and search made through the URL bar redirects to the promoted address. As mentioned, how Trafc Tab operates is dictated by users' geolocations. Therefore, it may or may not make the aforementioned alterations to browser settings.

Fake search engines are seldom capable of providing search results, and so they redirect to or cause redirection chains ending with Yahoo, Google, Bing and other legitimate sites.

At the time of research, Trafc Tab promoted tailsearch.com by redirecting to it immediately and to the Google (google.com) search engine, or it caused a redirection chain beginning with tailsearch.com, and then redirecting to my-search.com, secure-checker.com and concluding with Bing (bing.com).

Browser hijackers can also deny access to the browser settings and/or undo any permitted changes made. Furthermore, Trafc Tab has data tracking capabilities. It can monitor browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and gather personal information extracted from it (IP addresses, geolocations and other details).

The collected information is then shared with and/or sold to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals), likewise seeking to misuse it for profit.

In summary, the presence of data-tracking software can result in financial loss, serious privacy issues and even identity theft. To ensure device and user safety, all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins must be immediately removed.

Threat Summary:

Name	Trafc Tab
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	Trafc Tab
Promoted URL	tailsearch.com
Serving IP Address (tailsearch.com)	104.27.146.124
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.

BipApp, Puppyness Search, Auratab and EasyWebPagePrint are some examples of other browser hijackers. They may seem legitimate and often tempt users into download/installation with offers of various "useful" functionality, however, the features promised are rarely operational.

This applies to most PUAs. The only purpose of these unwanted apps is to generate revenue. Rather than delivering any real value, PUAs hijack browsers, cause redirects, run intrusive advertisements campaigns, and collect private information.

How did Trafc Tab install on my computer?

Certain PUAs (including Trafc Tab) have "official" promotional pages from which they can be downloaded. These applications are also distributed through the download/installation set-ups of other products. This deceptive marketing technique of packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".

Rushing download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections, etc.) increases the risk of unintentionally allowing bundled content onto the system. Intrusive ads proliferate PUAs as well. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to make stealthy downloads/installations.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all software before download/installation. All downloads must be done from official and verified sources, since untrusted download channels such as unofficial and free file-hosting sites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and other third party downloaders can offer deceptive and/or bundled content.

When downloading/installing, read the terms, study all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features, etc. Intrusive advertisements may seem normal and innocuous, however, they can redirect to dubious websites (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling, and so on).

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

Trafc Tab browser hijacker asking for various permissions:

Appearance of Trafc Tab browser hijacker promoting tailsearch.com via my-search.com and secure-checker.com (GIF):

Websites promoting Trafc Tab browser hijacker:

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

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

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

Trafc 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://tailsearch.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 "Trafc Tab".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the tailsearch.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 "Trafc 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 "Trafc Tab", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.tailsearch.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 "tailsearch.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 tailsearch.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 "Trafc 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 "Trafc Tab", remove hxxp://tailsearch.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 tailsearch.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 tailsearch.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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