How to remove the Museum Views Tab browser hijacker

What kind of software is Museum Views Tab?

Museum Views Tab is a rogue browser extension that our research team discovered while inspecting suspicious websites. After analyzing this extension, we determined that it is a browser hijacker. Museum Views Tab makes alterations to browser settings in order to promote the museumviewstab.com illegitimate search engine.

Museum Views Tab browser hijacker overview

Browser-hijacking software assigns promoted sites as browsers' homepages, default search engines, and new tab/window URLs. Museum Views Tab modifies browsers in this manner as well. With this extension installed: new browser tabs/windows opened and Web searches performed via the URL bar – result in redirects to the museumviewstab.com website.

It is noteworthy that browser hijackers commonly use persistence-ensuring techniques to prevent users from recovering their browsers.

Fake search engines are incapable of generating search results, so they redirect to legitimate ones. This is also true of museumviewstab.com, which redirected to the Bing search engine (bing.com) at the time of research. It is pertinent to mention that this site might land elsewhere since redirects may be impacted by factors like user geolocation.

Furthermore, Museum Views Tab likely spies on users' browsing activity. Browser-hijacking software usually collects the following information: visited URLs, viewed pages, searched queries, usernames/passwords, personally identifiable details, credit card numbers, etc. The gathered data can then be sold to third-parties or otherwise abused for profit.

In summary, the presence of software like Museum Views Tab on devices may lead to system infections, serious privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	Museum Views Tab
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
Browser Extension(s)	Museum Views Tab
Promoted URL	museumviewstab.com
Detection Names (museumviewstab.com)	N/A (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (museumviewstab.com)	172.67.148.126
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).
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.

Browser hijacker examples

We have examined thousands of browser hijackers; Mountains Tab, Fast Cars Tab, and Nature-Newtab are merely a few examples of our latest finds.

Browser-hijacking software rarely appears suspicious; it tends to look legitimate and useful. It entices users into download/installation with promises of various handy features. However, these functionalities seldom work as advertised, and in most cases – they are utterly nonoperational.

It must be stressed that even if a piece of software works as indicated by its promotional material – that is not definitive proof of either legitimacy or safety.

How did Museum Views Tab install on my computer?

We acquired Museum Views Tab from its "official" promotional webpage. In addition to such pages, browser hijackers are commonly pushed by scam websites. Users primarily access these pages via redirects generated by sites employing rogue advertising networks, spam browser notifications, misspelled URLs, intrusive ads, or installed adware.

Browser hijackers can also be bundled (packed together) with ordinary programs. The risk of unintentionally allowing bundled content into the device is increased by downloading from untrustworthy sources (e.g., freeware ad free file-hosting sites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, etc.) and by rushing through installation processes (e.g., ignoring times, skipping steps, using "Easy/Quick" settings, etc.).

Intrusive advertisements are used to spread browser hijackers as well. Once clicked on, some of the adverts can execute scripts to perform stealthy downloads/installations.

How to avoid installation of browser hijackers?

We recommend researching software before download/installation. Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and verified channels. When installing, it is important to read terms, inspect possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings, and opt out of all supplementary apps, extensions, tools, etc.

We advise caution while browsing since fake and malicious online content typically appears legitimate and harmless. For example, while intrusive advertisements may look innocuous – they redirect to highly questionable websites (e.g., gambling, adult dating, pornography, etc.).

In case of continuous encounters with such ads/redirects, check the device and immediately remove all dubious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with Museum Views Tab, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Website promoting Museum Views Tab browser hijacker:

Appearance of museumviewstab.com redirecting to the Bing search engine (GIF):

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:
▼ 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 Museum Views Tab?
• STEP 1. Uninstall unwanted applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove Museum Views Tab browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 3. Remove museumviewstab.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 4. Remove museumviewstab.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 5. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Museum Views 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, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Museum Views Tab browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove browser redirects:

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 "Museum Views Tab" and other recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Change your homepage:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, disable "Museum Views Tab", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.museumviewstab.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 "museumviewstab.com", when located click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Delete".

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the museumviewstab.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 extensions from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons and themes". Click "Extensions", in the opened window locate "Museum Views Tab", as well as all recently-installed suspicious extensions, click on the three dots and then click "Remove".

Change your homepage:

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Settings", in the opened window disable "Museum Views Tab", remove hxxp://museumviewstab.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 "Accept the Risk and Continue".

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 museumviewstab.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 museumviewstab.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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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the purpose of forcing users to visit museumviewstab.com website?

Redirects to sites like museumviewstab.com are generated because cyber criminals (e.g., developers of fake search engines and browser hijackers, etc.) profit through them.

Is visiting museumviewstab.com a threat to my privacy?

To a certain extent, yes. Websites like museumviewstab.com usually gather (and sell) information about their visitors.

How did a browser hijacker infiltrate my computer?

Browser hijackers are primarily spread via bundled installers, dubious download channels (e.g., freeware and free file-hosting sites, P2P sharing networks, etc.), online scams, spam browser notifications, and intrusive adverts.

Will Combo Cleaner help me remove Museum Views Tab browser hijacker?

Yes, Combo Cleaner will scan your computer and eliminate detected browser-hijacking apps. Note that manual removal (performed without the aid of security programs) might be ineffective, especially when multiple browser hijackers are present. In these cases, after one is removed – the others may reinstall it. Furthermore, browser-hijacking software may deny access to removal-related settings and/or undo user-made changes. Hence, it is crucial to eliminate browser hijackers thoroughly and all at once.

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