Chrome //newtab Virus

Browser Hijacker
by Lidia Howler
April 25, 2023

Chrome //newtab

Chrome //newtab is a browser hijacker application developed to make changes to your web browser and to display sponsored advertisements on every website you visit. Chrome //newtab can replace the main search engine and set up a new homepage that redirects you to commercial-filled websites.

Chrome Newtab Virus

Browser hijackers can easily qualify as one the most irritating kinds of software around the web. This is the reason why we’ve created this article and the removal guide below – to help the users who have landed Chrome //newtab on their systems safely uninstall its changes and remove its traces from their browser. Under this post, you will find also a professional removal tool which can scan your system and deal with the browser hijacker automatically.

The Chrome //newtab Virus

Many web users may be confused about the nature of browser hijackers like the Chrome //newtab virus and may easily mistake them for viruses or malware. Fortunately, the Chrome //newtab virus cannot mess with the one’s files like Ransomware or spy on the user like Trojan Horses and Spyware.

SUMMARY:

NameChrome //newtab
Type Browser Hijacker
Detection Tool

Please follow all the steps below in order to remove Chrome //newtab !

How to remove Chrome //newtab

  1. First, click the Start Menu on your Windows PC.
  2. Type Programs and Settings in the Start Menu, click the first item, and find Chrome //newtab in the programs list that would show up.
  3. Select Chrome //newtab from the list and click on Uninstall.
  4. Follow the steps in the removal wizard.

If you have a Mac virus, please use our How to remove Ads on Mac guide.

If you have an Android virus, please use our Android Malware Removal guide.

If you have an iPhone virus, please use our iPhone Virus Removal guide.

What we suggest you do first is, check the list of programs that are presently installed on the infected device and uninstall any rogue software that you find there:

  • From the Start Menu, navigate to Control Panel ->>> Programs and Features ->>> Uninstall a Program.
  • Next, carefully search for unfamiliar programs or programs that have been installed recently and could be related to Chrome //newtab .
  • If you find any of the programs suspicious then uninstall them if they turn out to be linked to Chrome //newtab .
  • If a notification appears on your screen when you try to uninstall a specific questionable program prompting you to just alter it or repair it, make sure you choose NO and complete the steps from the removal wizard.

Remove Chrome //newtab from Chrome

  1. Click on the three dots in the right upper corner
  2. Go to more tools
  3. Now select extensions
  4. Remove the Chrome //newtab extension
  • Once you open Chrome, click on the three-dots icon to open the browser’s menu, go to More Tools/ More Options, and then to Extensions.
  • Again, find the items on that page that could be linked to Chrome //newtab and/or that might be causing problems in the browser and delete them.
  • Afterwards, go to this folder: Computer > C: > Users > *Your User Account* > App Data > Local > Google > Chrome > User Data. In there, you will find a folder named Default – you should change its name to Backup Default and restart the PC.
  • Note that the App Data folder is normally hidden so you’d have to first make the hidden files and folders on your PC visible before you can access it.

How to get rid of Chrome //newtab on FF/Edge/etc.

  1. Open the browser and select the menu icon.
  2. From the menu, click on the Add-ons button.
  3. Look for the Chrome //newtab extension
  4. Get rid of Chrome //newtab by removing it from extensions

If using Firefox:

  • Open Firefox
  • Select the three parallel lines menu and go to Add-ons.
  • Find the unwanted add-on and delete it from the browser – if there is more than one unwanted extension, remove all of them.
  • Go to the browser menu again, select Options, and then click on Home from the sidebar to the left.
  • Check the current addresses for the browser’s homepage and new-tab page and change them if they are currently set to address(es) you don’t know or trust.

If using MS Edge/IE:

  • Start Edge
  • Select the browser menu and go to Extensions.
  • Find and uninstall any Edge extensions that look undesirable and unwanted.
  • Select Settings from the browser menu and click on Appearance.
  • Check the new-tab page address of the browser and if it has been modified by “Chrome //newtab ” or another unwanted app, change it to an address that you’d want to be the browser’s new-tab page.

How to Delete Chrome //newtab

  1. Open task manager
  2. Look for the Chrome //newtab process
  3. Select it and click on End task
  4. Open the file location to delete Chrome //newtab
  • Access the Task Manager by pressing together the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and then selecting Task Manager.
  • Open Processes and there try to find a process with the name of the unwanted software. If you find it, select it with the right button of the mouse and click on the Open File Location option.
  • If you don’t see a “Chrome //newtab ” process in the Task Manager, look for another suspicious process with an unusual name. It is likely that the unwanted process would be using lots of RAM and CPU so pay attention to the number of resources each process is using.
  • Tip: If you think you have singled out the unwanted process but are not sure, it’s always a good idea to search for information about it on the Internet – this should give you a general idea if the process is a legitimate one from a regular program or from your OS or if it is indeed likely linked to the adware.
  • If you find another suspicious process, open its File Location too.
  • Once in the File Location folder for the suspicious process, start testing all of the files that are stored there by dragging them to our free online scanner available below.
  • Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracy
    This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users.
    This file is not matched with any known malware in the database. You can either do a full real-time scan of the file or skip it to upload a new file. Doing a full scan with 64 antivirus programs can take up to 3-4 minutes per file.
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    • If the scanner finds malware in any of the files, return to the Processes tab in the Task Manager, select the suspected process, and then select the End Process option to quit it.
    • Go back to the folder where the files of that process are located and delete all of the files that you are allowed to delete. If all files get deleted normally, exit the folder and delete that folder too. If one or more of the files showed an error message when you tried to delete them, leave them for now and return to try to delete them again once you’ve completed the rest of the guide.

    How to Uninstall Chrome //newtab

    1. Click on the home button
    2. Search for Startup Apps
    3. Look for Chrome //newtab in there
    4. Uninstall Chrome //newtab from Startup Apps by turning it off
    • Now you need to carefully search for and uninstall any Chrome //newtab -related entries from the Registry. The easiest way to do this is to open the Registry Editor app (type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter) and then open a Find dialog (CTRL+F key combination) where you have to type the name of the threat. 
    • Perform a search by clicking on the Find Next button and delete any detected results. Do this as many times as needed until no more results are found. 
    • After that, to ensure that there are no remaining entries lined to Chrome //newtab in the Registry, go manually to the following directories and delete them:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Random Directory. 
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run/Random
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Main/Random

    What is Chrome //newtab?

    Programs like Chrome //newtab can flood Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari and other browsers with dozens of irritating online ads in the form of pop-ups, banners, and links, which, once clicked on, redirect them to random web pages without a warning. The changes that Chrome //newtab impose on the browser’s settings (such as replacing the homepage and setting a new default search engine) are also not to be ignored.
    Moreover, the random pop-ups, ads, banners and on-screen notifications may oftentimes lead to questionable web locations where real Ransomware, Trojans, and other viruses may lurk. Not to mention that the constant ad-generation and page-redirect activities performed by Chrome //newtab may eat up a lot of system resources and may compromise the overall performance of your computer. For instance, you may start noticing increased sluggishness, some programs may take ages to load, and the hijacked web browser may become particularly slow.


    Is Chrome //newtab dangerous?

    You don’t need to panic. The sole purpose of most browser hijackers, like Sensiblemoth.com, is to promote certain brands, products, services, and their related websites by initiating automatic page-redirects and generating sponsored ads on the users’ screen. This activity is solely marketing-oriented but, to many web users, it appears to be rather intrusive.
    So, with all this in mind, it is probably best to see the removal guide below and quickly get rid of Chrome //newtab in order to avoid any potential issues. Once you’ve done that, you should also think about how to prevent browser hijackers from sneaking inside your system again. Typically, such programs may be bundled in different free software packages. That’s why it’s really important to check the setup of every new application that you want to install and to manually configure the installation process. This will help you opt out of any additionally bundled components that may get installed in the system by default and will eliminate the need to remove them later.


    About the author

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    Lidia Howler

    Lidia is a web content creator with years of experience in the cyber-security sector. She helps readers with articles on malware removal and online security. Her strive for simplicity and well-researched information provides users with easy-to-follow It-related tips and step-by-step tutorials.

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