Gogletab.com

Posted by Sarah Stewart on September 29, 2016

What is Gogletab.com?

Gogletab.com looks like Google.com and that it is a fictitious search engine. It is set to masquerade as Google so that you would not remove it from your browser, but you should because our security experts have deemed it a browser hijacker. They say that it is disseminated via malicious installers that inject into your browser without your consent. However, that is not all as we have found that it is configured to show modified Google search results that may include links to shady and outright malicious websites. Hence, it can only jeopardize your computer’s security, but if you want the full story, then we invite you to read this detailed description. test

Where does Gogletab.com come from?

Cyber security experts at Anti-spyware-101.com have found that this particular browser hijacker has no information regarding its developer and owner. In fact, it features no information about itself at all. This fact makes it abundantly clear that Gogletab.com is definitely not a legitimate search engine. Moreover, its distribution methods that are the reason for its classification as a browser hijacker only reinforce our initial premise that it is malicious. It seems that like many browser hijackers of its caliber, Gogletab.com is being distributed via malicious software installers featured on freeware distributing websites. Nevertheless, it is likely that it may also come bundled with potentially unwanted programs that have their dedicated distribution sites. Whatever the case may be, the installers are known to inject into your browser without your knowledge or consent and only an antimalware program could detect and prevent the hijacking.

How does Gogletab.com work?

The malicious installers that distribute this browser hijacker are known to be configured to inject it into Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Research has revealed that the installer is set to change the homepage of the said browsers, but it will also replace Chrome’s new tab page as well as the homepage and new tab page settings in Chrome are connected. The aim is to make you use Gogletab.com as your primary search engine and since it looks almost identical to Google.com that is nod difficult to do. However, you will notice that it is not connected to any of Google’s accounts such as Gmail and does not have the Privacy Policy or EULA subpage links at the bottom. Nevertheless, this browser hijacker will display previews of visited pages similarly to how Google when it is set as Chrome’s homepage and new tab page.

Now, the reason for changing your browser’s homepage in the first place is to subject you to commercial advertisements. Our cyber security experts say that Gogletab.com is more than likely to modify Google’s search results and inject shady promotional links that come from unknown sources. In doing so, it hinders your search experience and jeopardizes your cyber security. Apparently, this kind of advertising generates money, and the more people use it, the more money this hijacker’s developers make, so they have a vested interest in keeping on your PC and showing ads.

How to remove Gogletab.com

Even though Gogletab.com is set to redirect all search queries to Google, it is not the same as using the regular Google.com search engine because of the additional links that are injected to generate income from online advertising. This hijacker will not improve your browsing experience, so there is no need to keep it. Moreover, its questionable search results can lead to undesirable consequences such as redirecting you to scam websites. Therefore, you should consider getting rid of this browser hijacker, and you can do this by following the steps of the removal guide presented below.