What is Mediatvtabsearch.com? And how does it work?
Mediatvtabsearch.com is a shady search engine created by Imali Media or N.I. Media Ltd. and is promoted as a program that could improve the functionality of a browser it is installed in. It may look like a legitimate program as it includes quick links to popular sites like Facebook, Gmail, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon, and other popular sites. However, you need to be careful as this program is actually categorized as a browser hijacker as it can hijack a browser’s settings without user’s permission. Aside from that, it also belongs under the category of PUP or potentially unwanted programs as it poses risks especially when it comes to users’ privacy – In fact, in its Privacy Policy, it states:
“We may share Personal Information, in the event of a corporate transaction (e.g. sale of a substantial part of our business, merger, consolidation or asset sale). In the event of the above, our affiliated companies or acquiring company will assume the rights and obligations as described in this Privacy Policy.”
The instant it gets installed, Mediatvtabsearch.com will change the default settings of the browser such as the search provider, homepage, and new tab URL page. So the next time you open your browser, you will be forced to use Mediatvtabsearch.com. As a result, you will see tons of sponsored content, especially when you use it to search for some keyword or query online – instead of getting related results, you’ll mostly see sponsored content from third parties.
Mediatvtabsearch.com also monitors your browsing habits so it can gather your non-personally identifiable information that may be shared with third parties. This reason alone should be enough for you to uninstall this questionable program from your computer before anything bad happens that will greatly affect your privacy.
How does Mediatvtabsearch.com circulate the web?
Mediatvtabsearch.com circulates the web in software bundles distributed in peer-to-peer sharing networks where it is added as one of the extra programs. These extra programs are often hidden under the Custom or Advanced setting, so for you to avoid them from getting installed, you need to select the Custom or Advanced setting instead of the standard or quick one. This way, you can discard any extra programs in the bundle and prevent them from getting installed in your system.
Use the removal guide laid out below to uninstall Mediatvtabsearch.com from your computer.
Step 1: The first thing you have to do to get rid of Mediatvtabsearch.com from your computer is to close all the affected browsers manually. If you find it hard to do so, you can close them using the Task Manager just tap on Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Step 2: Once you’ve pulled up the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the affected browser’s process and end it.
Step 3: Reset all your browsers to default to their default state.
Internet Explorer
- Launch Internet Explorer.
- Tap Alt + T and select Internet options.
- Click the General tab and then overwrite the URL under the homepage section.
- Click OK to save the changes.
- Now switch to the Advanced tab and click the Reset button.
- Then check the box for “Delete personal settings” and then click Reset again.
Google Chrome
- Launch Google Chrome, press Alt + F, move to More tools, and click Extensions.
- Look for Mediatvtabsearch.com or any other unwanted add-ons, click the Recycle Bin button, and choose Remove.
- Restart Google Chrome, then tap Alt + F, and select Settings.
- Navigate to the On Startup section at the bottom.
- Click on Advanced.
- After that, click the Reset button to reset Google Chrome.
Mozilla Firefox
- Open the browser and tap Ctrl + Shift + A to access the Add-ons Manager.
- In the Extensions menu Remove the unwanted extension.
- Restart the browser and tap keys Alt + T.
- Select Options and then move to the General menu.
- Overwrite the URL in the Home Page section.
- Tap Alt + H to access Help.
- Next, select “Troubleshooting information” and click “Refresh Firefox” at the top of the page.
- Now click “Refresh Firefox” again to confirm the reset.
Step 4: Open Control Panel by pressing the Windows key + R, then type in appwiz.cpl and then click OK or press Enter.
Step 5: Look for Mediatvtabsearch.com among the list of installed programs and any other suspicious program could be affiliated to it and then Uninstall it.
Step 6: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.
Step 7: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files related to Mediatvtabsearch.com and delete it/them.
- %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
- %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
- %TEMP%
Step 8: Close the File Explorer.
Step 9: Empty the Recycle Bin.
Uninstalling Mediatvtabsearch.com browser hijacker won’t be enough so you have to follow the advanced removal guide prepared below.
Perform a full system scan using [product-code]. To do so, follow these steps:
- Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
- After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.
- To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
- Windows will now load the SafeMode with Networking.
- Press and hold both R key and Windows key.
- If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
- Type in the URL address, [product-url] in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
- After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
- Once the installation process is completed, run [product-code] to perform a full system scan.