Tab.genieonews.com is a homepage and new tab hijacker that works as news aggregation and search engine at the same time. The presence of this unusual start-up page is caused by the installation of potentially unwanted program (PUP) or suspicious browser extension called Genieo News. Having this adware may also present an alternative homepage on compromised system called Search.genieonews.com.
Adware makers distribute Genieo News online by exploiting several methods but computer users often acquire this app through software package. Typically, it is bundled to freeware like utilities, media player, internet speed booster, download manager, or software update. While users willingly install the host software, surplus application like Genieo News is not part of their intention. In fact, installation of adware are commonly discreet and users are unaware of its entry on their computer. Because of its intrusive behaviour, the immediate appearance of Tab.genieonews.com and Search.genieonews.com on homepage is mistakenly deemed as virus infection.
Technically, computer security analyst accurately classed Tab.genieonews.com as PUP, or a computer threat that is not as hazardous as computer viruses. Hence, users mostly do not welcome its occurrence on the browser and as mentioned, the installation is due to invasive techniques employed by attackers. In addition, the primary targets of Tab.genieonews.com are popular internet applications as Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. Though, during our diagnostics, it is only compatible to Chrome browser.
Tab.genieonews.com is not considered as dreadful as computer virus, but this does not mean that users should never be worry of its presence. Bear in mind that it can still cause online privacy risks due to its information gathering tasks. Therefore, it is advises to remove Tab.genieonews.com from the browser to restore safety and privacy while online.
Genieo News Removal Procedure for PC
Below is a systematic instruction that is very useful in getting rid of the potentially unwanted program (PUP) from compromised computer.
In order to totally eliminate the threat, it is vital to follow the process in exact manner.
Step 1: Delete Browser Extension
Most adware and unwanted programs are using a program called browser extension to be able to take over the settings of internet applications. Therefore, we highly recommend to check and remove the extension that is closely related to Genieo News.
Remove Genieo News Extension from Google Chrome
1. Open Google Chrome browser.
2. Type chrome://extensions/ in the address bar and press Enter on keyboard.
3. Find Genieo News, Tab.genieonews.com, or relevant entry and remove it from Google Chrome.
Uninstall Genieo News Extension from Firefox
1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. Type about:addons in the address bar and press Enter on keyboard.
3. Choose Extensions on sidebar menu.
4. Look for object that is pertaining to Genieo News or Tab.genieonews.com, and remove it from the browser.
Delete Genieo News Extension from Safari
1. Run Safari browser application.
2. Click on Safari Settings icon located on upper right corner of the window.
3. Choose Preferences from the drop-down list.
4. On Extension window, select Extensions tab.
5. Select Genieo News or relevant entry and remove it from Safari.
6. Lastly, go to Safari Settings once again and select Downloads from the drop down list.
7. If Genieonews.safariextz is present, click on Clear button to remove the unwanted extension.
Remove Genieo News Add-ons from Internet Explorer and Edge Browser
1. Open Internet Explorer program.
2. Go to top Menu and click Tools. Then, select Manage Add-ons from the drop-down list.
3. Look for and Remove or Disable entries of Genieo News from Toolbars and Extension and Search Providers section.
4. Close the window and restart Internet Explorer.
If Genieo News is still present on the IE browser, another option is to remove the adware from Windows Control Panel.
5. Press Windows Key + R and then, type appwiz.cpl command.
6. Program and Features window will open. Arrange the list in chronological manner with recently installed applications on top. To do this, click on ‘Installed On‘ column.
7. Select Genieo News, Tab.genieonews.com, or recently installed unwanted entry. Then, click on Uninstall to remove it from Windows system.
Step 2: Scan the computer with Anti-malware Program
1. Download the free anti-malware scanner called MalwareBytes Anti-Malware.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Download Link (this will open a new window)
2. After downloading, install the program. It may run automatically or you have to double-click on the downloaded file MB3-Setup.exe.
3. Proceed with the installation using only the default setup. If you need the complete setup procedure, it is available on the download page.
4. After the installation process, click Get Started to run the program.
5. Continue with the prompts until the main program opens.
6. On Malwarebytes Anti-malware console, click on Scan to run the most comprehensive detection method and find any hidden items linked to Genieo News.
7. Wait for the anti-malware to finish scanning the computer.
8. When scanning is done, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will display the list of identified threats. Remove all identified threats and restart the computer to finalized the scan process.
Step 3: Scan and Delete Adware with AdwCleaner
In addition to the procedure, we suggest scanning the computer with AdwCleaner tool. Possibly, there are some traces of Genieo News on the browser that was not deleted during the preceding steps. This tool will scan the computer and check for presence of malicious applications.
1. Follow the link below to download the tool called AdwCleaner.
Click here to download AdwCleaner (this will open a new window)
2. When the download has completed, please close all running programs on the computer especially browsers affected by Genieo News.
3. Browse the location of the downloaded file and double-click on adwcleaner_Ver.exe to start running the tool. Then, click on Scan button.
4. AdwCleaner searches the computer for malicious programs, extensions, plug-ins, adware, and any items that may be associated to Genieo News.
5. Clean or Remove all suspicious and harmful items identified after the thorough scan.
6. After the cleanup procedure, rebooting the computer is required to finalize the removal of detected threats.
