ScreenFreak New Tab

If you have recently installed ScreenFreak New Tab, but you do not know what it actually is, then we want to make you aware that it’s a potentially unwanted program. This means that you can remove it without any hesitation, because it has nothing to offer. It is, in fact, a useless program that will not improve you daily browsing experience whatsoever. This browser extension is only compatible with Google Chrome and its purpose is to change your browser’s homepage and new tab page for an unreliable search engine based on Ask.com. It is not a malicious program per se, but this search engine’s search results are not very reliable. Please continue reading to learn more.

ScreenFreak New Tab was released by a shady software developer called APN. It is a small-time developer with only a few programs currently on offer. We recently wrote about two of ScreenFreak New Tab’s clones called TuneJunkies New Tab and WorldSport New Tab. All three of these applications are more or less the same and they are disseminated using the same tactics. So, ScreenFreak New Tab has its own download hosting website at Screensfreak.com. However, we assume that most users get it from the Chrome Web Store. In addition, this program is known to be advertised on several adware-type programs. So, without a doubt, this program has no shortage of distribution channels and is very easy to get it unintentionally. But we are more concerned with how it works rather than were it comes from. So let us move on the most important part.

After installing ScreenFreak New Tab, it immediately changes the homepage and new tab page to a custom search engine based on Ask.com. The original Ask.com is a good reliable search tool, while Search.ask.com is of questionable reliability. This search engine is bound to alter your search results and throw in some promotional links that may redirect you to unreliable websites. Search.ask.com is distributed by iMesh a company that is closely related with Mindspark Interactive another shady company that is in the business of releasing useless browser toolbars, such as the StudyHQ Toolbar and 100sOfRecipes Toolbar.

Furthermore, this unreliable search engine is set to gather certain information about you. However, it must be stated that this non-personal information is collected automatically whether you like or not. So this search engine’s owners can get hold of your IP address, technical information about your computer, preferences and settings (time zone, language, etc.), information about your activity on the services (e.g., your search queries, mis-formatted DNS entries, search results selected, clicks, pages viewed, search history, comments), and so on. The gathered data will be used for commercial purposes and can even be shared with various third parties, such as advertisers and law enforcement.

And now you know all there is to know about ScreenFreak New Tab. Whether you want to keep it or not is completely up to you, but as you can see, its search engine is not very trustworthy. There is no telling what links it can inject into your search results, so we suggest sticking with a reliable search engine. However, if you decided to remove ScreenFreak New Tab then, by all means, use the removal guide we have included below.

How to delete ScreenFreak New Tab from Google Chrome

1. Launch the browser and simultaneously press Alt+F.
2. Go to Tools and click Extensions.
3. Find ScreenFreak New Tab and click the Remove button.