Funkytvtabssearch.com

We would like to inform you that Funkytvtabssearch.com is not a legitimate search engine. In fact, it is a complete opposite and will not improve your browsing experience in any way. After testing it, we have concluded that it is a browser hijacker and, therefore, you might want to remove it. Indeed, it is distributed in a malicious manner and is set to replace your browser’s homepage secretly. Apart from that, we have found that it can feature questionable promotional links in its search results and gather anonymous and even personal information about you. As you can see, it is truly an undesirable search engine, but if you want to know more about it, then please read this description.

Just like Toptvtabsearch.com, Topsafetabsearch.com, and Socialnewpagesearch.com, this particular browser hijacker was created by a company called Imali Media Ltd. This company is in the online monetization business, and it is dedicated to promoting third-party content via fake search engines. All of its search engines come with a dedicated browser add-on. In this particular case, this browser hijacker comes with FunkyTVTabs for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. You can get this extension from its main distribution website at Funkytvtabs.com. The installer on the website is set to allow you to deselect setting Funkytvtabssearch.com as your browser’s homepage, so this distribution method is entirely legitimate. However, we found that it can also come bundled with malicious installers featured on various shady free software hosting sites that make money by bundling legitimate free applications with shady ones, such as FunkyTVTabs. In this case, it is likely that the installer will inject it without your knowledge or authorization and will force Funkytvtabssearch.com onto your browser. Now let us discuss its functionality in greater detail.

It is plain to see that this hijacker is set to replace your browser’s homepage address for the purpose of subjecting you to commercial advertisements featured in its search results. Indeed, of particular note is the fact that it redirects all search queries to its server at http://extsearch.maxwebsearch.com and then to a modified search engine http://www.plusnetwork.com which uses Yahoo’s search results. In the end, you get Yahoo’s search results, so there is no reason to use Funkytvtabssearch.com at all.

Based on our experience with other browser hijackers developed by Imali Media, we believe that Funkytvtabssearch.com may also feature malicious links in its search results. Hence, it may promote malware downloads, scam sites, and phishing websites. All of these sites can compromise your computer’s security or your personal privacy. While most of its promotions are legitimate, a small percentage of them are not and this can mean a lot. So do not allow this hijacker to show you shady links that can only compromise your PC’s security.

Now let us discuss the matters related to privacy. Like all browser hijackers, this one is also configured to collect anonymous information about you automatically. According to its privacy policy, it can collect information such as your IP address, browser type, pages you visited throughout the site. With the help of FunkyTVTabs, this browser hijacker can also collect personal information about you. Again, according to its privacy policy, if you download the browser extension, this hijacker’s developers will be able to collect information about you on a voluntary basis and it can include demographic information such as gender, age, occupation, household income, zip code, and country. As you can see, this hijacker, along with its accompanying browser extension can collect much information about you. We think that it is used to customize the advertising campaign and assign more relevant ads to a unique user. Still, that does not make it safer, and we suggest replacing your homepage address.

In summary, Funkytvtabssearch.com is a malicious search engine whose purpose is to hijack your browser’s homepage settings and force you to view promotional links that are included in the search results. Unfortunately, the links come from unknown sources and are prone to be malicious. Coupled with the fact that it collects information about you for marketing and advertising purposes, we believe that this hijacker is a potential security risk and encourage you to remove it.

How to remove this browser hijacker

Google Chrome

1. Open Chrome.
2. Press Alt+F and select More tools.
3. Click Extensions.
4. Find FunkyTVTabs and click Remove.
5. Close the browser.
6. Press Windows+E keys.
7. Enter C:\Users\{Name}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default in the address line and hit Enter.
8. Find Preferences, Secure Preferences and Web Data files.
9. Right-click each of them and click Delete.
10. Empty the Recycle Bin.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Firefox.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+A.
3. Select Extensions.
4. Find FunkyTVTabs and click Remove.
5. Close the browser.
6. Press Windows+E keys.
7. Type C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles in the address box and hit Enter.
8. Enter the {Unique ID} folder.
9. Find prefs.js and open it with Notepad.
10. Find and replace http://funkytvtabssearch.com in the user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", " http://funkytvtabssearch.com"); string.
11. Save and Close.