Bar1 New Tab

The Bar1 New Tab is a browser hijacker application targeting Mac users. The Bar1 New Tab is capable of attaching itself to all of the popular browsers - Chrome, Mozilla, Opera, but not Safari. The goal is to take over certain browser settings; in most cases, those are the default search engine, the homepage, and the new page tab, and set them to open a specific promoted address. Typically, that is a fake search engine that cannot produce any search results on its own. Instead, it takes any search queries conducted in the affected browser and redirects them through a real search engine such as Yahoo, Google, etc. Browser hijackers also can generate monetary gains for their creators by delivering sponsored advertisements. The advertisements can be injected into the list of displayed search results even though they may not fit the specific search terms at all.

However, the most alarming aspect of this application is the ability to harvest certain information from the user's computer. The browsing and search history can be logged and exfiltrated, the IP address, ISP (Internet Service Provider), and geolocation also can be tracked. The most threatening browser hijackers can even obtain sensitive banking information if such details have been saved into the browser.

Browser hijackers are not usually installed willingly by the users. Instead, they rely on deceptive distribution methods such as bundling - hiding their installation process inside the installation of another more popular application or through fake software installers.

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