Chill Tab

Chill Tab advertises itself as a search engine that will help users receive improved results whenever they conduct a search. On a surface level, Chill Tab can appear just as legitimate as the established search engines Google, Yahoo, and Bing. That is unfortunately just a front hiding the real functionality of Chill Tab which is the monitoring of the user's browsing activity and the collection of relevant data. Furthermore, this search engine has been observed to be promoted through browser hijacker PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs).

Browser hijackers are designed to take over certain browser settings that will allow them to generate artificial traffic towards a sponsored web address, usually that of a fake search engine. In most cases, users will notice that their homepage, new page tab, and default search engine have all been modified to open an unfamiliar page. Through the use of various 'helper objects,' the browser hijacker can block the user from adjusting the browser settings.

The biggest red flag surrounding third-party search engines such as Chill Tab and browser hijacker PUPs is their data-harvesting capabilities. Information such as all visited websites, clicked URLs, and conducted searches may be collected and exfiltrated. In addition, system information such as geolocation, IP address, and ISP (Internet Service Provider) can also be logged and then sold.