Movieztab

The Movieztab browser extension claims to offer convenient features and a way for movie-lovers to quickly find movie-related news across the Web. However, in reality, a big chunk of the application's functionality is dedicated to browser hijacker activities. Indeed, after being installed, either with or without authorization, the application will waste no time in trying to take control over the user's Web browser. More specifically, it will affect the homepage, new tab page and the default search engine settings.

As a result, whenever users try to conduct a search via the browser's URL bar, open a new tab, or simply launch the affected browser, they will trigger a redirect to a promoted website. Movieztab is tasked with generating artificial traffic towards its own page - movieztab.com. This is a fake search engine that displays results taken from other engines. Infosec researchers have observed movieztab.com causing redirects to the legitimate Bing search engine. However, based on factors such as IP address, geolocation, browser type, and more, users may see other behaviors and could be shown results taken from dubious and untrustworthy search engines.

Keep in mind that browser hijackers, as well as most PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs), often carry data-tracking capabilities. Typically, these intrusive applications want to obtain information pertaining to the user's browsing activities. They will access and exfiltrate the browsing history, search history, all clicked links, etc. In some particularly threatening cases, the PUPs may even try to compromise sensitive information, such as banking details or credit/debit card numbers.