What is InboxNow?
The Malwarebytes research team has determined that InboxNow is a browser NewTab. These so-called "NewTabs" can manipulate your browser(s), for example to change your startpage or searchscopes, so that the affected browser visits their site or one of their choice.
InboxNow is a member of the MyWay/Mindspark/Ask family now known as IAC Applications.
How do I know if my computer is affected by InboxNow?
You may see this browser extension:

these warnings during install:


You may see this new startpage:

this entry in your list of installed programs:

and this new setting:

How did InboxNow get on my computer?
Browser hijackers use different methods for distributing themselves. This particular one was downloaded from their website:

How do I remove InboxNow?
Our program Malwarebytes can detect and remove this potentially unwanted program.
[Mindspark only]You can use their own uninstall instructions first, but I would advise to follow the steps below anyway.
- Please download Malwarebytes for Windows to your desktop.
- Double-click MBSetup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
- When your Malwarebytes for Windows installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen.
- Click on the Get started button.
- Click Scan to start a Threat Scan.
- When the scan is finished click Quarantine to remove the found threats.
- Reboot the system if prompted to complete the removal process.
- No, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware removes InboxNow completely.
- If your browsers have been hijacked, you should read our Restore Browser page. You can read there how to fix additional browser redirect methods.
We hope our application and this guide have helped you eradicate this hijacker.
As you can see below the full version of Malwarebytes would have protected you against the InboxNow hijacker. It would have warned you before the application could install itself, giving you a chance to stop it before it became too late.
and it would have blocked access to their domain:
Technical details for experts
Possible signs in FRST logs:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = hxxps://hp.myway.com/inboxnow/ttab02/index.html?n={n}&p2={p2}&ptb={ptb}&coid={coid} FF HomepageOverride: Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{profile}.default -> Enabled: [email protected] FF NewTabOverride: Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{profile}.default -> Enabled: [email protected] FF Extension: (MyWay Search By InboxNow) - C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{profile}.default\Extensions\[email protected] [2020-08-27] [UpdateUrl:hxxps:\/\/updates.tb.ask.com\/updateXpi.json?id=224180176&version=9.100.18.24117&track=TTAB03&trackRevision=1&fromId=_drMembersttab03_%40free.downloadinboxnow.com&isBridgeExtension=false] C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\InboxNowTooltab InboxNow Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab (HKCU\...\InboxNowTooltab Uninstall Internet Explorer) (Version: - Mindspark Interactive Network, Inc.) <==== ATTENTIONAlterations made by the installer:
File system details [View: All details] (Selection) --------------------------------------------------- Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\InboxNowTooltab Adds the file TooltabExtension.dll"="11/27/2019 7:54 PM, 273008 bytes, A In the existing folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{profile}.default\extensions Adds the file [email protected]"="8/27/2020 8:45 AM, 216620 bytes, A Registry details [View: All details] (Selection) ------------------------------------------------ [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\InboxNow] "Start Page"="REG_SZ", "https://hp.myway.com/inboxnow/ttab02/index.html?n={n}&p2={p2}&ptb={ptb}&coid={coid}" "UnInstallSurveyUrl"="REG_SZ", "https://@{downloadDomain}.dl.myway.com/uninstall.jhtml?c={ptb}&ptb={p2}" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main] "Start Page" = REG_SZ, "https://hp.myway.com/inboxnow/ttab02/index.html?n={n}&p2={p2}&ptb={ptb}&coid={coid}" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\InboxNowTooltab Uninstall Internet Explorer] "DisplayName"="REG_SZ", "InboxNow Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab" "HelpLink"="REG_SZ", "http://support.mindspark.com/" "Publisher"="REG_SZ", "Mindspark Interactive Network, Inc." "UninstallString"="REG_SZ", "Rundll32.exe "C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\InboxNowTooltab\TooltabExtension.dll" U uninstall:InboxNow" "URLInfoAbout"="REG_SZ", "http://support.mindspark.com/"Malwarebytes log:
Malwarebytes www.malwarebytes.com -Log Details- Scan Date: 8/27/20 Scan Time: 8:53 AM Log File: 049d6bbe-e832-11ea-85a9-00ffdcc6fdfc.json -Software Information- Version: 4.2.0.82 Components Version: 1.0.1025 Update Package Version: 1.0.29115 License: Premium -System Information- OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 CPU: x64 File System: NTFS User: {computername}\{username} -Scan Summary- Scan Type: Threat Scan Scan Initiated By: Manual Result: Completed Objects Scanned: 231367 Threats Detected: 11 Threats Quarantined: 11 Time Elapsed: 5 min, 14 sec -Scan Options- Memory: Enabled Startup: Enabled Filesystem: Enabled Archives: Enabled Rootkits: Disabled Heuristics: Enabled PUP: Detect PUM: Detect -Scan Details- Process: 0 (No malicious items detected) Module: 1 PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\InboxNowTooltab\TooltabExtension.dll, Quarantined, 1818, 356944, , , , , 767737F00455032D893A223B78621F2D, E71ECA3BA443107880EA99520422489C4EFC238B846681B6E3A5D3C9E61071BF Registry Key: 2 PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, HKCU\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL\InboxNowTooltab Uninstall Internet Explorer, Quarantined, 1818, 356944, , , , , , PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, HKCU\SOFTWARE\InboxNow, Quarantined, 1818, 444113, 1.0.29115, , ame, , , Registry Value: 3 PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, HKCU\SOFTWARE\InboxNow|START PAGE, Quarantined, 1818, 444113, 1.0.29115, , ame, , , PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, HKCU\SOFTWARE\InboxNow|UNINSTALLSURVEYURL, Quarantined, 1818, 769449, 1.0.29115, , ame, , , PUP.Optional.MindSpark, HKCU\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL\InboxNowTooltab Uninstall Internet Explorer|PUBLISHER, Quarantined, 722, 352442, 1.0.29115, , ame, , , Registry Data: 1 PUP.Optional.MindSpark, HKCU\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\INTERNET EXPLORER\MAIN|START PAGE, Replaced, 722, 293497, 1.0.29115, , ame, , , Data Stream: 0 (No malicious items detected) Folder: 1 PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\InboxNowTooltab, Quarantined, 1818, 356944, 1.0.29115, , ame, , , File: 3 PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\InboxNowTooltab\TooltabExtension.dll, Quarantined, 1818, 356944, 1.0.29115, , ame, , 767737F00455032D893A223B78621F2D, E71ECA3BA443107880EA99520422489C4EFC238B846681B6E3A5D3C9E61071BF PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\ROAMING\MOZILLA\FIREFOX\PROFILES\{profile}.default\EXTENSIONS\[email protected], Quarantined, 1818, 782571, 1.0.29115, , ame, , 1D66D031A1DEE6FB15EFAE9DD6B28648, 6567D2F355A994A52C3E3B976D0BC1BF5F95E485904B502954866A508387D125 PUP.Optional.MindSpark, C:\DOWNLOADS\INBOXNOW.{coid}.EXE, Quarantined, 722, 365288, 1.0.29115, , ame, , 47D670CAE62DA1A20411794B2F112D55, B792AC06D1C7B696AFBEA72F8BB34D225E29A0BC9CA9360F90C4828B5112590E Physical Sector: 0 (No malicious items detected) WMI: 0 (No malicious items detected) (end)As mentioned before the full version of Malwarebytes could have protected your computer against this threat.
We use different ways of protecting your computer(s):
- Dynamically Blocks Malware Sites & Servers
- Malware Execution Prevention