How to Stop Automatic Tabs Opening in Google Chrome

“Oh gosh, why do you have so many tabs open?” — that’s what I hear every time someone is peeping into my web browser.  Well, we all know how many useful pages one can save for later, and how easy it is to get lost in a dozen of them. 

While we are still hoping to check them out at the end of the day, some tabs seem like something out of our interest, something we would not even click at. They’ve opened automatically. But why? And, most importantly, how to stop unwanted tabs opening in Chrome?

This issue has been reported by many users and might seem strange at first. Do those unwanted tabs open by themselves? Or is there malware pushing annoying ads so aggressively? Whether tabs contain any ads or are blank, there are different solutions proven to help Google Chrome users. And since you are here, let us introduce one of the best multi-tool solutions for your device – AdLock. Not only it’s a reliable ad blocker but much more. Being built to prevent browsers and other software from loading malicious and unwanted scripts and redirects, it provides the best privacy and data protection on the market. Isn’t it great to have such a swiss knife of software? Here you can choose a plan for yourself.

Okay, let’s take a look at the ways how to prevent sites from opening new tabs.

Read the complete guide on how to remove ads from Chrome and forget commercials even exist!

Clear Cookies 

In many cases, tabs would open automatically when using a specific website. Even with a website you trust, browsing data and, especially, cookies it uses might distort functionality. Don’t rush to blame this website — clear your cookies first. 

Luckily, Google Chrome allows you to do this in a few clicks:

• Find three vertical dots icon in the top right corner;
• Open More tools from the expanding menu;
• Select Clear browsing data;
• Choose All time range and confirm with the Clear data button;
• Restart your Google Chrome. 

Your browser will load the web pages from scratch and they should work just as they are supposed to and won’t spam tabs opening up automatically. But no worries if the problem persists, just scroll down to more solutions.

Also, did you know that there’s quite a handy extension making the cookie-clearing procedure automatic? We bet you didn’t. Here’s one that is fairly popular among Chrome users – Cookie Auto Delete. This extension has a bunch of useful features including the deletion of site data from closed tabs, white/greylisting, etc. It also offers a backup of your personal settings and an import/export feature which comes in very handy when you need to export your settings to another PC. It surely is a great auto clear cookies extension for Google Chrome which may make a difference, but there’s no 100% guarantee it won’t cause side issues. For instance, it may interfere with let’s say an anti-virus, who knows? It can only be found out by trying and testing 🙂

Check Extensions and Remove Suspicious Ones

Chrome is great because it offers you not only world-class browsing but also unlimited flexibility — due to a huge library of extensions. While these extensions are aimed at making user’s life easier, some may cause issues too, and automatic tabs opening is no exception. 

There are reports of certain VPN or proxy extensions that redirect users to ad or promotional pages without their consent. In this case, simply removing them from Chrome is enough to never see those pages again. How?

• Type chrome://extensions/ in the address bar, or click a Puzzle icon in the top right corner and choose to Manage extensions;
• You’ll see the list of all the extensions installed in your Google Chrome account;
• Scan through the list to see if there’s anything strange. When detecting an extension you never installed yourself or one that doesn’t have a proper description of its functions, click Remove.

Now your extensions are in order, but the tabs are still opening automatically? There is a chance that your Chrome is infected with malware. One extension you surely want to keep is AdLock — the savior when it comes to web surfing safety.

Speaking of extensions again, we’ve found one that may catch your interest. TabBlock is a simple and straightforward extension created to prevent opening unwanted new tabs. It surely may come in handy but gosh, imagine how many extensions you would have if you installed all of them: chrome extension to stop opening new tabs, extension to auto clear cookies, extension to block ads, etc, etc. Your browsers would get overloaded with stuff and may start malfunctioning. Moreover, all the extensions operate via reading/modifying javascript elements and whatnot, so they 100% would interfere with each other’s operation and none of them would work as intended.

Prevent Automatic Tabs Opening with AdLock 

AdLock is a sophisticated piece of software that offers a comprehensive solution for blocking online ads, pop-ups, and malware. Some of this malware is just a little script created for Chrome, thus it won’t be detected by a conventional antivirus. AdLock developed its very own Chrome extension which prevents these malfunctioning scripts from loading. As a result, a web browser remains at its best performance and doesn’t open any tabs automatically against the user’s will.

Download the AdLock extension for Google Chrome now to see its remarkable performance. If you want a chrome extension to block new tabs which is completely free of charge but at the same time is safe and secure – search no further. You should also know, that extension is great, but a full-fledged adblocker is better as it helps to cope with a lot of ads and diverse threats across your operating system.

Turn on Pop-Up Blocker

Once installed, AdLock will take care of all the malware and block all unwanted apps that cause opening spam tabs. With its easy-to-use interface, you can adjust settings for each website you go to or whitelist the ones you trust. AdLock collects statistics of how many ads were blocked on a particular website, so you can have a full overview of its trustworthiness. And stop using potentially harmful resources. 

Furthermore, by going to Settings in the AdLock menu one can manage the filters used for malware and anti-ads protection, as well as add new filters for optimal web browsing experience.

Please, be aware that AdLock is tuned to remove all commercials, popups, redirects, and other annoying stuff by default. If you use a specific web resource with an online chat consultant, then you should whitelist it as AdLock’s “Annoyances filter” blocks overloading and useless pop-all-over-the-place elements of the website. This makes websites load much faster and makes pages clean and tidy, so you can focus on the pure content without all those bells and whistles.

Change Search Settings in Chrome Browser

There’s yet another browser adjustment that may help to stop Chrome from spamming tabs opening up automatically. We don’t guarantee it would solve your case, but here’s what you should try:

• Type any website into the search area and press “Enter”;
• Locate the “Settings” button over the search results and press it;
• Press “Search settings” in the dropdown menu;

• Scroll down and find the “Where results open, Open each selected result in a new browser window” option;
• Uncheck the box and confirm changes by clicking “Save”.

Turn off Background Apps

Sometimes background processes and extensions cause different inconveniences despite their usefulness. Some of them may force Chrome to constantly open new tabs. Disabling this feature may address the issue, but you should keep in mind, that by disabling it, you won’t be able to receive notifications without launching the browser first.

• Click the ellipsis menu (“⋮”) and then press “Settings”;
• Scroll down to the “System” section and switch the “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed” toggle to OFF. 

Block Notifications

Oftentimes it happens that users accidentally click the OK for “Would you like us to send you notifications?” and then get bombarded by pop-ups and pop-unders with not-so-important and unwanted “news” which, when clicked, open a new tab (best scenario) or even two or three tabs on your browser. To avoid this you should go to browser settings and tick the “Don’t allow sites to send notifications” located in the following directory:
Settings=>Privacy and security=>Notifications. And that’s how you remove unwanted notifications from chrome through the browser settings.

Scan for Malware

If malware is the reason for all the unwanted tabs to open automatically, there’s another tool that can help. Google has implemented a malware scanner in their web browser which comes from the box, but far not everyone knows that. Here’s how you check for malware from Chrome:

• In Chrome, click three vertical dots and go to the Settings tab.
• Scroll right to the bottom of the page and click Advanced.
• Select the Reset and clean up section and choose to Clean up computer.
• Click Find and follow the instructions.

Scanning will take a moment, and, when finished, you can restart your browser and see if the problem is resolved. Do not forget to run this procedure from time to time without an obvious reason. We all know how sneaky computer viruses can be. Clean Google Chrome from malware via its inbuilt feature periodically and you’re good to go.

We’ve got an interesting article about scareware here. Go ahead and check it out.

Use the Chrome Cleanup Tool

You may also use a built-in Cleanup tool on the Google Chrome browser, which would help out to trace and exterminate harmful stuff.

To use the tool:

• Type chrome://settings in the address bar;
• Scroll down to the “Advanced” option, and click it;
• Scroll down to “Reset and cleanup”;
• Click the “Clean up computer” option;
• In the new menu, click “Find” and then “Check for harmful software”;
• Wait till Chrome finishes scanning your PC and see the results.

Update Chrome to the Latest Version

In some cases, new tabs keep opening because of the problem with Chrome itself. There are two possibilities:

• Chrome version has been outdated, so the browser is vulnerable to the newest malware and doesn’t function properly. The solution here would be to update your Chrome version by going to Help ->About Google Chrome -> Update.

• Chrome installation was corrupted, which lead to a lack of necessary system files. You can solve this issue by reinstalling your Chrome:
• First, the current version has to be uninstalled using the Control Panel of your PC or uninstaller software.
• Make sure to remove all the remaining Chrome files from your system, as the old registry entries may stay as well as the problem with your tabs.
• Install the newest Chrome version from Google.

Don’t forget to sync your browser data, such as bookmarks, beforehand using your Google account. 

How to Stop Tabs From Opening Automatically on Mac?

This depends on what browser you’re using. If it is Google Chrome, then most of the methods described above are applied. You may fine-tune the settings of your Chrome to reduce the number of incoming requests, redirects, and whatnot. When it comes to extensions, things get more complicated. Some of them are restricted in their operation permissions and will not perform as intended but it’s a matter of time. Software developers are constantly searching for possibilities to enhance their products.

If you’re a Safari enjoyer, then here’s what you should do to stop Safari from opening new tabs automatically:

• Go to Safari Preferences;
• Click the Tabs icon;
• Check the “Command-click opens a link in a new tab” option;
• Uncheck the “When a new tab or window opens, make it active” option.

If your Safari browser went bananas and keeps opening new random tabs over and over, you should:

• Force quit Safari (command+option+esc);
• Restart Safari while holding the Shift key;
• Clear cache.

Please, keep in mind that browser spamming random new tabs can be caused by a virus. Usually, it’s an adware type of virus that has sneaked through with another software. So, if new tabs keep opening on your mac chrome or safari, you should scan your device for viruses and consider better online protection. Like AdLock, for instance.

To Sum Up

This issue can be annoying, but there are ways to prevent sites from opening new tabs in Chrome. The first thing to do here is to define whether new tabs are appearing because of malware, cookies, shady extensions, or incorrect work of the browser itself. This way one can solve the issue just by simply changing browser settings. In some severe cases, reinstalling Chrome is needed. 

It’s also strongly advised to use powerful internet security software, such as AdLock Chrome extension, to prevent the risk of browser-specific malware infection. When a PC or Mac system is heavily damaged by viruses and malware, you might want to look for a more complex solution. adlock.com has a reputation of a world-class provider of ad-blocking software, offering a great range of tools for the best web browsing at a minimum cost. 

Web surfing, free of spam and annoying pop-up tabs, is closer than one might think. It’s only a matter of how well the Internet browser is adjusted. And now you know how to do it with your Chrome.

FAQ

Why do multiple tabs open automatically in Chrome?

If those are not the tabs you open “on startup” then chances are you’ve caught adware. Resetting your browser can fix the problem of random tabs opening in chrome as that would remove its extensions, clear browsing data (which might include malicious scripts), and restore it to default settings.

How to stop extensions from opening tabs in Chrome?

If an extension is randomly redirecting you to another page without your consent, it would be best if you remove the extension. Usually, extensions open new tabs to promote their sale events and they’re harmless most of the time. Actually, you can’t stop extensions from opening new tabs other than disabling the extensions. That’s it.

What are the best Chrome extensions for blocking new tabs?

At the moment, the best extensions for blocking unwanted stuff are: TabBlock (we’ve considered this one), PopupFilter, and AdLock, of course. Not only because AdLock is our brainchild but also because it’s almost perfect taking to account that it’s an extension. If you want a better performance, you should consider getting a full-fledged AdLock app. You’ll forget ads and annoying things like redirects/new tabs/pop-up forms ever existed.

How to stop malware popups & new tabs in Chrome?

So, in a nutshell, you should get yourself an online guardian. Of course, inbuilt browser features may protect your data and device from being breached, but they’re restricted and limited. The best option is getting a standalone application. AdLock is the best one on the market. Go get yourself a free trial and you’ll fall in love.