What is Fast Browser?

Fast Browser is an untrustworthy search tool that finds its way to victims' computers with the help of software bundling technique. Once installed, Fast Browser Search virus swaps current homepage and default search address with fastbrowsersearch.com. To keep the changes and prevent the user from changing them, the browser hijacker may employ additional files and modify Registry Entries.
Fast Browser Search is a potentially unwanted application, which can also be categorized as browser hijacker. It seems that it has already annoyed hundreds of PC users who have discovered installed it on their computers behind their back.
There's no surprise that people actively look for a way that could help them delete this search engine from their browsers because Fast Browser malware is the one that tends to cause annoying redirections, slow downs, and other issues. It may also interrupt its victims with commercial advertisements and may even initiate dangerous activities on the system.
Most importantly, this browser hijacker is capable of recording users' activity on the Internet and may start collecting such information as people's search terms, websites that they like to visit, time that they spend on each of them, data that they enter, clicks and similar details.
That clearly violates privacy policy and should never be ignored. If FastBrowser Search has already hijacked each of your web browsers (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, etc.) and has started causing redirects to affiliate websites, you should follow a guide at the end of this post. Of course, running a full system scan with a reliable anti-spyware (try using FortectIntego) is the easiest method that can be used to remove Fast Browser Search.
In case you are looking for Fast Browser for Windows 8, 10 or other operating systems, this browser hijacker shouldn't be an option. It doesn't improve the performance of your computer – it simply starts controlling it and may even slow it down.
It goes without saying that the only way to make this hijacker go is to remove Fast Browser Search virus using a powerful anti-malware software or instructions prepared by our team.

Avoid browser hijackers easily
Fast Browser Search is distributed via two different methods. In most of the occasions, users download it just like any other program. However, it may also show up on your machine without asking a clear permission for that. In this case, you should know that you can download this browser hijacker in a bundle with other programs.
According to security experts, it is mostly spread using download managers, video streaming software, video recording software, PDF creators and similar programs that are primarily spread on the Internet for free. If you want to prevent its infiltration, you should uncheck all checkboxes that agree to check your start page, new tab page, and default search engine.
Besides, you should also avoid installation of suspicious browser plugins, add-ons, extensions, and plugins. For getting this ability, you should always opt for Custom or Advanced installation of the freeware. You should select one of these methods at the beginning of program's installation.
If you have just noticed that your searches are redirected to FastBrowserSearch.com, it means that this hijacker is already hiding in your computer. Please, do NOT ignore that as it may try to redirect you to unknown websites that are used for spreading questionable programs. To fix your computer, you follow the guide which is given below.
Uninstall Fast Browser Search
A quick way to remove Fast Browser Search virus is to perform a complete system scan using a trustworthy anti-malware software. This will help you to stop annoying fastbrowsersearch.com redirects, pop-up ads, slow downs and similar issues. We recommend using programs listed below or those we reviewed (check the Software page on your site).
If you are determined to delete this virtual parasite manually, you should carefully read these Fast Browser Search removal guidelines that we provided. This hijacker tends to hide under various names, and that makes it a hard-to-detect computer threat.
However, if you came to this article looking for instructions on how to uninstall Fast Browser because you do not want to use an automatic spyware/malware removal tool, scroll down to see them.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.

Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.

- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.

Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.

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