What is Websearch.fastosearch.info?
Websearch.fastosearch.info is another search site that belongs to a widely-spread Websearch gang. Just like other search sites that have Websearch in the beginning of their name, such as Websearch.awsomesearchs.info, Websearch.swellsearch.info, Websearch.SearchisSimple.info and many other ones, this search site may easily hijack each of your web browsers without an appropriate permission asked. In addition to this, it may start displaying altered search results that may be filled with commercial pop-up ads and in-text links. This is done for a very simple reason – this search engine seeks to make people visit specific websites and earn some easy money from advertising. Please, stay away from its redirects because you can never know what site is promoted using such technology. In most of the cases, Websearch.fastosearch.info redirects are used to trick people into visiting unknown sites that would hardly be visited in a normal way. Besides, this search site may start tracking your browsing habits for getting more knowledge about your favorite websites and data that you leave when visiting them. While its developers claim that Websearch.fastosearch.info is mostly used to collect people's non-personally identifiable data, we still think that you should think twice whether it's worth kleeping such program on your computer or not. We think that there is no surprise that it has also been labeled as 'potentially unwanted program' and a ‘browser hijacker’. If you can clearly see that Websearch.fastosearch.info hijacked each of your web browsers (Internet Explorer, google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc.) and started to appear instead of your homepage or default search engine, you should waste no time and scan your PC with a reputable anti-spyware. We highly recommend using FortectIntego or other well known anti-spyware for that.
How can Websearch.fastosearch.info hijack my browsers?
As soon as Websearch.fastosearch.info takes over the homepage, you may also notice that your default search engine was changed to http://search.smartaddressbar.com. Basically, these are the main signs showing that your computer was affected by browser hijacker. How it’s spread? The easiest way to download it and start suffering from Websearch.fastosearch.info redirects is in a bundle with freeware and shareware. Remember, almost every free program from questionable developer has been involved to the distribution of various search engines, add-ons, extensions, plugins and toolbars. In order to get ability to opt out of them, you should pay more attention to the installation process of the freeware. The easiest way to do that is to choose Custom or Advanced installation and then closely monitor every installation step. Of course, updated anti-spyware program would also help you to prevent such programs that seek to initiate system changes on each of web browsers, so you should think about that if you want to avoid browser hijackers, adwares, viruses and other malicious programs.
How to remove Websearch.fastosearch.info virus?
If you think that Websearch.fastosearch.info virus is hiding somewhere in your computer, you should follow these steps and get rid of it. Please, be very careful after selecting manual removal method because all steps should be followed in right order.
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.
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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