How to remove FastBrowser.co browser hijacker

FastBrowser.cob is a site that would be set as your homepage if a particular browser hijacker installs on your computer. While relatively harmless, browser hijackers mainly try to expose users to as much sponsored content as possible. And they do that by pushing questionable search engines onto users and inserting sponsored content into search results.

 

One of the first signs of a browser hijacker being installed on a computer is changed browser settings. More specifically, a different homepage. This hijacker will set FastBrowser.co as your homepage, as well as change your default search engine. Because browser hijackers sneak in unnoticed, users are often taken by surprise by their presence. They aren’t, however, particularly dangerous infections, in the sense that they will not harm your computer directly. Rather, they will try to redirect you to sponsored websites to generate traffic and revenue.

But it should be mentioned that hijackers can redirect to websites that conceal malware or promote scams, so they’re not entirely harmless. They also track visited sites and search queries for future advertisement purposes.

We strongly recommend that you delete FastBrowser.co browser hijacker, and the sooner you do that the better.

Browser hijacker installation method

Browser hijackers, adware, and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) usually install via free software bundles, which essentially means that they come attached to free programs as extra offers. These offers are attached to programs in a way that allows them to install alongside automatically, without requiring any additional permission. Furthermore, the offers are hidden to prevent users from deselecting them. The offers are technically optional but many users simply do not pay enough attention when installing programs to notice them.

To correctly install free programs and avoid unwanted offers, simply choose Advanced (Custom) settings during installation. If you use Default settings, the offers will be hidden and allowed to install alongside automatically. Advanced settings, however, will show you everything that has been added. You will also be able to deselect all of them. It’s enough to simply uncheck the boxes.

It should be mentioned that the offers are particularly common in free programs you download from non-official websites.

Can FastBrowser.co be harmful?

The good thing about browser hijackers is that they are very obvious. It’s hard not to notice that your homepage has been changed when it’s the first site that loads whenever you open your browser. In this particular case, the hijacker will set FastBrowser.co as your homepage and new tab. The default search engine will also be changed. These changes will affect all popular browsers, including Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

FastBrowser.co is a pretty generic website that seems to mainly promote a search bar. This is a typical browser hijacker characteristic as they exist to push questionable search engines onto users. Browser hijackers aim to redirect users to sponsored websites and they do that by inserting sponsored content into search results generated by dubious search engines. The sponsored content is usually quite obvious so as long as you pay attention, you should be able to avoid clicking on them. However, there is no reason to need to sort through questionable search results when there are perfectly legitimate search engines that provide safe results.

It should also be mentioned that browser hijackers, as well as similar infections, track browsing. FastBrowser.co browser hijacker will track what sites you visit, what you search for, what content you interact with, your IP address, etc. This information may also be shared with unknown third parties. While it doesn’t appear to collect personal information, its data collection practices are still intrusive and there’s no need to put up with it.

FastBrowser.co removal

Because browser hijackers and similar infections can be quite persistent and tricky to get rid of, it’s recommended to use an anti-virus program like WiperSoft to remove FastBrowser.co browser hijacker. The program will not only uninstall FastBrowser.co hijacker but also undo its setting changes. However, since it’s not particularly malicious, you can also do it manually, though it may be more difficult as you’d have to do everything yourself. When the hijacker is no longer present on your computer, you will be able to change your browser’s settings as you want.

In the future, as long as you pay close attention to how you install free programs, you should be able to avoid browser hijackers and similar infections. You should also keep an anti-virus program active in case an infection manages to sneak in.