Should I remove Fast Browser?
What percent of users and experts removed it?
74% remove it26% keep it
What do people think about it?
(click star to rate)
How common is it?
Global Rank #11,732
United States Rank #5,638
Reach 0.0282%
Lifespan of installation (until removal)
< 7.58 days
223.51 days >
Average installed length: 117.44 days
Versions
| Version | Distribution |
| 46.0.2465.0 |
35.32% |
|
| 34.0.1848.0 |
52.79% |
|
| 29.0.1531.0 |
11.89% |
|
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Fast Browser
from InfoSpace, Inc.
What is Fast Browser?
The software is bundled with various adware installers. It will also add a number of icons to the users task bar, these icons are links to open the browser and include ones for social media sites, etc. Its also set the fastbrowsersearch.com site as the default search and home pages.
Fast Browser is a custom build of the Chromium (Chrome) web browser. However this custom version is designed to be distributed in a co-bundled attached with adware style applications and an embedded custom search provider. In addition to being the host of the bundled, this version of Fast Browser will automatically launch the web browser on startup.
Overview
The most used version is 34.0.1848.0, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. Upon installation, it defines an auto-start registry entry which allows the program run on each boot for the user which installed it. A scheduled task is added to Windows Task Scheduler in order to launch the program at various scheduled times (the schedule varies depending on the version). The software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds a Windows Firewall exception in order to do so without being interfered with. The main program executable is chrome.exe. Typically most users end up uninstalling this just after a few days. The software installer includes 50 files and is usually about 222.13 MB (232,921,645 bytes).
- Possible malware installed by this program
- Automatically starts with Windows
- Typically distributed through a pay-per-install bundle
- May modify the web browser's home page
- Many experts agree, if you don't use it you should remove it!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in Fast Browser.
| chrome.exe (39c0e2667f4dfbe4ec25cceaa16084d6) has been flagged by the following 8 scanners: |
| Anti-Virus software | Version | Detection |
| Lavasoft Ad-Aware |
981 |
Trojan.Generic.11238507 |
| avast! |
2014.9-140430 |
Win32:Dropper-gen [Drp] |
| Bitdefender |
1.0.20.750 |
Trojan.Generic.11238507 |
| Emsisoft Anti-Malware |
8.14.05.30.01 |
Trojan.Generic.11238507 |
| F-Secure |
11.2014-30-05_6 |
Trojan.Generic.11238507 |
| G Data |
14.5.24 |
Trojan.Generic.11238507 |
| MicroWorld-eScan |
15.0.0.450 |
Trojan.Generic.11238507 |
| nProtect |
14.05.15.01 |
Trojan.Generic.11238507 |
Fast Browser has been found to be bundled with 3rd party software. If you have not purposefully installed this, you should be safe uninstalling it.
Program details
Displayed publisher: Fast Browser
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\Fast Browser\Application
Uninstaller: "C:\Program Files\Fast Browser\Application\29.0.1531.0\Installer\setup.exe" --uninstall --system-level
Estimated size: 222.13 MB
Files installed by Fast Browser
| Program executable: | chrome.exe |
| Name: | Fast Browser |
| Path: | C:\Program Files\Fast Browser\Application\chrome.exe |
| MD5: | 0744783a398660429ae498dde0650533 |
Additional files:
-
chrome_frame_helper.dll - Google Chrome Frame (Chrome Frame renders the Web of the future in the browsers of the past. It's like strapping a rocket engine to a minivan.)
-
chrome_frame_helper.exe
-
chrome_launcher.exe
-
npchrome_frame.dll
-
chrmstp.exe - Fast Browser
-
chrome.dll
-
chrome_child.dll
-
delegate_execute.exe
-
metro_driver.dll
-
nacl64.exe
Behaviors exhibited
Scheduled Task
- chrome.exe is scheduled as a task named 'Sparta WW2' (Next runs on 8/3/2014 at 10:10 AM).
Startup File (User Run)
- chrome.exe is loaded in the current user (HKCU) registry as an auto-starting executable named 'GoogleChromeAutoLaunch_2972C6994C1405F35F049E820F0306F4' and executes as "C:\Program Files\Fast Browser\Application\chrome.exe" --auto-launch-at-startup --profile-directory="Default".
Startup File (User Run Once)
- chrome.exe is loaded once in the current user (HKCU) registry as a startup file name 'Application Restart #0' which loads as C:\Program Files\Fast Browser\Application\chrome.exe --user-data-dir="C:/Users/doug-/AppData/Roaming/Brackets\live-dev-profile" --disk-cache-size=250000000 --no-first-run --no-default-browser-check -.
Windows Firewall Allowed Program
- chrome.exe is added as a firewall exception for 'C:\Program Files\Fast Browser\Application\chrome.exe'.
How do I remove Fast Browser?
You can uninstall Fast Browser from your computer by using the Add/Remove Program feature in the Window's Control Panel.
- On the Start menu (for Windows 8, right-click the screen's bottom-left corner), click Control Panel, and then, under Programs, do one of the following:
- Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall a Program.
- Windows XP: Click Add or Remove Programs.
- When you find the program Fast Browser, click it, and then do one of the following:
- Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall.
- Windows XP: Click the Remove or Change/Remove tab (to the right of the program).
- Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Fast Browser.
- If for some reason uninstallation fails, please install Microsoft's uninstall fixer utility which will help fix problems with programs that can't be uninstalled at support.microsoft.com.
OS VERSIONS
Win 10 55%
Win XP 0%
|
|
WHEN IT STARTS
Auto-starting? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
|
|
USER ACTIONS
 |
Uninstall it 74%
Keep it 26%
|
|
Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
| Windows 10 |
55.94% |
|
| Windows 7 |
36.69% |
|
| Windows Vista |
5.58% |
|
| Windows XP |
1.80% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
| Windows 7 Home Premium |
26.17% |
|
| Windows 10 Home |
20.94% |
|
| Windows 8.1 |
19.68% |
|
| Windows 7 Professional |
7.58% |
|
| Windows 8 |
5.78% |
|
| Windows Vista Home Premiu... |
4.87% |
|
Geography
96.77% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
| United States |
96.77% |
| United Kingdom |
1.51% |
| Canada |
1.19% |
| Iran |
0.32% |
| Singapore |
0.11% |
| China |
0.11% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
| Hewlett-Packard |
42.47% |
|
| Dell |
24.20% |
|
| Acer |
10.73% |
|
| Toshiba |
7.08% |
|
| ASUS |
6.39% |
|
| Lenovo |
3.42% |
|
| Samsung |
2.28% |
|
| GIGABYTE |
1.83% |
|
| Alienware |
0.68% |
|
| American Megatrends |
0.46% |
|
| Sony |
0.46% |
|
Common models |
| HP 2000 Notebook PC |
6.20% |
|
| HP 15 Notebook PC |
5.79% |
|
| Dell Inspiron 3521 |
3.72% |
|
| HP Pavilion dv4 Notebook ... |
3.72% |
|
| HP Pavilion g6 Notebook P... |
2.89% |
|
| HP Pavilion g7 Notebook P... |
2.07% |
|