Remove Apple.com-fast.live “Virus”

Apple.com-fast.live "Virus" Removal guide for windows and mac

Apple.com-fast.live- details

Malware infections such as Trojans, Spyware, Viruses or Ransomware can cause a lot of problems once they get inside a given computer or smartphone. However, sometimes, the source of disturbance in your computer may be a much less harmful type of apps known as browser hijackers. The representatives of this category ( like Apple.com-fast.live, Www2.savemax.store and Apple.com-scan.live )aren’t intended to cause harm inside the system. Yet, their presence there is commonly regarded as potentially unwanted as they can be linked to some annoying activities such as unwelcome browser alterations, automatic page-redirects to sponsored sites and aggressive generation of hundreds of ads, pop-ups, banners, and commercial messages. One such relatively harmless but still undesirable app is Apple.com-fast.live. This application operates as an additional component to popular browsers such as Safari,Chrome, Firefox,  and many others. Typically, it gives its presence away by presenting you with a new search engine tool or a new homepage which redirects you automatically to some sponsored websites. Additionally, Apple.com-fast.live may also fill your screen with different pay-per-click ads, banners, pop-ups and other aggressive messages that may constantly prompt you to click on certain links and disturb your normal browsing. Luckily, none of these activities is really aimed at corrupting your computer or messing with your system. However, if you need to use your browser on a daily basis for work, education, quick browsing or entertainment, the presence of the browser hijacker inside your computer may be quite unpleasant.

How Dangerous is Apple.com-fast.live?

The main goal of most applications like Apple.com-fast.live doesn’t have much to do with delivering some actual functionality to the web users and has more to do with making money through aggressive online advertising methods such as Pay Per Click and Pay Per View. These methods basically help the creators of applications like Apple.com-fast.live to generate revenue every time you click on the ads that their software displays or every time you visit the pages that get promoted on your screen. The more ads you get exposed to and the more sponsoring sites you get redirected to, the greater the income.

Unfortunately, this advertising and revenue-generating approach, in most cases, comes at the price of the end-users’ ability to surf the web in peace. Unless the browser hijacker gets fully removed and uninstalled from the system along with all of its components, you are bound to get spammed with invasive commercial messages during all of your browsing sessions. Therefore, if you want to get rid of the disturbance that apps like Apple.com-fast.live may be causing, the best thing you could do is to use a professional removal tool or a manual removal guide to safely uninstall them from your PC.

Redirects from Apple.com-fast.live “Virus”

How to quickly remove Apple.com-fast.live?

In case you are here because you want to deal with Apple.com-fast.live in particular, below, you will find a detailed removal guide with the exact steps that you need to follow to safely eliminate this browser hijacker from your system. There is also a professional removal tool for quick detection and automatic deletion of all the components related to the unwanted software. We recommend you take actions against Apple.com-fast.live as soon as possible because if you accidentally interact with some unsafe hijacker-generated advert, a misleading link or some fake message, you may risk coming across much more dangerous threats like Spyware, Ransomware or Trojans.

SUMMARY:

Name Apple.com-fast.live
Type  Browser Hijacker
Danger Level Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Symptoms  Alternations in your browser’s homepage or search engine may give the browser hijacker away.
Distribution Method Spam, free downloads, software bundles, and automatic installers are common source of such programs.

Remove Apple.com-fast.live “Virus”

Step 1: Closing Safari (or any other browser that you may be using at the moment)

First, you will need to close your browser if it is still open. If you can’t do that normally, you will need to Force Quit it:

Open the Apple Menu and select Force Quit to do that. You can also use the key + Option Key combination to open the Force Quit Applications dialog box. In this box, select the Safari browser (or whatever browser you are using) and then click on the Quit button. Confirm the action by selecting Force Quit again.

Step 2: Killing suspicious processes

Open Finder and go to Applications > Utilities and then open Activity Monitor. Now take a careful look at the processes there – look for any that seem suspicious, unknown and questionable. If you think that a given process may be the culprit behind the issue or may at least be related to it, highlight it with the mouse and select the i option at its top.

In the box that opens, click on Sample.

Scan the sample files with the online scanner we have on this page and if any of them get flagged as malicious, delete them and then kill their processes.

Step 3: Safely launching the browser

Hold the Shift from your keyboard and then launch Safari – holding Shift will prevent any previously opened pages to load again, just in case any of them were related to the problem.

If any problematic pages still load after you safe-launch the browser, then do the following:

Force-Quit the browser (Safari) again and then turn off your Wi-Fi connection by clicking on the Wi-Fi off option from the Mac Menu. If you are using cable Internet, simply disconnect the cable from your Mac.

Step 4: Uninstalling suspicious extensions

After you safe-launch Safari and are sure none of the previously opened pages load now, go to Preferences > Extensions.

Select and uninstall (by clicking on the Uninstall button) all extensions there that are unfamiliar to you or that you think may be suspicious. If you are not sure about a certain extension, it’s better to uninstall it – no extension is required for the normal functioning of the browser.

Step 5: Cleaning Safari

If you have other browsers aside from Safari, do the following:

In Safari, open Preferences from the browser’s menu and go to Privacy.

Select Remove All Website Data and then Remove Now. Note that this will delete all stored site data including any saved passwords and usernames. In other words, you will have to manually log-in to every site where you have a registration so make sure you remember your usernames and passwords.

Back in Preferences, click on General and see what your Safari’s homepage is. If it has been changed without your permission, change it back to what it used to be or to whatever you like it to be now.

Now go to the History menu and select the Clear History option.

Do the same to all other browsers you may have in your computer – here are examples with Chrome and Firefox.

Cleaning Chrome

Open Chrome and open its main menu, then go to More Tools > Extensions. Click on the Remove button next to all of the extensions that you do not trust.

Next, from the main menu, go to Settings and type Manage Search Engines in the search bar. Open the result that shows up and then delete all search engines other than the one you normally use by clicking on the three-dot icon next to the other ones and selecting Remove from list.

Back in Settings, type Reset and clean up and open the option that shows up (Restore settings to their original defaults). Confirm by selecting Reset Settings.

Cleaning Firefox

Open Firefox and then open its main menu. Go to Add-ons and open the Extensions menu from the left. Look at the extensions and Remove the ones you do not trust.

Next, open the menu again, go to Help > Troubleshooting information and in the page that opens, select Refresh Firefox and then confirm the action in the window that opens.

Author:
Daniel Sadakov has a degree in Information Technology and specializes in web and mobile cyber security. He harbors a strong detestation for anything and everything malicious and has committed his resources and time to battling all manners of web and mobile threats. He has founded MobileSecurityZone.com, a website dedicated to covering the top tech stories and providing useful tips for the everyday user, in an effort to reach and help more people.

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