The new version of Avast Browser Cleanup includes improved browser compatibility, support of the latest browsers, more homepages to choose from when resetting the browser, and more aggressive detection of toolbar protectors that make removal difficult. Previously available as a feature in Avast Free Antivirus, Avast Browser Cleanup has now been made available as a new, free stand-alone product. Avast Browser Cleanup removes these unwanted toolbars from Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer and lets users restore their search engine preference. While not malicious per se, browser add-ons that come as toolbars can hijack and switch a user’s search preferences and can be extremely difficult to remove once installed. Avast detects these toolbars and many more and is focusing on helping users battle browser toolbars that are one of the biggest consumer security outbreaks since spyware,” said Vince Steckler, Chief Executive Officer of Avast. “We’ve entered the decade of unwanted add-ons - Google is now cracking down and removing ad-injecting toolbars from its Chrome store. Despite removing and re-installing a browser, toolbars will often remain, which is a behavior similar to malware. These toolbars typically occupy the horizontal space below a user’s browser and can include buttons, icons, and menus. Over the past two years, Avast Browser Cleanup has identified more than 60 million different browser add-ons which are often bundled with other free software, such as video players, Java and Flash updates. Our free utility gets rid of annoying toolbars and restores hijacked searches.

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