Avast Cleanup scans your Mac, removes duplicate files and cleans up junk data – all with a single click. Aug 10, 2016 Nevertheless, Avast Browser Cleanup offers a simple and effective means of removing unwanted toolbars and add-ons from IE, Chrome and Firefox, and it.
Avast Secure Browser was released in April 2018 and is a direct successor of the old Avast SafeZone Browser. It’s based on a Chromium engine (like Google Chrome) and focuses on three main areas – speed, privacy, and security. At the moment it is available only for Windows operating system, including Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and of course the latest 10. You can use it independently whether you have or haven’t Avast Antivirus installed.
You probably wonder why you should switch from your current browser to Avast Secure Browser. The best argument is probably the speed, everyone loves the super fast browsing experience. According to Avast, web pages in Secure Browser are loaded up to 4x faster than in other popular browsers (like Chrome or Firefox). However, in our testing, we have revealed that is true only for resource-heavy sites with ads and/or flash elements. On the other hand, you will hardly find any site which wouldn’t have ads (even Google Search has them).
Level of security and privacy is definitely higher than in any standard (clean) browser. With Avast Secure Browser you will get Bank Mode, Anti-Phishing, Anti-Tracking, Anti-Fingerprinting and HTTPS encryption. Some other features like Stealth Mode or Privacy Cleaner look just like re-named features of Chrome (Incognito Mode and Clear Browsing Data).
Avast Secure Browser Features Overview
Avast Secure Browser offers many on-top features compared to popular browsers like Chrome or Firefox. The best thing is they are all present at one simple page with the detailed explanation and toggle to turn on/off each of them. What are they and what they are doing?
- Integration with Avast – Browser is sort of integrated with Avast Antivirus,Avast SecureLine VPN, and Avast Passwords, so you can scan your computer or connect to VPN server.
- Bank Mode – Very popular feature which was available also in the outdated Avast SafeZone Browser. Opens an isolated session for banking and shopping online where no one can steal (for example using keylogger) your personal data.
- Video Downloader – This is a very cool feature which allows you to download a video from the popular video sites (YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, etc.). You can even select a quality of the video. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work with Facebook
Avast Secure Browser – Video Downloader
- Adblock – By default browser has installed and enabled the popular extension for blocking all website ads.
- Flash Blocker – Automatically blocks any Flash technology from running. Flash is outdated, slow and vulnerable.
- Anti-Fingerprinting – Hides real information about your browser (version, extensions, etc.), so no one can identify you or track you.
- Anti-Phishing – Blocks dangerous websites and files before you even visit/download them.
- Anti-Tracking – Sets Do Not Track settings to tell websites to don’t collect information about your visit. This is also available in Chrome (Settings » Privacy and security » Send a “Do Not Track” request with your browsing traffic), but by default it’s disabled.
- Stealth Mode – Surf web without leaving any trace on your local drive like cookies or history. This is also available in Chrome via Ctrl + Shift + T (so-called Incognito Mode).
- HTTPS Encryption – Forces websites to use only HTTPS encryption so no one else can ‘see’ it. Please note this won’t help if the site doesn’t have it’s own SSL certificate.
- Password Manager – Allows you to select which password manager you want to use. You can also select pre-installed Avast Passwords Manager.
- Extension Guard – Protects you from installing malicious extensions (add-ons) to your browser. You can still install the trusted ones.
- Privacy Cleaner – Not much of a feature, simply opens settings to clear cache and browsing history. Obviously, this is available in all common browsers.
Avast Secure Browser – Features Overview & Settings
If you go to browser settings (top-right corner), you will notice they are basically the same as settings in Google Chrome.
Performance Speed Test vs. Google Chrome vs. Mozilla Firefox vs. Internet Explorer
During our testing, we haven’t found major speed differences between Avast Secure Browser and Google Chrome. Mozilla Firefox, on the other hand, was the slowest one in all the tests. We haven’t tested Microsoft Internet Explorer.
| Speed Testing Tool | Avast Secure Browser | Google Chrome | Mozilla Firefox |
|---|
| Browsemark | 288.39 | 291.10 | 185.36 |
| Octane 2.0 | 27,145 | 28,846 | 24,705 |
However, the testing environment is always different from the real web pages. In the real world, load times of most of them are influenced by the amount of data the browser needs to download and render. That is heavily influenced by advertisements, especially image/video ones. Since Avast Secure Browser has enabled Adblock and Flash Block by default, it may appear it is faster than Google Chrome. Actually, it is very similar (or same) as Google Chrome with these two plugins installed.
Avast Secure Browser Explained in 1 Minute Video
Conclusion – Is Avast Secure Browser Worth of Switching from Chrome or Firefox?
Overall Avast Secure Browser is very similar to Chrome with few extras focusing on enhancing browsing speed, security, and privacy. If you are tired of your current browser then you should definitely go ahead and give Avast browser a try, it’s for free. Especially if you are doing banking/shopping online the Bank Mode is extremely handy. You can also import bookmarks and passwords from other browsers on one-click.
However, the browser doesn’t support multiple user profiles which is a shame.
Free Download of Avast Secure Browser 2018
To download Avast Secure Browser, you can either install the latest Avast Antivirus or download the standalone browser using the button below.
To use the browser, you don’t need to have Avast Antivirus installed, it’s a stand-alone application.
Additional Notes
For measuring the browser performance we have used following tests:Browsermark andOctane 2.0. All of them are testing browser performance and speed using various methods like re-sizing 2D/3D objects using CSS, executing JavaScripts, GPU and DOM tests. All tests were performed on the same computer running on Windows 10 Professional x64 with CPU Intel Core i7 @ 2.70GHz and 8 GB RAM.
Remove Unwanted Toolbars From Browsers Using Avast Browser Cleanup: Some freeware software’s comes with unwanted toolbars and search engine’s when you want to install them. They will show accept or decline options for toolbars and search engines, many of us ignore them. As a result, a lot of toolbars installed on your browser and making it slow.
Avast Browser Cleanup Tool is a free and portable tool to remove any toolbars and add-ons from your browser. When you open this tool, it automatically detects all installed browsers and list of add-ons and toolbars. It shows the list of addons and toolbars in Dashboard. Hit the remove button to remove toolbars and add-ons. It works on Windows XP SP2, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 both 32- bit& 64-bit.
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Remove Unwanted Toolbars from Browsers Using Avast Browser Cleanup
We have all gone through this problem or are currently experiencing it; Unwanted Toolbars. Many of these toolbars come with the freeware software that we install. These software normally come with additional programs to install, some do give us the option to accept or decline. The problem is many of us tend to ignore this part and just install the main software. Normally, the plenty of toolbars might not be a problem, but it is.
Avast Cleanup Tool Download
They make the browser look terrible as they fill up the top of the browser. On top of that, these toolbars also tend to use resources which in turn can slow down your browser or even your PC sometimes. The good news is that these pesky toolbars can be removed.
The issue is it can be a bit of a long process especially if you aren’t computer savvy. This is where Avast Browser Cleanup Tool steps in. This free and portable tool can be used to help remove any toolbar and add-on from your browser.
How the Tool Works
It works by detecting all the installed browsers and their corresponding add-ons automatically. From that point on, it’s up to you to decide what you’d like to keep and what you’d like to get rid of. Just to highlight a brief history of the application.
Avast Browser Cleanup For Mac
It used to be an option that was integrated into the antivirus suite from Avast, but noticing its importance Avast released a standalone tool to help people with this problem. The software works with the popular browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome. Here’s a quick guide of how to remove unwanted toolbars using Avast Browser Cleanup:
How to Use the Avast Browser Cleanup
- The first thing you need to note is that this is a portable tool meaning that you don’t have to go through any installation hassles. You can also use it on the go via a USB flash drive.
- Once you launch the application, it automatically analyzes your system. It will later present a list of the installed toolbars and what it considers potentially unwanted toolbars. The scan engine on the application is really fast, but efficient as well. You’ll get the results in no time.
- Once the information is displayed, you’ll have the choice to remove the toolbar if you wish. A “remove” button is normally placed right next to the toolbars. You also have the choice to remove multiple toolbars via the “Remove all add-ons listed below and cleanup browser” button. If you wish to know more about the toolbar before deleting it, then click on the “More details” for that.
- You’ll be happy to know that Avast Browser Cleanup tool does ask for confirmation before removing a toolbar. This ensures that you don’t accidentally delete and add-on that you need. If you want to delete the toolbar, just click on the “Yes” in the dialog box to begin the process.
Avast Browser Cleanup
Conclusion
The software does offer extra features such as disabling a toolbar. This allows you to still keep the toolbar, but in a non-active state. In addition, if the browser is giving you trouble, Avast does have an option that allows you to restore the program to default settings. Avast Browser Cleanup Tool, an all round great program that is good at its job.