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How to uninstall Avast SafeZone Browser

Avast SafeZone Browser is one of the components that may gets added to your Windows machine when you install the antivirus solution.

It is selected by default and if you don't select the customize option in the installer to pick the modules that you want installed, will be installed on your system.

Avast users on sites like Reddit reported recently that Avast SafeZone Browser was installed on their system afterwards as well, which they noticed immediately as Avast put a SafeZone Browser icon on the desktop of the system.

Avast SafeZone Browser

avast free setup

According to Avast, SafeZone Browser has been designed with "built-in privacy features" that promises better privacy and safety while on the Internet.

While it includes features such as ad-blocking or filters that block pages with poor reputation, and specialized browsing modes for "safe transactions", it ships with a price comparison component as well.

At its core, Avast SafeZone Browser is a forked version of Chromium.

Google researcher Travis Ormandy revealed in February 2016 that the program put users at risk simply by being installed on the system. While the issue has been resolved in the meantime, serious security issues like the one discovered are not helping Avast make the case that their browser should be used for better security and privacy online.

Block the installation of Avast SafeZone Browser

uninstall avast safezone browser

If you are installing Avast anew, and don't have any need for the web browser to be installed on your system, then you should block its installation outright.

While that won't help you if Avast later on decides to push the browser anyway on your system, you can at least make certain that it is not installed directly by you.

To block the installation of the web browser while you are installing Avast Antivirus on a machine, do the following:

  1. When the first setup page appears, hit the customize button right away. You find it below the big orange install button on the page.
  2. The next page displays all the additional components that Avast will install on the computer.
  3. Locate the Avast SafeZone Browser entry and uncheck it.
  4. While you are at it, uncheck any component that you don't require, e.g. SecureLine or Mail Shield.

Remove Avast SafeZone Browser

If the web browser is already installed on the system, then you can remove it from the Windows PC in the following way:

Step 1: Hit Windows-Pause to open the Control Panel of the operating system.

Step 2: Select "Control Panel Home", and on the screen that opens "uninstall a program".

Step 3: Right-click on Avast Free Antivirus (your version may have a different name), and select the change option from the context menu. Alternatively, left-click on the Avast entry and pick change from the menu at the top.

avast change programs

Step 4: On the page that opens, select change again. You find it listed next to update and repair.

avast setup remove safezone

Step 5: Locate SafeZone Browser and uncheck the box next to it. Do the same for any of the other components that you may not require. All components will be removed from the PC if they are installed. Click on change afterwards to start the removal process. You will receive a "the product was updated successfully" message afterwards.

avast setup remove safezone 2

A restart of the computer may be required to complete the process.

 

 

This article was first seen on ComTek's "TekBits" Technology News

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