Keep Fast Search
Threat Scorecard
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecard
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards are assessment reports for different malware threats which have been collected and analyzed by our research team. EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards evaluate and rank threats using several metrics including real-world and potential risk factors, trends, frequency, prevalence, and persistence. EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards are updated regularly based on our research data and metrics and are useful for a wide range of computer users, from end users seeking solutions to remove malware from their systems to security experts analyzing threats.
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards display a variety of useful information, including:
Ranking: The ranking of a particular threat in EnigmaSoft’s Threat Database.
Severity Level: The determined severity level of an object, represented numerically, based on our risk modeling process and research, as explained in our Threat Assessment Criteria.
Infected Computers: The number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular threat detected on infected computers as reported by SpyHunter.
See also Threat Assessment Criteria.
| Ranking: | 12,327 |
| Threat Level: | 50 % (Medium) |
| Infected Computers: | 131 |
| First Seen: | January 25, 2019 |
| Last Seen: | September 8, 2023 |
| OS(es) Affected: | Windows |
The Keep Fast Search functions as a browser hijacker. As such, its goal is to hijack a Web browser on the infected device and change some of its crucial settings. As typical for applications like this, its primary goal is to promote a fake search engine, in this particular case - keepfastsearch.com. Additionally, the Keep Fast Search can read the user's browsing history, putting thus the victim’s online privacy at risk. Users often download and install browser-hijacking applications inadvertently, which is why they are characterized as Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs).
The Keep Fast Search advertises keepfastsearch.com by replacing the hijacked browser’s default search engine, homepage, and new tab page with this particular URL. Keepfastsearch.com redirects to search.yahoo.com, and that is how it shows search results to the user. However, it is worth mentioning that results displayed by fake search engines are inaccurate, can promote shady websites, and may contain links that lead to potentially threatening services on the Internet.
A big part of browser-hijacking applications, as well as the pages they are designed to redirect to, can collect browsing history and personal user information. The collected data is then typically abused for marketing purposes, sold to third parties or otherwise monetized. That is a sufficient reason to delete the Keep Fast Search from your system as soon as possible.
In most cases, Keep Fast Search installs on a computer via downloaders and installers for other programs. That method of stealthy distribution is known as 'bundling.' PUA's victims end up having their browsers hijacked when they ignore the "Advanced," "Custom," or other settings available in installers.
