Fastclick is a tracking cookie that may monitor your web browsing habits and store this data for marketing reasons. While the Fastclick cookie isn’t dangerous itself, it may put your personal information at risk as the sensitive data it collects about you may easily be exploited and misused.

Do I Have Fastclick?

You can search your computer manually, but it might take hours to find Fastclick’s hidden files. To save time, I recommend you automatically scan your PC for Fastclick and other spyware. Why not? It’s free.

Free Fastclick Scan, with SpyHunter

You can easily detect Fastclick with SpyHunter’s FREE spyware scanner. And if you’re really infected with Fastclick, you can buy the full version of SpyHunter to remove Fastclick and other spyware. Or you can use my instructions below and remove Fastclick for free.

I’m a big fan of SpyHunter. Here’s why: SpyHunter offers live support on the phone, and if SpyHunter doesn’t automatically remove Fastclick, you can get a custom fix for your computer.

Get Rid of Fastclick Manually

Manual removal of any spyware can be difficult. When you manually remove Fastclick, you have to fiddle with your registry and risk destroying your PC. It’s highly recommended you use an automatic spyware scanner to make sure you’re infected with Fastclick. Also, I recommend you backup your system any time before editing your registry.

To remove Fastclick manually, you need to delete Fastclick files. Not sure how to delete Fastclick files? Click here, and I’ll tell you. Otherwise, go ahead and…

Uninstall Fastclick processes:

Remove Fastclick registry values:

Unregister Fastclick DLL files:

Detect and Remove these Fastclick files:

Note: In any files I mention above, “%System%” is a variable referring to your PC’s System folder. Maybe you renamed it, but by default your System folder is “C:\Windows\System32″ on Windows XP, “C:\Winnt\System32″ on Windows NT/2000,” or “C:\Windows\System” on Windows 95/98/Me.

“%Program_Files%”, “%ProgramFiles%”, or “%Profile%” is a variable referring to a folder in your PC where applications that aren’t a part of your PC’s operating system are installed by default. You may have changed this folder’s name or moved it, but if you didn’t touch it, find the folder as “C:\Program Files”. If you’re having trouble finding this folder, you can locate it by looking up registry value “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProgramFilesDir”.

Also, “%UserProfile%” is a variable referring to your current user’s profile folder. If you’re using Windows NT/2000/XP, by default this is “C:\Documents and Settings\[CURRENT USER]” (e.g., “C:\Documents and Settings\JoeSmith”).

Fastclick changed your homepage?

Click Windows Start menu > Control Panel > Internet Options. Next, under Home Page, select the General > Use Default. Type in the URL you want as your home page (e.g., “http://www.homepage.com”). Then select Apply > OK. You’ll want to open a fresh web page and make sure that your new default home page pops up.

Recommendation:

To save time and avoid risking destroying your computer, I highly recommend you use a spyware scanner, such as SpyHunter, to detect Fastclick and other spyware, adware, trojans, viruses, keyloggers, and more that can be hidden in your PC. It’s also recommended before you manually remove Fastclick you backup your system.

Free Fastclick Scan, with SpyHunter

Automatically detect Fastclick and other spyware on your PC with SpyHunter’s FREE spyware scan.

How to delete Fastclick files in Windows XP and Vista:

1. Click your Windows Start menu, and from “Search,” click “For Files and Folders…“
2. A speech bubble will pop up asking you, “What do you want to search for?” Click “All files and folders.”
3. Type any file name in the search box, and select “Local Hard Drives.”
4. Click “Search.” Once the file is found, delete it.

How to stop Fastclick processes:

1. Click the Start menu, select Run.
2. Type taskmgr.exe into the the Run command box, and click “OK.” You can also launch the Task Manager by pressing keys ALT + CTRL + DELETE or CTRL + Shift + ESC.
3. Click Processes tab, and find Fastclick processes.
4. Once you’ve found the Fastclick processes, right-click them and select “End Process” to kill Fastclick.

How to remove Fastclick registry keys:

Your Windows registry is the core of your Windows operating system, storing information about user settings, system preferences, and software, including which applications automatically launch at start up. Because of this, spyware, malware, and adware will often bury their own files into your Windows registry so that they automatically launch every time your start up your PC.

Because your registry is such a key piece of your Windows system, you should always backup your registry before you make any changes to it. Editing your registry can be intimidating if you’re not a computer expert, and when you change or a delete a critical registry key or registry value, there’s a chance you may need to reinstall your entire Windows operating system. Make sure your backup your registry before editing it.

1. Select your Windows menu “Start,” and click “Run.” An “Open” field will appear. Type “regedit” and click “OK” to open up your Registry Editor.
2. Registry Editor will open as a window with two panes. The left side Registry Editor’s window lets you select various registry keys, and the right side displays the registry values of the registry key you select.
3. To find a registry key, such as any Fastclick registry keys, select “Edit,” then select “Find,” and in the search bar type any of Fastclick’s registry keys.
4. As soon as Fastclick registry key appears, you can delete the Fastclick registry key by right-clicking it and selecting “Modify,” then clicking “Delete.”

Computer acting funny after you’ve edited your registry and deleted Fastclick registry keys? Just restore your registry with your backup.

How to remove Fastclick DLL files:

Like most any software, spyware, adware, and malware may also use DLL files. DLL is short for “dynamically linked library,” and Fastclick DLL files, like other DLLs, carryout predetermined tasks. To manually delete Fastclick DLL files, you’ll use Regsver32, a Windows tool designed to help you remove DLL and other files.

1. First you’ll locate Fastclick DLL files you want to delete. Open your Windows Start menu, then click “Run.” Type “cmd” in Run, and click “OK.”
2. To change your current directory, type “cd” in the command box, press your “Space” key, and enter the full directory where the Fastclick DLL file is located. If you’re not sure if the Fastclick DLL file is located in a particular directory, enter “dir” in the command box to display a directory’s contents. To go one directory back, enter “cd ..” in the command box and press “Enter.”
3. When you’ve located the Fastclick DLL file you want to remove, type “regsvr32 /u SampleDLLName.dll” (e.g., “regsvr32 /u jl27script.dll”) and press your “Enter” key.

That’s it. If you want to restore Fastclick DLL file you removed, enter “regsvr32 DLLJustDeleted.dll” (e.g., “regsvr32 jl27script.dll”) into your command box, and press your “Enter” key.

Freeware or Shareware:
Did you download and install shareware or freeware? These low-cost or free software applications may come bundled with spyware, adware, or programs like Fastclick. Sometimes adware is attached to the free software to “pay” developers for the cost of creating the software, and more often spyware is secretly and maliciously attached to free software to harm your computer and steal your personal and financial information.

Peer-to-Peer Software:
Do you use a peer-to-peer (P2P) program or other application with a shared network? When you use these applications, you put your system at risk for unknowingly downloading an infected file, including applications like Fastclick.

Questionable Websites: Did you visit a website that’s of questionable nature? When you visit malicious sites that are fishy and phishy, Trojans, spyware, and adware may be automatically downloaded and installed onto your computer, sometimes including applications like Fastclick.

It’s important to practice safer online habits to prevent being infected with Fastclick . You may want to scan your computer for the latest version of Fastclick and other security threats.

Slow computer performance: It only takes one or two spyware parasites like Fastclick to cause your computer to slow dramatically. If your PC takes longer than usual to reboot or if your Internet connection is unusually slow, your computer may be infected with malware.

New desktop shortcuts or switched homepage: Malware like Fastclick may change your Internet settings or redirect your default homepage to another web site. Malware may even add new desktop shortcuts on your PC.

Annoying popups on your PC: Malware may bombard your computer with popup ads, even when you’re not online. Malware may stop your regular Internet activity and track your surfing habits and gather personal information about you, putting your financial and personal information at risk.

Because of Fastclick’s and other tracking cookies’ possibly stealth methods, tracking cookies, even when installed without malicious reasons, may put your personal and financial information at risk. It may be a good idea to remove Fastclick and other tracking cookies.

Some tracking cookies may also fall under the category of spyware. Spyware is any software or malware (”malicious software”) used to spy or track your computer activity. While some spyware is legitimately and intentionally installed by parents or employers to monitor Internet activity on a computer, spyware may be installed maliciously. Often spyware may come bundled with downloads of free software or come in the form of a cookie via a website, and this spyware may track your Internet activity or may steal secret account usernames and passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal and financial information.

What Companies May Learn from a Tracking Cookie Like Fastclick

Marketing companies can learn a lot from tracking cookies. If you fill out a form online with your contact info and real name, enter a contest or sweepstakes, or click an ad to buy a product, it’s possible Internet advertisers using tracking cookies know your real name, your Internet Protocol (IP address), and other information about you.

Online marketing and advertising companies that hold this identifiable information about you and your web browsing habits may sell your personal info to other companies, or merge their information about you with other companies’ information about you. A tracking cookie may seem harmless, but in reality some tracking cookies allow companies to know quite a lot about your online and offline habits and lifestyle, and how to find you.

Fastclick is also known as: Fastclick Tracking Cookie, Fast Click, FastClick Cookies, Fastclick Com, Ad Fastclick Net, Ads Fastclick, Banners Fastclick, Fastclick Net, Banner Fastclick, Media Fastclick, FastClick Adware, FastClick Spyware, FastClick Cookie

"Fastclick" keywords: Fastclick removal, Spyware, Tracking Cookie, Valueclick or Fastclick, detect spyware, detecting spyware, free spyware download, free spyware remover, media Fastclick, spyware detection, spyware protection

"Fastclick" was posted on Saturday, July 1st, 2006 at 10:27 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.