Torch Browser is a custom web browser based on Google Chrome, provided by Torch Media, that claims to improve the browsing experience of users, by integrating its own media player, media grabber, torrent engine, gaming platform and some other plugins. However, some security experts believe that this browser might be a potentially unwanted program or a PUP and may collect and share some user information possibly for income-generating purposes. Our research team has looked into the browser to see what it does if installed.
Torch Browser – How Does It Work?
Torch Browser can be either downloaded from its website (www.torchbrowser.com) or while installing other third-party software. The site has a good design and appears legitimate. However, there were certain issues that we found with this software.
Firstly, what grabbed our attention were some of the claims in the Privacy Policy of the website, mainly regarding information disclosure and sharing:
As visible above, some of the statements contradict each other, more precisely, the statements regarding third parties possibly collecting information via cookies or other methods. At the first paragraph, it Is stated that the company could use third parties and individuals, and they may collect information to improve the service. And at the second paragraph, they have stated that they do not share information with third party sites, but despite that, these sites may collect information. Also, it is unspecified what type of information may be obtained (non-personal or personal).
Another interesting detail in the privacy policy was that they state that the user agrees to have his information transferred to countries with less impacting laws, concerning personal information, which appears to be normal. However, the company does not specify to whom the personal information may or may not be transferred.
We have attempted to download and install Torch Browser on a machine. The first thing we noticed is that the installer prompted us to change homepages of two other browsers to ask.com. It also requested to install ‘Torch Movies Search App’ extension as a bundle add-on to all of our web browsers.
After many permission requests during installation, we have managed to set up Torch Browser on our PC. What we noticed initially was that when we ran it for the first time, it situated four other icons on the desktop, linking to own web site pages and their services.
When we opened the browser, we observed that it was based on Google Chrome with the difference that its search engine, powered by ask.com was full of third party advertisements that may redirect to other websites. Also, there were some other suspicious symptoms such as the task manager processes. When we compared Torch Browser processes against Google Chrome (on which it is based on), we have found that the number of executable files was unusually high (and we didn’t open more than one tab on each).
However, the most prominent symptom to make us believe that the software from Torch Media was unwanted on our computer is when we performed our final scan. It showed around 590 unwanted objects, connected with the bundled ‘Movies Search App’ we wrote about earlier, added to the other browsers.
How To Remove Torch Browser?
If you feel unsafe when using this browser and you need to remove it, you should guide yourself by the after mentioned step-by-step tutorial to completely eradicate all files. It is also highly recommended (if you are not a professional in cyber security) to install special software that will detect such threats and protect you regularly from them.
Spy Hunter scanner will only detect the threat. If you want the threat to be automatically removed, you need to purchase the full version of the anti-malware tool.Find Out More About SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool / How to Uninstall SpyHunter
1. Remove/Uninstall Torch Browser in Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps to remove that program. No matter if you are using Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program get left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, mistakes with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Select the program that you want to remove, and press “Uninstall” (fig.3).
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall Torch Browser.
2. Remove Torch Browser from your browser
Remove a toolbar from Mozilla Firefox
Remove a toolbar from Google Chrome
Remove a toolbar from Internet Explorer
Remove a toolbar from Safari
Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu
Select Torch Browser and click “Remove“
After Torch Browser is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red “X” in the top right corner and start it again.
Select Torch Browser to remove, and then click ‘Disable’. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected toolbar, and some additional toolbars might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click ‘Disable’.
After Torch Browser has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red ‘X’ in the top right corner and start it again.
Open the drop menu by clicking on the sprocket icon in the top right corner.
From the drop menu select ‘Preferences’
In the new window select ‘Extensions’
Click once on Torch Browser
Click ‘Uninstall’
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall Torch Browser. Select ‘Uninstall’ again, and the Torch Browser will be removed.
3. Remove Torch Browser automatically with Spy Hunter Malware – Removal Tool.
To clean your computer with the award-winning software Spy Hunter –
It is highly recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter.
- Guide 1: How to Remove Torch Browser from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Torch Browser from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Torch Browser from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Torch Browser from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Torch Browser from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Torch Browser from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Torch Browser from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Torch Browser from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Torch Browser
Step 2: Uninstall Torch Browser and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Torch Browser on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by Torch Browser there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of Torch Browser from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Torch Browser and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove Torch Browser via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove malware from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts, programs and malware, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Torch Browser from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Erase Torch Browser from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Uninstall Torch Browser from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Torch Browser from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the Torch Browser will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Torch Browser from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.
Salve, ho installato torch perche mi sembrava interessante ma dopo aver letto questo articolo ho trovato due discordanze…
la prima e che il browser usa torch(.)start.me e non Ask(.)com, la seconda e che le 4 icone sul desktop che avete riscontrato ( Free Music, Free Games etc) non si sono installate sul mio pc…non so forse a distanza di due anni Torch ha e diventato piu sicuro…aspetto un vostro riesame prima di cancellarlo.
Hello Davon,
Don’t forget that browsers such as Torch tend to change their homepages in time. Those were the ones in use when we did the research.