How to uninstall the Free Driver Maps unwanted application

What is Free Driver Maps?

Free Driver Maps browser hijacker promotes freedrivermapstab.com and searchnewfdm.com (addresses of fake search engines) by modifying certain browser settings. This app supposedly provides access to interactive maps, directions, news, weather and email provider websites.

Commonly, apps of this type promote fake search engines and collect browsing-related information. Free Driver Maps and other similar apps are categorized as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs), since people often download and install them inadvertently.

Free Driver Maps promotes freedrivermapstab.com and searchnewfdm.com by assigning these addresses as the default search engine, homepage, and new tab. This ensures that one of these addresses is opened when users open a browser, new tab, or enter search queries into the URL bar.

These are addresses of fake search engines, which do not generate unique results - they simply display those generated by Yahoo (by redirecting to search.yahoo.com). Note that fake search engines often promote addresses of other dubious websites and, thereby, display misleading results.

Generally, the only way to remove these bogus addresses is to uninstall the hijacking app. In this case, freedrivermapstab.com and searchnewfdm.com can be removed by uninstalling Free Driver Maps. As mentioned, apps such as Free Driver Maps often gather information relating to users' browsing activities.

Usually, they collect geolocations, addresses of visited pages, entered search queries, IP addresses and other browsing data. Some browser hijackers also target personal, sensitive data. This is a serious problem, since developers often misuse the information to generate revenue, or they sell it to third parties who do the same.

This can put users at risk of problems such as identity theft, issues relating to browsing safety, privacy, etc. Therefore, never download or install Free Driver Maps, or other browser hijackers.

Threat Summary:

Name	Free Driver Maps
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Detection Names	Avast (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), AVG (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentially Unwanted), Microsoft (PUA:Win32/OpenDownloadManager), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal).
Browser Extension(s)	Free Driver Maps
Supposed Functionality	This app supposedly provides quick access to maps, directions, news websites, etc.
Promoted URL	freedrivermapstab.com
Serving IP Address (freedrivermapstab.com)	54.88.186.94
Serving IP Address (searchnewfdm.com)	35.174.41.4
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine.
Symptoms	Manipulated internet browser settings (homepage, default internet search engine, new tab settings). Users are forced to visit the hijacker's website and search the internet using their search engines.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Some more examples of apps that are classified as browser hijackers include My Search Finder, HistorySee and Better Browsing.

Typically, these apps are supposedly useful and improve the browsing experience, include various features, etc., however, most are useless and can be the reason behind serious problems. Generally, browser hijackers are designed only to generate revenue for the developers. Therefore, remove all such PUAs from browsers and operating systems immediately.

How did Free Driver Maps install on my computer?

Users often download and install PUAs inadvertently, by clicking advertisements that execute certain scripts, or together with their other required programs.

This happens when PUAs are included into software set-ups as 'additional offers'. In most cases, these offers can be declined through settings such as "Custom", "Advanced", and "Manual", however, many people leave them unchecked and unchanged, thereby allowing PUAs to infiltrate.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Check the set-ups for additionally-included apps (within "Advanced", "Custom" and other settings) and decline offers to download or install any PUAs. Download all software and files from official websites and through direct links.

Other channels such as Peer-to-Peer networks (eMule, torrent clients), unofficial websites, third party downloaders, installers, etc., are often used to distribute unwanted apps and should not be used. Do not click advertisements that appear on dubious websites, since these might cause unwanted downloads and installations.

Remove any unknown, suspicious extensions, plug-ins and add-ons installed on the browser, and programs of this kind installed on the computer immediately. If your computer is already infected with Free Driver Maps, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Free Driver Maps browser hijacker installer set-up:

Notification stating that Free Driver Maps can read and change certain data:

Screenshot of Free Driver Maps promoting search.searchnewfdm.com:

Website promoting Free Driver Maps browser hijacker:

IMPORTANT NOTE! These deceptive sites ask to enable web browser notifications.

Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:

Google Chrome (PC):

• Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and click "Advanced"
• Scroll down to the "Privacy and security" section, select "Content settings" and then "Notifications"
• Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

Google Chrome (Android):

• Click on the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and click "Settings"
• Scroll down, click on "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and click on them one-by-one
• Select "Notifications" in the "Permissions" section and set the toggle button to "OFF"

Mozilla Firefox:

• Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Options" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen
• Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs, click the drop-down menu and select "Block"

Internet Explorer:

• Click the Gear button on the right upper corner of the IE window
• Select "Internet options"
• Select the "Privacy" tab and click "Settings" under "Pop-up Blocker" section
• Select suspicious URLs under and remove them one by one by clicking the "Remove" button

Microsoft Edge:

• Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window
• Scroll down, find and click "Settings"
• Scroll down again and click "View advanced settings"
• Click "Manage" under "Website permissions"
• Click the switch under each suspicious website

Safari (Mac):

• Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner of the screen and select "Preferences..."
• Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane
• Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option for each

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is Free Driver Maps?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Free Driver Maps application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove freedrivermapstab.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Free Driver Maps browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove freedrivermapstab.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove freedrivermapstab.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Free Driver Maps browser hijacker removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window: look for any recently installed suspicious applications (for example, "Free Driver Maps"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications that cause browser redirects to the freedrivermapstab.com website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Free Driver Maps browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove browser redirects:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Change your homepage:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Internet Options", in the opened window remove hxxp://freedrivermapstab.com (or hxxp://searchnewfdm.com) and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you launch Internet Explorer. You can also enter about: blank to open a blank page when you start Internet Explorer.

Change your default search engine:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". In the opened window, select "Search Providers", set "Google", "Bing", or any other preferred search engine as your default and then remove "Free Driver Maps".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the freedrivermapstab.com redirect, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate "Free Driver Maps" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

Change your homepage:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, disable "Free Driver Maps", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.freedrivermapstab.com or hxxp://www.searchnewfdm.com) below the “Open a specific or set of pages” option. If present, click on the three vertical dots icon and select “Remove”.

Change your default search engine:

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list look for "freedrivermapstab.com" (or "searchnewfdm.com"), when located click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Remove from list".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the freedrivermapstab.com redirect, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "Free Driver Maps", as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins.

Change your homepage:

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Options", in the opened window disable "Free Driver Maps",  remove hxxp://freedrivermapstab.com (or hxxp://searchnewfdm.com) and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.

Change your default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type about:config and press Enter.
Click "I'll be careful, I promise!".
In the search filter at the top, type: "extensionControlled"
Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with freedrivermapstab.com redirect removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click Safari menu, then select Preferences...

In the preferences window select the Extensions tab. Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions and uninstall them.

In the preferences window select General tab and make sure that your homepage is set to a preferred URL, if its altered by a browser hijacker - change it.

In the preferences window select Search tab and make sure that your preferred Internet search engine is selected.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate any recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

Change your homepage and new tab settings:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section look for the name of the browser hijacker and click "Disable".

Change your default Internet search engine:

To change your default search engine in Microsoft Edge: Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Privacy and services", scroll to bottom of the page and select "Address bar". In the "Search engines used in address bar" section look for the name of the unwanted Internet search engine, when located click the "Disable" button near it. Alternatively you can click on "Manage search engines", in the opened menu look for unwanted Internet search engine. Click on the puzzle icon near it and select "Disable".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the freedrivermapstab.com redirect, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

A browser hijacker is a type of adware infection that modifies Internet browser settings by assigning the homepage and default Internet search engine settings to some other (unwanted) website URL. Commonly, this type of adware infiltrates operating systems through free software downloads. If your download is managed by a download client, ensure that you decline offers to install advertised toolbars or applications that seek to change your homepage and default Internet search engine settings.

Post a comment:
If you have additional information on freedrivermapstab.com redirect or it's removal please share your knowledge in the comments section below.

▼ Show Discussion