PDFConvertersSearch Hijacker - How to remove

PDFConvertersSearch is a browser hijacker. It makes it so that internet search results are returned by Yahoo. And it uses notifications to show pop-up ads. To stop the Yahoo redirects, PDFConvertersSearch needs to be removed from the browser, together with any other hijackers that might be installed. To stop notifications from PDFConverters-search.com, browser settings need to be accessed and notifications need to be blocked.

In short about PDFConvertersSearch:

Classification	Browser hijacker, adware.
How PDFConvertersSearch hurts the browser	Changes the browser’s search settings and doesn’t allow the user to choose a preferred search engine, logs the user’s browsing history, uses notifications to spam ads.
How hijackers get installed	Advertised online, presented as some kind of a required extension, promoted in notification ads, bundled with other browser hijackers.
Removing PDFConvertersSearch	Check your computer with an anti-malware scanner (Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS, others), uninstall PDFConvertersSearch and other suspicious items, block notification ads.

How PDFConvertersSearch changes the browser

PDFConvertersSearch is a browser add-on (extension). Despite its name, it doesn’t do anything for converting PDF and other files. PDFConvertersSearch is only a search hijacker. It changes your search engine to redirect to Yahoo and reads your browsing history. And you might not even notice that it’s in your browser.

Often, PDFConvertersSearch is advertised and installed together with other browser hijackers and adware. So, if PDFConvertersSearch is on your computer, it’s likely that some other junkware is, too.

One of the ways that PDFConvertersSearch is advertised is by pop-ups on infringing (or controversial) video streaming sites. There, a page might pop up telling you to install a browser extension to proceed. It might look like a warning but it is actually an ad. It might look something like this:

Such an ad then leads to PDFConvertersSearch’s installation. It shows the required permissions: reading and changing your data on Pdfconverters-search.com, reading your browsing history, and changing your search settings. If you agree to install it, then it takes control over your search settings until you either remove it or install another search hijacker, like Sportstream-search.com or even something shadier, like S3arch.page.

Problems and dangers

Overall, PDFConvertersSearch is not very dangerous. For example, it probably doesn’t steal your passwords. To do that, it would need permission to read your data on all the sites that you visit (that permission is always risky to grant). Instead, PDFConvertersSearch seems to be focused on advertising and logging your browsing habits.

It’s not the only browser add-on of this type. In fact, we’ve seen many of them. For example, VideozSearchs, Searchaize, SearchConverter, SearchZilla, and many others. Web analytics tools estimate that people who end up on PDFConverters-search.com also visit those other sites for related search hijackers. So, there is a good chance that a browser that’s infected with PDFConvertersSearch is also infected with a few other hijackers.

These sites, including PDFConverters-search.com, may offer you notifications. Allowing them is a bad idea. Notifications are little messages that a website can send out to your browser. If your browser is open then it doesn’t matter which site you’re on, PDFConvertersSearch could decide to show a notification on your screen.

These notifications are used to show promos and advertisements. These ads include links to shady get-rich-quick offers, fake sweepstakes designed to swipe your personal information, and dubious, unregulated supplements. What kinds of ads you get depends on your country.

Uninstalling PDFConvertersSearch isn’t enough to stop the pop-ups. That needs to be done in browser settings.

How to remove PDFConvertersSearch

If PDFConvertersSearch is spamming you with unwanted pop-ups, here’s how to stop them:

• Go to your notification settings.
  • Chrome – type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
  • Edge (Chromium) – type “edge://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
  • Firefox – open Settings, Preferences, Privacy & Security, scroll down to Permissions, and click on Settings next to Notifications.
• Scroll until you see a list of “Allowed” sites.
• Press the button next to each of them and then click “Block”. This prevents them from sending new pop-ups.

Use an anti-malware application, such as Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, and others, to scan your computer for malicious items. After being exposed to a few suspicious websites, it’s a good idea to check if you didn’t accidentally download something dangerous.

As for PDFConvertersSearch and other malicious browser add-ons, they can be removed manually in browser settings or by right-clicking their icons and choosing “Remove” in the menu. Add-ons that cannot be removed because they’re managed by your administrator (or because of a similar warning) need some more work to remove, as described in this linked post.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Restore browser settings

TopHow To remove PDFConvertersSearch Hijacker from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to PDFConvertersSearch Hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove PDFConvertersSearch Hijacker from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to PDFConvertersSearch Hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove PDFConvertersSearch Hijacker from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything PDFConvertersSearch Hijacker related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to PDFConvertersSearch Hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.