PdfProDocs Hijacker - How to remove

PdfProDocs is a web browser tool that hijacks your web search while helping you convert any file to PDF. While PdfProDocs is installed, your web search results will be delivered by Bing regardless of what your settings were before installing it. And it doesn’t have options to choose your search site. PdfProDocs is far from any malware, but it’s still a potentially unwanted program that some people may want to remove from their browser.

In short about PdfProDocs:

Type of threat	Browser hijacker, adware.
How PdfProDocs hijacks a browser	Is advertised dishonestly, adds the extension icon with its functionality, changes the default search engine to Bing.com.
Problems and issues	Gets installed without giving enough info to the user, hijacks the search engine with no justification.
How to get rid of PdfProDocs	Manually uninstall it, remove unwanted programs with an anti-malware tool, like Combo Cleaner for MacOS or SpyHunter for Windows.

PdfProDocs hijacking symptoms

A web browser is a program we use to go on the internet, the most popular one being Google Chrome. A browser extension is a little program that attaches itself to a web browser and changes how it works. For example, PdfProDocs changes the default search engine.

A typical example would be a Google Chrome browser (these are popular) that used to have Google.com as its default search engine (they’re made by the same company, so this is not surprising). Searching for anything on the web would open Google.com. After PdfProDocs is installed, though, searching the web opens Bing.com. Similar to PdfProDocs is PDFKing, YourEasyConvert, and many other browser extensions-hijackers.

The problem with unwanted browser extensions is how often people install them without meaning to and then don’t know how to remove them. Sometimes, people don’t know what a browser extension even is, which can make it tricky for them to recognize the problem. Especially when PdfProDocs’ installation page doesn’t even make it very clear that a browser extension is being installed: in large print, it just says “Continue”, which may as well mean “continue to convert files”.

In the address bar, PdfProDocs causes the text “Search PdfProDocs or type a URL to appear while on the new tab page, when nothing else is typed there.

PdfProDocs’s icon appears in your browser’s user interface and opens the PdfProDocs pop-up, which lets you drag in or browse for a file to convert to PDF.

PdfProDocs removal

PdfProDocs provides removal instructions in its description on the Chrome Web Store. You can open the relevant store page by right-clicking the extension’s icon and then clicking on the option simply called “PdfProDocs”. Left-clicking this icon opens the PdfProDocs converter; right-clicking it opens a menu that lets you remove it. Or you can use an antivirus program, like Combo Cleaner for Mac or SpyHunter for PC, to find and remove unwanted programs from your device.

Also, PdfProDocs.com may have tricked you into allowing its notifications. If you see pop-up ads from PdfProDocs.com, you can block them in your browser settings:

• Chrome – type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Edge (new) – type “edge://settings/content/notifications” in the address bar.

PdfProDocs only affects Chrome and Chromium browsers, and the new Edge is based on Chromium, which is why their instructions are so similar.

Opening the notification settings page you should see all the sites that can send you notifications. Find PdfProDocs.com, click the little three-dot menu to its right, and choose the “Block” option.

Is PdfProDocs useful?

PdfProDocs can be found by people just searching for a way to convert their files to the PDF format. Which is a bit confusing, as many programs let you export files to PDF without any third-party add-ons required. On MacOS, this function is often accessible from the File menu and is called “Export as PDF”. On Windows, you’re usually able to create a PDF file by “Printing” files to PDF by pressing Ctrl+P or going to the File menu and choosing to save a PDF from the new dialog. Text files, pictures, webpages, slides, spreadsheets, and many other formats can easily be saved as PDFs.

It is the conversion from PDF to other formats that’s so complicated because the PDF format wasn’t meant to be edited. For editing PDFs and for converting them to other files, you might need to get an actually good program, because relying on a random online app like PdfProDocs won’t give you enough control over the settings.

Not to mention the privacy issue with having to upload potentially personal files to an online server.

So, PdfProDocs is almost completely redundant – but it still collects payment for its services by forcing you to use a search engine that you may not want to use. And it can read your queries and search results, which is another privacy problem.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manually uninstall PdfProDocs

TopRemoving PdfProDocs Hijacker from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to PdfProDocs Hijacker. Click on the trash bin icon next to PdfProDocs Hijacker or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset 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 PdfProDocs Hijacker from Microsoft Edge:Top

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

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to PdfProDocs Hijacker. Click on the "Remove" icon next to PdfProDocs Hijacker or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.