Home.pdftoolkit.net Redirect (Mac)

What is home.pdftoolkit.net?

home.pdftoolkit.net is presented as a "high-quality" Internet search engine that supposedly enhances the browsing experience by generating improved results and providing quick access to popular websites.

Judging on appearance alone, home.pdftoolkit.net may seem legitimate and useful, however, this website is promoted via a potentially unwanted browser-hijacking program (PUP) called PDF Toolkit. In addition, home.pdftoolkit.net continually records various information (mostly relating to users' Internet browsing activity).

Following infiltration, PDF Toolkit hijacks Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome, stealthily assigning the new tab URL, homepage, and default search engine options to home.pdftoolkit.net. These changes may seem insignificant, however, users are unable to return browsers to their previous states.

Research shows that PDF Toolkit continues to reassign browser options when attempts are made to change them. Therefore, users are unable to revert changes performed by the PDF Toolkit browser hijacker and are forced to visit home.pdftoolkit.net when they open a new browser tab or search via the URL bar. This significantly diminishes the web browsing experience.

Another downside is information tracking. Most browser-hijacking apps such as PDF Toolkit collect user-system information (such as IP addresses, website URLs visited, pages viewed, queries entered into search engines, keystrokes, etc.) that might contain personal details.

PUP developers sell this information to third parties for marketing purposes, thus putting your privacy at risk. Some PUPs are known to stealthily run background processes (for example, mining cryptocurrency).

By misusing computer resources, PUPs significantly diminish overall computer performance. If you encounter unwanted redirects to home.pdftoolkit.net, uninstall PDF Toolkit and other suspicious programs. Never return to this website.

Threat Summary:

Name	PDF Toolkit browser hijacker
Threat Type	Mac malware, Mac virus
Symptoms	Your Mac became slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you get redirected to shady websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites, loss of private information.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

There are dozens of fake search engines similar to home.pdftoolkit.net (for example, search.romandos.com, chumsearch.com, timesearchnow.com, search.yofitofix.com, etc.) All claim to provide various "useful features" (such as improved results, shortcuts to popular websites, weather forecasts, currency exchange rates, etc.), however, these promises are merely attempts to give the impression of legitimacy.

The only purpose of all fake search engines is to generate revenue for the developers. Most deliver no value for regular users. These websites cause unwanted redirects and record private infection. In some cases, fake search engines also generate false results and deliver 'malvertising' ads (coupons, banners, etc.) These results and intrusive ads can lead to malicious websites.

Furthermore, some ads execute scripts designed to download and install malware. For these reasons, fake search engines pose a direct threat to your privacy and Internet browsing safety.

How did PDF Toolkit install on my computer?

PDF Toolkit has an official download website, however, research shows that these programs are also distributed using the aforementioned malicious ads, and via a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" - stealth installation of third party programs together with regular software/apps.

Developers hide bundled apps within various sections (usually the "Custom/Advanced" settings) of the download or installation processes - they do not properly disclose this information. Many users rush the download/installation processes and skip steps. In addition, they often click ads.

This behavior can lead to inadvertent installation of PUPs - users expose their systems to risk of various infections and compromise their privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

You can prevent this situation by carefully analyzing the download/installation processes and being very cautious when browsing the Internet. Select the "Custom/Advanced" settings, carefully observe each window of the download/installation dialogs and opt-out of all additionally-included programs.

Furthermore, bear in mind that criminals monetize third party download/installation tools via the bundling method (they promote third party software). Therefore, never use these tools. Cyber criminals invest a great deal of time and effort into designing malicious ads.

Therefore, most appear genuine, however, they usually lead to survey, gambling, adult dating, pornography, and other suspicious websites. If you encounter such ads, immediately check the list of installed applications/browser plug-ins and uninstall any suspicious entries.

Website promoting PDF Toolkit browser hijacker:

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▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac 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. Limited seven 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 home.pdftoolkit.net?
• STEP 1. Remove home.pdftoolkit.net related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove home.pdftoolkit.net redirect from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove PDF Toolkit browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove home.pdftoolkit.net homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:

PDF Toolkit browser hijacker removal:

Remove home.pdftoolkit.net-related potentially unwanted applications from your "Applications" folder:

Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select “Applications”. In the applications folder, look for “MPlayerX”,“NicePlayer”, or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.

Remove browser hijacker-related files and folders

Click the Finder icon from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by browser hijackers - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Browser hijacker commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the ~/Library/Application Support/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/Application Support/

In the "Application Support" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, "MplayerX" or "NicePlayer", and move these folders to the Trash.

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by browser hijackers - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Browser hijacker commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons/ folder:

In the "Go to Folder..." bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons/

In the "LaunchDaemons" folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example "com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist", "com.myppes.net-preferences.plist", "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist", "com.avickUpd.plist", etc., and move them to the Trash.

Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:

If you have followed all the steps correctly, your Mac should be clean of infections. To ensure your system is not infected, run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file, double click combocleaner.dmg installer. In the opened window, drag and drop the Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates its virus definition database and click the "Start Combo Scan" button.

Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide; otherwise, it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.

After removing files and folders generated by the browser hijackers, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

Remove browser hijackers from Internet browsers

Remove Safari browser hijackers:

Open the Safari browser, from the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".

In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for regular browser operation.

Change your homepage:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "General" tab. To set your homepage, type the preferred website URL (for example: www.google.com) in the Homepage field. You can also click the "Set to Current Page" button if you wish to set your homepage to the website you are currently visiting.

Change your default search engine:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "Search" tab. Here you will find a drop-down menu labeled "Search engine:" Simply select your preferred search engine from the drop-down list.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove Google Chrome browser hijackers:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Change your homepage

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, disable the malicious extension (if present), look for a browser hijacker URL 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 a browser hijacker URL, when located click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Delete".

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.

Remove malicious extensions from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) and select "Add-ons and themes". Click "Extensions", in the opened window locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, click on the three dots and then click "Remove".

Change your homepage

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Settings", in the opened window disable malicious extension (if present), remove the browser hijacker URL 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 "Accept the Risk and Continue".

In the search filter at the top, type: "extensionControlled". Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

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