Remove EasyConvert from your browser

What is EasyConvert?

EasyConvert supposedly allows users to convert various files to PDF documents directly from their browsers, however, this app is a hijacker that changes browser settings to promote srchbar.com (the address of a fake search engine). Furthermore, most browser hijackers gather user information.

Few people download and install apps of this type intentionally and, for this reason, they are categorized as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

In most cases, browser hijackers such as EasyConvert can be installed on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer. After installation, EasyConvert assigns srchbar.com as the homepage, default search engine, and new tab URL. Therefore, this address is visited when the user opens the browser, a new tab, or enters search queries into the URL bar.

Typically, browser hijackers do not allow users to undo the modified settings. The only way to revert them is to uninstall the app (in this case, EasyConvert). Furthermore, srchbar.com is a fake search engine that provides results generated by Yahoo (search.yahoo.com), a legitimate search engine.

Therefore, srchbar.com does not generate any unique results, thus rendering it useless. Most browser hijackers and fake search engines (including EasyConvert and srchbar.com) collect information such as IP addresses, geolocations, entered search queries, and addresses of visited websites.

They essentially record details relating to user's browsing habits. Unfortunately, some might also be used to gather personal details. Developers share the data with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it to generate revenue.

Threat Summary:

Name	EasyConvert
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	EasyConvert
Supposed Functionality	This app is supposedly capable of converting various files to PDF documents.
Promoted URL	srchbar.com, pdfsrch.com
Serving IP Address (srchbar.com)	107.20.233.231
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.

EasyConvert is just one of many browser hijackers online. Other examples are Get Directions Now, Power App, and Obituary Search. In most cases, these apps are advertised as useful, legitimate tools that supposedly provide various features. In fact, few PUAs operate as promised.

Browser hijackers are useless and designed only to help developers to generate revenue. These apps can cause problems with browsing safety, privacy, and identity theft. We recommend that you uninstall EasyConvert and other PUAs immediately.

How did EasyConvert install on my computer?

EasyConvert is advertised on its download website, however, PUAs are mostly downloaded and installed by users inadvertently. This happens when they click intrusive ads, which should not be trusted, or download/install software without dismissing offers to include unwanted apps.

Typically, people are tricked into downloading and installing unwanted apps when developers use the "bundling" method. They include unwanted apps in various download/installation set-ups and hide related information in settings such as "Custom", "Advanced", and other similar sections.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Avoid downloading software (especially if it is free) from dubious (unofficial) websites, using third party downloaders, torrent clients, eMule (and other Peer-to-Peer networks), or other similar tools/channels. The best way to download is using official websites and direct links.

Do not skip download or installation steps. Check "Advanced", "Custom", "Manual", and other similar options/settings of the set-up. Opt-out of (deselect) unwanted apps and only then finish the procedure. Intrusive ads may seem legitimate, however, if clicked, they often redirect to untrustworthy websites such as gambling, pornography, and adult dating.

If you encounter intrusive ads or unwanted redirects to dubious websites, check your browser for any unwanted extensions, add-ons, and plug-ins.

Uninstall unwanted software immediately. Also apply this to unwanted programs installed on your computer. If your computer is already infected with EasyConvert, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Website promoting EasyConvert browser hijacker:

Another site used to promote EasyConvert browser hijacker:

This app asking for permission to access various data:

Update May 20, 2020 - Crooks have recently released an updated variant of EasyConvert browser hijacker which promotes pdfsrch.com website instead of srchbar.com:

Screenshot of the website promoting this EasyConvert variant:

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

EasyConvert 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, "EasyConvert"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

EasyConvert 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://srchbar.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 "EasyConvert".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the srchbar.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 "EasyConvert" 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 "EasyConvert", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.srchbar.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 "srchbar.com", and 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 srchbar.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 "EasyConvert", 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 "EasyConvert", remove hxxp://srchbar.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: "srchbar.com"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with srchbar.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 srchbar.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.

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