How to remove ProDocToPdf from browsers

What is ProDocToPdf?

The ProDocToPdf app supposedly converts various documents to PDF format, however, it is categorized as a potentially unwanted application (PUA), and a browser hijacker. Typically, people download and install PUAs unintentionally. When installed, browser hijackers promote fake search engines by changing browser settings. They also record browsing data.

In most cases, browser hijackers promote fake search engines by changing the address of the default search engine, homepage, and new tab. Therefore, people who have this app installed on browsers are forced to visit a particular address when they open the browser, new tab, or enter search queries into the URL bar.

They cannot change the appointed address to any other, unless they uninstall the browser hijacker. ProDocToPdf only changes the address of the new tab (assigning it to prodoctopdf.com). This address is loaded directly from the extension and is not seen in the URL bar.

Furthermore, prodoctopdf.com, and related searches, redirect users to google.com (a legitimate search engine by Google). The site simply provides results generated by another search engine, and this search engine does not generate unique results (and is thus redundant).

Most browser hijackers (and fake search engines that they promote) record browsing data, such as users' geolocations, entered search queries, addresses of visited websites, IP addresses, etc. Some also record sensitive information. Developers share the data with third parties, potentially cyber criminals, who misuse the information to generate revenue.

Browser hijackers can therefore cause problems with browsing safety, privacy, or even lead to far more serious issues such as identity theft. We strongly advise against using apps of this type - if installed, remove them immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	ProDocToPdf
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	ProDocToPdf
Supposed Functionality	This app supposedly converts various documents to PDF format.
Promoted URL	prodoctopdf.com
Serving IP Address (prodoctopdf.com)	54.171.32.241
Affected Browser Settings	New tab URL
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 examples of PUAs also classified as browser hijackers include Website Security Checker, Quick Audio Converter, and Hotels Booking. They supposedly deliver useful features, however, few PUAs operate as advertised - they simply help developers to generate revenue.

How did ProDocToPdf install on my computer?

Most people download and install PUAs inadvertently through intrusive, deceptive ads, or together with other, usually free software. To trick people into downloading/installing PUAs, developers use a marketing method called "bundling".

They include unwanted apps into the set-ups of other programs and hide related information in "Advanced", "Custom", and other similar settings. Furthermore, many people often download and install without checking the settings, thereby inadvertently allowing various PUAs to be downloaded and installed with regular programs.

In other cases, unwanted downloads and installations are caused through deceptive ads. When clicked, these run scripts designed to download and install unwanted, potentially malicious software.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Download programs from official, trustworthy websites. It is not safe to download or install via dubious pages, through third party downloaders or installers, Peer-to-Peer networks such as torrent clients, eMule, or other similar channels, tools. Check all settings of the download or installation setup.

They often contain offers to download or install additional, unwanted apps. Note that intrusive ads tend to redirect people who click them to untrustworthy websites, or even cause unwanted downloads and installations. These ads should not be trusted or clicked, especially if they are displayed on pages relating to gambling, pornography, adult dating, and others.

If intrusive ads appear or unwanted redirects happen often, check the operating system for unwanted, unknown programs, and the browser for unwanted extensions, add-ons, and plug-ins. Uninstall unwanted entries immediately.

If your computer is already infected with ProDocToPdf, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Website promoting ProDocToPdf browser hijacker:

ProDocToPdf asks permission to read and change data:

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

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

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

ProDocToPdf 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://prodoctopdf.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 "ProDocToPdf".

Optional method:

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

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with prodoctopdf 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 prodoctopdf 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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