How to remove MyDocsToPDF from your browser

What is MyDocsToPDF?

MyDocsToPDF is a browser hijacker endorsed as a tool for quick access to file format conversion services (for example, conversion of documents to PDF format). It operates by modifying browser settings to promote a fake search engine (pdfsrch.com).

Furthermore, MyDocsToPDF has data tracking capabilities, which are employed to monitor users' browsing activity and gather sensitive information derived from it. Since most users install MyDocsToPDF unintentionally, it is also classified as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA).

Popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox are common targets of browser hijackers. Following successful infiltration, this rogue software assigns the address of a fake search engine as the browser homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs.

These changes may seem minor and relatively easy to undo, however, this is not the case. They significantly diminish the browsing experience. For example, with MyDocsToPDF installed, each search query typed into the URL bar and each new tab/window opened redirects to pdfsrch.com.

Few bogus search engines can provide genuine results, and so they tend to redirect to legitimate sites (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.). MyDocsToPDF hijacker's fake search engine (pdfsrch.com) is no exception - it redirects to bing.com or search.yahoo.com.

It might seem that resetting these modifications is a simple process, yet any changes users attempt to make to their browsers are automatically undone (if access to settings is even allowed). As mentioned, MyDocsToPDF can track data.

It monitors browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and collect users' personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details). This data is likely to contain vulnerable information, which is shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) seeking to misuse it for profit.

The presence of data tracking content can thus result in serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft. Therefore, you are advised to remove all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.

Threat Summary:

Name	MyDocsToPDF
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	MyDocsToPDF
Supposed Functionality	Easy access to file format conversion services.
Promoted URL	pdfsrch.com
Serving IP Address (pdfsrch.com)	13.249.87.109
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.

Protect My Search Daily, Search by Live PDF Converter, Finding Forms Pro are some examples of other browser hijackers. They usually seem legitimate and tempt uses to install with offers of "useful" functions. The features rarely work as advertised and, in most cases, do not work at all.

In fact, this applies to most of these unwanted apps. The only purpose of these applications is to generate revenue for the developers. PUAs hijack browsers, cause redirects to untrusted and malicious web pages, deliver intrusive advertisement campaigns and track private data.

How did MyDocsToPDF install on my computer?

MyDocsToPDF has an "official" download site, which is just one way that PUAs are promoted. They can also be downloaded/installed together with other programs. This deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".

By rushing through download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections, using pre-set options, etc.), users risk inadvertently allowing bundled content onto their devices. When clicked, intrusive ads can execute scripts designed to stealthily download/install PUAs.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all products to verify their legitimacy, before download/installation or purchase. All downloads should be performed from official and trustworthy sources. Unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and other third party downloaders can offer deceptive and bundled content for download.

Treat download and installation processes with caution. Read the terms, study all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and decline download/installation of supplementary apps, tools, features and other additions.

Intrusive ads typically seem normal and harmless, however, they can redirect to highly dubious web pages (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating and so on).

If you encounter advertisements/redirects of this type, inspect the system and remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins without delay. If your computer is already infected with MyDocsToPDF, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

MyDocsToPDF browser hijacker asking for various permissions:

Website promoting MyDocsToPDF browser hijacker:

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

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

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

MyDocsToPDF 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://pdfsrch.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 "MyDocsToPDF".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the pdfsrch.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 "MyDocsToPDF" 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 "MyDocsToPDF", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.pdfsrch.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 "pdfsrch.com", 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 pdfsrch.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 "MyDocsToPDF", 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 "MyDocsToPDF", remove hxxp://pdfsrch.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: "extensionControlled"
Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with pdfsrch.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 pdfsrch.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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