How to uninstall the Download Office Tools browser hijacker

What is the Download Office Tools browser hijacker?

Download Office Tools is a rogue application classified as a browser hijacker and a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA). This app is advertised as a tool for easy access to document and file format conversion services. It operates by making modifications to browsers to promote a fake search engine (search.hconvertmyvidsnow.com).

Additionally, it monitors users' browsing habits. Most users install this application unintentionally, hence its classification as a PUA.

Browser hijackers primarily target Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and other popular browsers with large user bases. Following successful infiltration, these rogue apps reassign the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of their fake search engines.

These modifications significantly diminish the browsing experience, and while they may seem relatively easy to undo, this is not the case. For example, with Download Office Tools installed, each new browser tab/window opened and each search made via the URL bar redirects to search.hconvertmyvidsnow.com.

Furthermore, few bogus search engines can generate unique results, and so they often redirect to (or cause redirection chains ending with) genuine sites (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) - search.hconvertmyvidsnow.com is no exception and redirects to search.yahoo.com. 

Furthermore, any changes users attempt to make to their browsers are automatically reset, if access to the settings is allowed at all. Therefore, to recover the hijacked browsers, it is necessary to eliminate the hijacker app. Download Office Tools also has data tracking capabilities.

It records browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and collects users' personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details). This sensitive data is often shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) intent on misusing it for financial gain.

The presence of data tracking content on systems can thus result in serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft. To protect device and user safety, remove all dubious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins.

Threat Summary:

Name	Download Office Tools
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Detection Names	Avast (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), Fortinet (Riskware/WinWrapper), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentia), GData (Win32.Application.Agent.04S4T2), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Browser Extension(s)	Download Office Tools
Supposed Functionality	Easy access to various file format conversion services.
Promoted URL	search.hconvertmyvidsnow.com
Serving IP Address (search.hconvertmyvidsnow.com)	34.207.8.104
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.

Cranchit, Online Templates, and My Video Converter are some examples of other browser hijackers. They often seem legitimate and tempt users to install with offers of "useful" features, however, the functions promised are typically nonoperational. Browser hijackers have no value to users and can lead to serious issues.

In fact, this applies to all PUAs. The only purpose of these unwanted applications is to generate profit for the developers - PUAs hijack browsers, force-open untrusted and malicious websites, deliver intrusive ads and gather vulnerable data.

How did Download Office Tools install on my computer?

Some PUAs (including Download Office Tools) have "official" download sites, however, PUAs also proliferate through the download/installation set-ups of other programs. "Bundling" is the term used to define this deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions.

Rushing download and installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, using presets, skipping steps, etc.) increases the risk of inadvertently allowing bundled content onto systems. Intrusive ads also proliferate these applications. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to download/install PUAs without users' permission.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

All products should be researched to verify their legitimacy, before download/installation. You are advised to use official and verified download channels. Unofficial and free file-hosting websites, P2P sharing networks (BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule, etc.) and other third party downloaders are untrusted and can offer likewise suspect content.

When downloading/installing, read the terms, explore all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features and so on. Intrusive ads tend to seem normal and harmless, however, they can redirect to dubious web pages (e.g. gambling, adult-dating, pornography and others).

If you encounter advertisements/redirects of this kind, check the system and immediately remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with Download Office Tools, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Download Office Tools browser hijacker installation setup:

Download Office Tools browser hijacker asking for various permissions:

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

Download Office Tools 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, "Download Office Tools"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Download Office Tools 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://search.hconvertmyvidsnow.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 "Download Office Tools".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.hconvertmyvidsnow.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 "Download Office Tools" 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 "Download Office Tools", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.search.hconvertmyvidsnow.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 "search.hconvertmyvidsnow.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 search.hconvertmyvidsnow.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 "Download Office Tools", 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 "Download Office Tools", remove hxxp://search.hconvertmyvidsnow.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 search.hconvertmyvidsnow.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 search.hconvertmyvidsnow.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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