PDFMaker is a potentially unwanted application (PUA) from the family of browser hijackers. It modifies the homepage, default search provider and new tab page of your installed internet browsers such as Internet Explorer, Edge, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
When this hijacker is installed, it’ll change the web browser’s settings so that they automatically being redirected to the PDFMaker as your home page and use it for World Wide Web searches. So, every time, when your web browser opens, it will open PDFMaker web-page. Furthermore, when you try to search through affected browser, it’ll reroute your queries first to PDFMaker, and then on to Bing or Yahoo or Google Custom Search.
The hijacker may also set up the PDFMaker as the Firefox, MS Edge, Chrome and Internet Explorer default search provider that cause search redirects via the web-page. In this way, authors of the browser hijacker infection have an opportunity to display various ads together with the search results for your query. These undesired ads will be combined in the redirected web site. This can bring lots of money for authors of the browser hijacker.
In addition to that, as was mentioned earlier, some hijackers like PDFMaker to also modify all browsers shortcuts which located on your Desktop or Start menu. So, every infected shortcut will try to redirect your internet browser to unwanted pages, certain of which might be harmful. It can make the whole system more vulnerable to hacker attacks.
Therefore, the hijacker is quite dangerous. So, we suggest you remove it from your PC sooner. Follow the instructions presented below to delete PDFMaker redirect from the Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, IE and Microsoft Edge.
Remove PDFMaker (removal guide)
The following few simple steps will allow you to remove PDFMaker startpage from the MS Edge, IE, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Moreover, the few simple steps below will allow you to delete malicious software like PUPs, adware and toolbars that your PC system may be infected. Please do the instructions step by step. If you need assist or have any questions, then ask for our assistance or type a comment below. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to shut down your browser or restart your machine.
To remove PDFMaker, perform the steps below:
- Manual PDFMaker search removal
- Use free malware removal utilities to completely get rid of PDFMaker home page
- How to stop PDFMaker redirect
- Why has my homepage and search engine changed to PDFMaker?
- To sum up
Manual PDFMaker search removal
If you perform exactly the step-by-step guide below you should be able to delete the PDFMaker redirect from the Internet Explorer, Firefox, MS Edge and Chrome internet browsers.
Remove suspicious software using Windows Control Panel
Some programs are free only because their install package contains a hijacker such as the PDFMaker. This unwanted apps generates revenue for the authors when it is installed. Many browser hijacker infections can be removed by simply uninstalling them from the ‘Uninstall a Program’ that is located in Microsoft Windows control panel.
Windows 10, 8.1, 8
Click the Windows logo, and then press Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as displayed in the following example.
When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as displayed in the following example.
Windows 7, Vista, XP
Open Start menu and select the ‘Control Panel’ at right like below.
Then go to ‘Add/Remove Programs’ or ‘Uninstall a program’ (Windows 7 or Vista) as on the image below.
Carefully browse through the list of installed apps and remove all questionable and unknown software. We recommend to click ‘Installed programs’ and even sorts all installed programs by date. When you’ve found anything suspicious that may be the browser hijacker related to PDFMaker search or other PUP (potentially unwanted program), then choose this application and click ‘Uninstall’ in the upper part of the window. If the questionable program blocked from removal, then run Revo Uninstaller Freeware to fully remove it from your PC system.
Get rid of PDFMaker startpage from Internet Explorer
In order to restore all web-browser home page, new tab and search engine by default you need to reset the IE to the state, that was when the Microsoft Windows was installed on your PC.
First, launch the IE, click 
) button. Next, click “Internet Options” like below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The IE will open the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and press Reset button.
You will now need to reboot your PC for the changes to take effect. It will remove hijacker responsible for redirections to PDFMaker, disable malicious and ad-supported web-browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings such as search engine, newtab and startpage to default state.
Remove PDFMaker search from Google Chrome
Reset Chrome settings can help you solve some problems caused by browser hijacker infection and get rid of PDFMaker from start page, newtab page and search engine by default. This will also disable harmful addons as well as clear cookies and site data. It will keep your personal information such as browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and web form auto-fill data.
- First start the Google Chrome and click Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
- It will show the Google Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You’ll see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- You will see the Google Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Advanced” link.
- Scroll down again and click the “Reset” button.
- The Google Chrome will show the reset profile settings page as shown on the image above.
- Next press the “Reset” button.
- Once this task is finished, your browser’s homepage, search engine by default and newtab will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the post How to reset Chrome settings to default.
Delete PDFMaker from Firefox by resetting browser settings
The Mozilla Firefox reset will remove unwanted search engine and start page such as PDFMaker, modified preferences, extensions and security settings. When using the reset feature, your personal information like passwords, bookmarks, browsing history and web form auto-fill data will be saved.
Press the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and click the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as displayed below.
A small menu will appear, press the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, press “Refresh Firefox” button as displayed in the following example.
Follow the onscreen procedure to return your Mozilla Firefox web browser settings to their default state.
Use free malware removal utilities to completely get rid of PDFMaker home page
Manual removal tutorial may not be for an unskilled computer user. Each PDFMaker removal step above, such as removing dubious programs, restoring affected shortcuts, removing the hijacker infection from system settings, must be performed very carefully. If you are unsure about the steps above, then we advise that you use the automatic PDFMaker removal guide listed below.
Scan and free your PC system of PDFMaker with Zemana Free
We recommend using the Zemana AntiMalware which are completely clean your computer of the hijacker infection. The utility is an advanced malware removal program made by (c) Zemana lab. It is able to help you delete potentially unwanted software, hijackers, ‘ad supported’ software, malicious software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your machine for free.
Now you can install and use Zemana to remove PDFMaker redirect from your internet browser by following the steps below:
Please go to the link below to download Zemana Free installer called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup on your computer. Save it on your Desktop.
164113 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Launch the install package after it has been downloaded successfully and then follow the prompts to install this tool on your PC.
During installation you can change certain settings, but we recommend you don’t make any changes to default settings.
When setup is done, this malicious software removal tool will automatically start and update itself. You will see its main window as shown in the figure below.
Now press the “Scan” button . Zemana Anti Malware tool will begin scanning the whole computer to find out browser hijacker that redirects your browser to undesired PDFMaker web-site. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your system. When a malware, ad-supported software or potentially unwanted applications are detected, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is complete.
After that process is done, a list of all threats detected is prepared. Next, you need to click “Next” button.
The Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) will get rid of PDFMaker browser hijacker infection and other internet browser’s malicious addons and move items to the program’s quarantine. When the procedure is finished, you can be prompted to restart your personal computer to make the change take effect.
Run Hitman Pro to remove PDFMaker from the computer
HitmanPro is a free portable application that scans your computer for ad supported software, potentially unwanted apps and browser hijacker infections such as PDFMaker and helps delete them easily. Moreover, it’ll also help you delete any malicious web-browser extensions and add-ons.
Download HitmanPro on your Microsoft Windows Desktop by clicking on the link below.
Once the download is complete, open the file location. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the Hitman Pro desktop icon. Once the utility is started, you will see a screen as shown in the following example.
Further, click “Next” button to start checking your computer for the browser hijacker infection which redirects your web browser to undesired PDFMaker website. This task may take some time, so please be patient. When HitmanPro has finished scanning your PC system, the results are displayed in the scan report like below.
Once you have selected what you want to remove from your PC system press “Next” button. It will show a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button.
How to remove PDFMaker with Malwarebytes
You can get rid of PDFMaker automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malicious software removal utility because it can easily remove browser hijackers, adware, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Installing the MalwareBytes Anti Malware is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes by clicking on the following link. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
326464 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once downloading is complete, close all apps and windows on your machine. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s called mb3-setup as shown in the figure below.
When the install starts, you will see the “Setup wizard” which will help you setup Malwarebytes on your PC system.
Once install is finished, you will see window as shown below.
Now click the “Scan Now” button for scanning your computer for the hijacker which changes web browser settings to replace your startpage, search engine and new tab page with PDFMaker web-site. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is done.
After finished, MalwareBytes Free will show you the results. All detected threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply press “Quarantine Selected” button.
The Malwarebytes will now start to get rid of hijacker responsible for redirects to PDFMaker. When the task is done, you may be prompted to reboot your computer.
The following video explains step-by-step instructions on how to remove hijacker, ad supported software and other malicious software with MalwareBytes.
How to stop PDFMaker redirect
It’s important to use ad blocking applications such as AdGuard to protect your PC from harmful sites. Most security experts says that it’s okay to stop advertisements. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to stop PDFMaker and other undesired web pages.
- Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard. Save it on your MS Windows desktop or in any other place.
Adguard download
26659 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- After downloading it, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the setup is finished, click “Skip” to close the install program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you run your PC, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop popup ads, PDFMaker redirect, as well as other harmful or misleading web-sites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon named AdGuard, which is located on your desktop.
Why has my homepage and search engine changed to PDFMaker?
The hijacker is usually spreads bundled with free software and install themselves, with or without your knowledge, on your PC. This happens especially when you are installing a free applications. The application installer tricks you into accepting the installation of third party programs, that you do not really want. Moreover, some paid programs may also install third-party apps that you do not want! Therefore, always download freeware and paid software from reputable download web-pages. Use ONLY custom or manual install method and never blindly press Next button.
To sum up
Now your PC should be free of the browser hijacker that created to redirect your browser to the PDFMaker web site. We suggest that you keep Zemana Anti-Malware (to periodically scan your system for new browser hijacker infections and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block annoying pop-up advertisements and malicious web pages). Moreover, to prevent any hijacker, please stay clear of unknown and third party software, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to find out PUPs.
If you need more help with PDFMaker search related issues, go to here.
