Home Malware Programs Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) ProPDFConverter

ProPDFConverter

Posted: December 4, 2017

Threat Metric

Threat Level: 5/10
Infected PCs: 5
First Seen: May 5, 2022
Last Seen: May 6, 2022
OS(es) Affected: Windows

PDF-related search and conversion tools may be subject to heightened interest among PC users as they are supposed to make life easier when dealing with PDF documents. When a particular program does exactly what it says, such as converting PDFs or enhancing the search of PDFs on the Web, it is poised to be approved by the user and kept for future reference. However, this is hardly the case with PDFConverter.

Advertised as a PDF converter, translator and viewer, ProPDFConverter is, in fact, a typical browser hijacker designed to modify the user’s homepage and search engine by setting both to hp[.]myway[.]com. The latter appears to be working as a typical search engine such as Google or Yahoo. However, it also may display ads, which bear a striking resemblance to what the user in question has been browsing recently. So far, the tool has not been reported to track browsing history and collect data, yet it may do so considering the vast majority of hijackers keeping such records.

Also known as ProPDFConverter Toolbar by MyWay, ProPDF Converter is developed by Mindspark Interactive Network, Inc., and supports Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Once in, ProPDFConverter digs deep within the Web browser, modifying its core settings to make sure it will not go away even after a factory reset of the browser. By setting the user’s home and search page to hp[.]myway[.]com, ProPDFConverter redirects traffic via an alternate and unknown search engine, which can often be observed in online advertising and malvertising, as well.

A simple check of ProPDFConverter on VirusTotal yielded some fairly troublesome results. Out of the 66 engines used in the check, 32, or 50%, flagged this tool as a PUP. This PUP could be removed successfully by using a reputable piece of anti-malicious software.

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