Direct-PDF – What is it?

“Direct-PDF” search hijacker is a potentially unwanted application (PUA)¹, that is promoted as a plugin for your internet browser. It is typically spread as an add-on for Chrome or Firefox, that assists to search some special details, for instance, about sport events, make your browser a lot more secure, enable downloading of any kind of video clip, and so on. Also, this app adds the “Managed by your organization” feature (on Chrome browsers).

Nevertheless, the “Direct-PDF” plugin is fairly useless since all such features are currently embedded to your browser and/or Windows. Such marketing mottos are targeted at low-skilled computer users, for example, pensioners or schoolchildren. But occasionally even professional users are getting caught on such an appeal. In certain scenarios, this hijacker is distributed together with free tools.

How harmful is Direct-PDF hijacker?

Besides its impracticality, Direct-PDF hijacker is also really hazardous for browser utilization. It changes your search engine to its specific – Portal.direct-pdf.com, and also alters your background, putting its watermark on your background image (or, in some cases, altering it to default with the mentioned symbol).

Besides seeable transformations done by Direct-PDF hijacker, you can notice that many of your search inquiries are redirecting to the uncertain web pages, full of web links and promotions – so-called doorway sites. Such sites can include web links for malware downloads. The possibility of redirecting surges if you try to launch Google search page forcibly.

But all these activities are more irritating than truly hazardous. The biggest hazard, primarily for individuals who have a lot of confidential information in their browsers, is installed in information gathering capabilities. Cookie files, conversations, often-visited websites, as well as other activities are easily collected by Direct-PDF hijacker.