PDF Mac Master - How to remove

PDF Mac Master is a PDF reader, but it’s better to stay away from it: it is potentially unsafe to use. PDF Mac Master may be downloaded unintentionally, it may install unwanted apps, and it is difficult to remove once it’s installed. Unsurprisingly, PDF Mac Master gets detected by anti-malware scanners as Adware and as InstallCore.

PDF Mac Master should generally be avoided. If it is installed, check your computer for other potentially unwanted apps that may have been installed with it. And consider removing this app and replacing it with one that’s more trustworthy.

About PDF Mac Master:

Type of threat	Adware, potentially unwanted program.
Problems with PDF Mac Master	Unwanted or unintentional installation, other, unsafe apps being installed alongside PDF Mac Master.
How it spreads	Pop-ups online and on your desktop, misleading ads, installed by other apps.
How to remove PDF Mac Master	If needed, undo the settings that PDF Mac Master uses to remain installed, remove unwanted apps manually or with an anti-malware app (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, Malwarebytes, and others).

What is PDF Mac Master

A PDF reader

PDF Mac Master is also known as Free PDF Master, PDF Master, and PDFMaster. It is a PDF viewer and manager. It promises to enhance the PDF reading experience with tools like magnification, link previewer, and annotations. It also offers a clean and intuitive user interface, which is certainly nice.

Despite being called a PDF Mac Master, it offers both Mac and Windows versions, with the Windows version being known as PDF Master.

In my limited experience, PDF Mac Master is not very stable. It crashes when it encounters even a small issue. But this post isn’t about PDF Mac Master’s features. It has enough other problems, such as unwanted installation.

By the way, PDF readers and editors are so often the targets of adware developers. PDF Opener, TheDocPDFConverter, and DocToPdf are all browser hijackers. Be careful when downloading PDF readers and look for a reputable program that has genuine reviews and an honest company behind it.

Unintentionally downloaded

Based on people’s complaints online, seems like some of those who downloaded PDF Mac Master did it unintentionally. They were looking for totally unrelated apps online and did not expect to get PDF Mac Master on their Mac. Some hadn’t even heard of PDF Mac Master until they saw it installed on their personal computer.

This is a problem and it says something bad about PDF Mac Master. After all, safe programs and apps don’t usually use dishonest installation tactics. These tactics may include:

• Deliberately misleading pop-up ads and fake download buttons on unrelated sites.
• Being bundled with other apps.

This is enough to declare PDF Mac Master a potentially unwanted app. No matter its PDF reading features, if people are complaining about the app showing up uninvited on their devices, it’s a concern. This is reflected by antivirus vendors that consider PDF Mac Master to be malicious or potentially dangerous.

Installer-bundler

Antivirus vendors consider PDF Mac Master to be Malicious, Adware, InstallCore, and a Trojan – Windows version, MacOS version.

The problem with PDF Mac Master is that its setup program is a downloader. Rather than installing PDF Mac Master, it offers apps and then downloads them. These types of setups are used for bundling optional offers. They are a monetization solution similar to an advertisement.

This means that if you download and install PDF Mac Master, you risk inviting potentially unwanted apps onto your computer:

• Cleaners and optimizers that run in the background and regularly show pop-ups.
• New web browsers that try to replace your main browser.
• Unhelpful browser extensions that try to change your home page and default search settings.

As a result, you may have to deal with your browser opening unexpected webpages and with unfamiliar apps being installed.

Hard to remove

I would advise you to remove PDF Mac Master and use a more reputable PDF reader, but PDF Mac Master may not be so simple to remove. Some people have complained about it being stuck on their systems and refusing to go away – Discussions.apple.com.

PDF Mac Master may have set up configuration profiles to change the settings on your Mac and login items to run on startup. These things make apps difficult to remove even with anti-malware tools. Luckily, you can fix these settings yourself.

How to remove PDF Mac Master

First, try uninstalling PDF Mac Master normally. From the Applications folder in Finder (Support.apple.com) or the Control Panel if you’re on Windows.

If that doesn’t work, try using an anti-malware application, such as Combo Cleaner for macOS, Spyhunter for Windows, or Malwarebytes.

Mac users should combine anti-malware tools with manual efforts:

• Start your Mac in safe mode to stop PDF Mac Master from running. To do this, reboot your Mac, hold the Shift key on your keyboard until “Safe Boot” appears on your screen.
• Open System Preferences from the Dock or the Apple menu.
• Open Users & Groups, find Login Items, and remove all unfamiliar or unwanted items.
• If you see a Profiles entry in System Preferences, click on it, select all unfamiliar profiles, and delete them.

Delete PDF Mac Master and leftover files yourself or with your anti-malware app. Scan your computer and check if other unfamiliar and unwanted apps are installed. If there are, remove them. Then, reboot your Mac to exit safe mode.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove PDF Mac Master using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like PDF Mac Master install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to PDF Mac Master . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make PDF Mac Master easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.