I set out to remove the pdfforge toolbar and the 404 redirects.
Uninstalled pdfforge toolbar in Control Panel>Program>Program and Features>Unistall or change a program
404 redirects continued in Firefox. At this point there is no way to remove this other than uninstalling PDF Creator.
Uninstalled and re-installed PDF Creator version 1.1.0
Unchecked the check-boxes where it asked whether I wanted to install the toolbar and search engine capabilities.
At no other point in the software installation using the wizard did it refer to the toolbar or search engine redirects.
The final page before installation DID NOT mention installation of software that would redirect 404 errors.
After installation pdfforge toolbar was not present. However 404 redirects continue to occur.
This software is deceptive, and it is clear from these forums that the developers are fully aware of this and yet refuse to make appropriate changes. Despite being a dedicated user for several years I have now uninstalled this software and will not use it again. There are many other free PDF converters!
Are the people who developped the Pdfforge Toolbar the same group of ppl as the ones that developped pdfcreator ?
If not, that's clearly abusing people's trust. Of course I didn't read the text when I installed the toolbar, because I always trusted pdfforge !! It's just like if the Microsoft office package was installed with a nast software, people would just install it to see what features it provides !
If it was not a nasty piece of software, it would be uninstalled as easily as it has been installed, and it is not !
So, as you're now making money out of this Spigot Inc. company, bear the responsability with them to help your users to remove this spyware.
The easy answer is of course "uninstall it after disabling your anti-virus", but of course it's not as simple. Just try it !
When I follow the way you described, at some point I am aksed if I want to let the "5aab4f9.msi" program to make changes to my computer.... so, do I let it or not ? trust or no trust ?
Thank you for your assistance ! And of course, don't tell me to ask my question to pdfforge Toolbar, because if their program is indeed nasty, they won't tell me how to remove it. Sorry but I don't trust your new money provider.
And if I had bad intentions and wanted to make some easy money, of course I would come to some "poor" freeware developpers, giving them some good money and use their popular product for my own business, even using their own name ! "pdfforge Toolbar" ! Just imagine a "Google gambling toolbar" provided with google by some nasty Nevada businessmen !
Come on ! be serious ! and first, tell me if I should trust this weird name 5aab4f9.msi. Thanks !
I'm disturbed by the level of animosity swirling about the use of the PDFForge browser toolbar, the search engine/404 remapping, the many reported issues of it being installed by mistake, and the many difficulties in getting it removed.
I've not personally experienced these difficulties with pdfcreator. I'm careful to ensure the relevant checkboxes are de-selected in all software I install (once bitten forever shy...). So it is clear, to me, that nothing untoward or underhanded is taking place. Nevertheless the fact that so many still have problems with unwanted ad/spyware installation and removal makes it your problem, even if the mistake is user error and not a programming defect. I think you should face this issue head on. It is limiting participation in the pdfcreator project and hurting your reputation.
What should or could you do? I'm not as clear on that, but here are some suggestions:
A prominent page on pdfforge.org with clear instructions for how to remove all the extra components in the event they are installed mistakenly.
A prominent page outlining how people can contribute funds to the project, be it installing the browser toolbar (you could link directly to the toolbar setup file itself), sourceforge donations page, direct paypal, and so on. Tell them what such contributions mean for you (eating, for example), and for them (it feels good to give).
Join Flattr. From a user's perspective, the friction is much lower with their system. It's easier to contribute money to projects because one doesn't have to grope for a credit card when the urge strikes. They also have a subscription option.
Make installing the toolbar opt-in instead of opt-out. Yes this will reduce a great deal the number of people who use it. Counter this by, on the same opt-in page, appealing to people's better nature and explain how it helps you provide this application for free. Encourage them to help make the world a better place by supporting free software developers (and give them a link to your flattr* page so that they can say "no" to the toolbar without a tiny voice in the back of their head calling them mean and selfish for declining to help someone who is helping them for free).
((hmmm I wonder if a flatter/paypal/sourceforge donate button could be put on that install page?))
I've been a satisfied pdfcreator user for the better part of a decade and have donated to the project two or three times. Admittedly, a donation every other year is not much monetarily, but it is still a tangible demonstration of my apprecation, and, this is the point I wish to emphasize, a recommendation to others of my high esteem. I'm not about to jump ship, this isn't a not-so-subtle threat that I'll walk away and not make any further contributions. My enthusiasm is not as complete or wholehearted as it once was though. I'd rather it didn't deflate any further.
You most find a better way to handle that Toolbar, we get lots of support calls after Spigot change the IE start page to some crap site. I have informed Microsoft FEP Team to do a better clean up of PDF creator Tool Bar.
So what the is point with the Tool Bar if people hate it, and the AV clean/delete it?
At least do a clean up script for the tool bar, so you can deploy it with SCCM and clean up all the boxes.
/SaiTech
Forefront Endpoint Protection has detected malware on a computer in your organization.
Detection time (UTC): 10/7/2011 4:15:23 PM
Malware name: Unknown. Threat ID: 166617