WARNING: JUNK AHEAD
Jane Hoskyn put the boot into tech villains, jargon-spouting companies and software stuffed with junk
Junk offender: Pdfcreator
Pdfcreator is the answer to many of your prayers. This free, e, open-source program lets you convert Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and text files to PDF for easier printing and sharing, and automates the cumbersome process of printing to PDF. It also converts documents to dozens of photo formats and lets you merge multiple documents then export them as a photo. It’s so wellestablished it’s got its own Wikipedia page, and the program has just been updated.
So why is it on this page and not in Best Free Software? That’ll be the two whopping PUPS in its installer - Bing search and Web Companion Pro, both browser hijackers – as well as the extra program it inflicts on your PC without asking.
Installation begins sensibly enough at www.snipca.com/23764, where you click ‘Pdfcreator-2_5_1-setup.exe’ to download the installer. The setup wizard offers an ‘Expert settings’ option, but it doesn’t make much difference. I ran through the whole process a couple of times – as an ‘Expert’ and not – and was offered the same PUPS and pre-ticked extra program each time.
The pre-ticked program, PDF Architect 5, is three times the size of Pdfcreator and umpteen times more memory-hungry. The installer makes it look like a component of Pdfcreator, so most users would wave it through.
PDF Architect isn’t malware, but it is a bully. This program attaches itself to your Firefox and Internet Explorer settings, triggering one or both browsers to open after installation, even if neither is your default. It also runs at startup, at great cost to your PC’S performance and startup time.
I was offered Bing and Web Companion Pro (also pre-selected). To dodge these noxious PUPS, I had to click ‘No, don’t protect me’ (see screenshot) – an old trick designed to con security-conscious PC users into downloading junk.
I spent the next 30 minutes removing Pdfcreator and its overweight Architect sidekick, along with their motley crew of nearly 2,000 registry entries, program files and Appdata leftovers.
It is possible to get Pdfcreator on its own, without any junk - just make sure to untick the extras and not fall for the ‘don’t protect me’ trick. Its creators know full well that most users will.