How to remove File Conversion Now Toolbar

What is File Conversion Now

File Conversion Now is a suspicious toolbar that replaces your search engine with hp.hfileconversionnow.com and adds a feature to convert files in different formats. Whilst this add-on may seem to be very useful, such apps can gather personal data and redirect users to untrustworthy pages that impose shady content. Entered queries are shown from legitimate Yahoo search. Sometimes you can see unwanted ads hovering across pages because File Conversion Now generates traffic from them to earn money from advertisers. Besides that, any attempts to remove File Conversion Now in the browser settings will fail because it is supported by unwanted applications that might be installed on your PC. We are here to provide an easy and fast solution towards deleting sticky extensions like File Conversion Now.

How File Conversion Now infected your computer

Browser hijackers can affect your system via freeware repacks and advertising channels. Freeware software often gets downloaded from third-parties resources that spread malicious apps. Unwanted programs are usually offered to be installed in “Advanced” or “Custom” sections. If you leave these settings untouched, the promoted software will be installed automatically because of default presets. Self-awareness has to be prioritized when installing third-parties software to prevent any infiltrations. If you become the victim of suspicious software and cannot get rid of it on your own, then feel free to use our guide below.

Remove File Conversion Now manually for free

Here is the manual step-by-step tutorial for full File Conversion Now removal from your computer. This works 99% and was checked with the latest versions of File Conversion Now installer on operating systems with the latest updates and browser versions.

Note: File Conversion Now can be installed as Google Chrome extension as Administrator (you may see Installed by enterprise policy inscription near it), and this will not allow removal. Therefore, before starting removal process, perform these actions:

1. Start the Command Prompt by clicking the Start menu button and typing command prompt (or just searching for “command prompt” in Windows 10 search field). Right click on the Command Prompt result and choose Run as Administrator.



2. Type in and execute the following commands:

   
rd /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers"
rd /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy"
gpupdate /force

Remove File Conversion Now from Control Panel

To start removing File Conversion Now you should uninstall it using Control Panel. It can be present by different names – for example, “File Conversion Now”, “FileConversionNow” or “File Conversion Now Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab”. It should uninstall correctly, however, we recommend you to use IObit Uninstaller to clean leftover items after uninstalling. Here are instructions for Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Mac.

Remove File Conversion Now from Mac:

1. In the Finder sidebar, click Applications.
2. File Conversion Now might have an Uninstaller.
3. Otherwise, drag File Conversion Now from the Applications folder to the Trash (located at the end of the Dock).
4. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash.

Remove File Conversion Now from Windows XP:

1. Click on Start button.
2. Choose Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Find File Conversion Now Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab.
5. Click Uninstall.

Remove File Conversion Now from Windows 7:

1. Click Start button.
2. Then go to Control Panel.
3. Click Uninstall a Program.
4. Find File Conversion Now Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab and click Uninstall.

Remove File Conversion Now from Windows 8:

1. Hover mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner to see Menu.
2. Click Search.
3. After that click Apps.
4. Then Control Panel.
5. Click Uninstall a Program under Programs.
6. Find File Conversion Now Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab, click Uninstall.

Remove File Conversion Now from Windows 10:

There are 2 ways to uninstall File Conversion Now from Windows 10

Way one

1. Click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Settings.
3. Click on the System tile.
4. Click Apps & features and locate File Conversion Now Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab in the list.
5. Click on it and then click Uninstall button near it.

Way two (classic)

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Programs and Features.
3. Locate File Conversion Now Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab in the list.
4. Click on it and then click Uninstall button above.

Cannot uninstall File Conversion Now

In some cases, File Conversion Now won’t uninstall and gives you the message, that “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall File Conversion Now. Please, contact your system administrator” when you try to remove it from Control Panel or “Access denied” error when removing the File Conversion Now folder and files. This happens because the process or service does not allow you to do it. In this case, I will recommend you to use SpyHunter 5 or Malwarebytes or uninstall File Conversion Now in Safe Mode. To boot in Safe Mode do the following:

1. Reboot your computer.
2. While it starts booting press F8 button.
3. This will open Advanced Boot Options menu.
4. Choose Safe Mode and wait until Windows loads.
5. Go to Control Panel > Uninstall a program and remove File Conversion Now Internet Explorer Homepage and New Tab

>> See detailed instructions and video tutorial on how to boot in Safe Mode

and for Mac:

If you can’t uninstall File Conversion Now using instructions above, or it keeps coming back, you can use free AppCleaner for Mac to remove all residual data and libraries of File Conversion Now. Follow instructions below:

1. Download free AppCleaner.
2. Drag File Conversion Now from Applications folder to AppCleaner window.
3. Choose files and folders you want to remove along with File Conversion Now.
4. Click Delete button.

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling File Conversion Now from Control Panel often does not bring the desired effect. It sometimes has browser extension and it may still be active in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove File Conversion Now extension from your browsers manually.

Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Click Extensions tab.
3. Find File Conversion Now extension.
4. Click Uninstall button to remove it.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions.
3. Find File Conversion Now add-on.
4. Click the trash can icon to remove them.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:addons.
3. Choose File Conversion Now extension.
4. Click Disable or Remove button.
5. Remove all suspicious extensions from the list.

Internet Explorer (9, 10, 11):

Note: There is no feature to remove browser extensions from browser in latest version of Internet Explorer. To remove File Conversion Now from Internet Explorer, please, perform instructions for uninstalling a program from Control Panel. To disable File Conversion Now, please, do the following:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on gear/asterisk icon in the top-right corner.
3. In opened menu Manage Add-ons.
4. Select Toolbars and Extensions.
5. Click Disable File Conversion Now.
6. Also disable other suspicious extensions from the list.

Opera Browser:

Generally, File Conversion Now does not install in Opera browser however you can always double check. Do the following:

1. Start Opera browser.
2. Go to Tools > Extensions > Manage Extensions.
3. Find File Conversion Now extension.
4. Click Uninstall button.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Reset browsers settings (homepage, default search)

File Conversion Now installs a search engine (hp.hfileconversionnow.com), that hijacks your browsers. Here is an instruction to reset your browser’s homepage, new tab and search engine to default values.

Reset Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Go to the Privacy section of Safari’s preferences.
3. Click Remove All Website Data button.
4. In opened window click Remove Now button to remove data stored by websites in Safari.
5. Go to the Advanced section of Safari’s preferences.
6. Click the Show Develop menu in menu bar option.
7. In the menu click Develop and select Empty Caches from this menu.
8. Again, go to Safari menu and choose Clear History….
9. Choose to clear all history and click Clear History button.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://settings.
3. Scroll down and find Show advanced settings link.
4. Click on it and scroll down to the bottom again.
5. Click Reset browser settings button and click Reset to confirm.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:support.
3. Click Reset Firefox… button.
4. Click Reset Firefox to confirm.

Internet Explorer (9, 10, 11):

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. Click on gear/asterisk icon in the top-right corner.
3. In opened menu choose Internet options.
4. Click Advanced tab.
5. Click Reset button.
6. Choose Delete personal settings and click Reset.

Opera Browser:

1. Close Opera and open command prompt from the start menu.
2. Type following command del %AppData%\Opera\Opera\operaprefs.ini
3. Start Opera.

Remove following files, folders and registry keys of File Conversion Now

File Conversion Now files:

central.js
manifest.json
messages.json
computed_hashes.json
verified_contents.json
browseraction.js
config.js
dailyFeature.js
log.js
newTab.js
search.js
store.js

File Conversion Now folders:

C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\ocemooeilogfefcknbhnjlofcfnhohcb

File Conversion Now registry keys:


Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Chrome\PreferenceMACs\Default\extensions.settings
Value: "ocemooeilogfefcknbhnjlofcfnhohcb"
Data: "F0884C4E76A1BBDCF08F189A10AD3EE0B891E4C36E135C5510A80D0CC7D6D3A4"


How to block redirects and pop-ups from File Conversion Now

AdGuard main window

AdGuard general settings

AdGuard browser assistant

File Conversion Now redirects, in most cases, are caused by a program installed on your PC or add-on installed in browsers. However, sometimes it can appear on a clean computer when visiting malicious websites, using an advertising script. Also, apps that generate “File Conversion Now” are themselves installed from pop-ups. To protect your PC and browsers from phishing websites, pop-up ads, banners, malicious scripts it is recommended to use AdGuard. Download free trial here:

Alternative way to remove adware browser extensions and reset browser settings

For safe and effective browser extension removal use avast! Browser Cleanup utility. Run it with administrator privileges and remove all extensions with bad ratings including related to File Conversion Now. You can also reset your browser settings for each of your browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox.

Cleaning browsers shortcuts

You can clean your browser shortcuts manually right-clicking on your browser icon, choosing “Properties” and removing hijacker address from “Target” field (leave just the path to your browser). However it is easier to use free Shortcut Cleaner from BleepingComputer. Download it here – its FREE:

Final tips

Be careful surfing the internet and downloading software, as programs like File Conversion Now may become a real headache as they are hard to remove and break your privacy. To keep safe from such threats we recommend you always use antivirus and one of the anti-malware programs available on the market. One of the best anti-spyware and anti-malware programs is SpyHunter 5. It can protect your PC from threats, like File Conversion Now.