PDFSpark

The PDFSpark software from https://www.pdfspark.com is a free program that promises users easy access to a PDF viewer, and the ability to create and edit PDF files. The PDF format is developed by Adobe as a way for users to share documents that look the same no matter the hardware, operating system, and viewer you might be using. Look at PDF files as snapshots of documents, images and presentations. Creating PDF is an easy task with most word processors and Web browsers. However, PDFs are made to capture and keep content only. Hence, editing PDFs can be tricky, and most computer enthusiasts recommend using Adobe's proprietary Acrobat Reader DC solution. The Acrobat Reader DC software is paid via a subscription model and here is where PDFSpark attempts to shine.

PDFSpark is offered for free, and the work you can do with it is not guaranteed to be of respectable quality. Moreover, computer security researchers have reported that the PDFSpark installer bundles applications are likely to cause distractions and annoyances. The PDFSpark installer is observed to offer things like browser add-ons that change your Internet settings, media players that show pop-up advertisements, fake system optimization tools that boot with your Mac and show misleading "Found System Problems (random number)" alerts. The PDFSpark program may request access to your browser bookmarks, your physical location and read your Internet history to monetize your online activity. The developers behind PDFSpark may use it to sell anonymous Internet usage data with advertisers and show you targeted advertisements.

The PDFSpark desktop application is deemed a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) that may let you edit PDF files, but saving the changes may break complex document layouts, and you might make PDFs hard to read. You can convert PDFs using various Web services and paid software, but as we said above, PDF files are like photos and editing them while preserving their layout is a tricky business. You may want to use a trusted PDF editor and skip the installation of the PDFSpark, which may introduce unwanted application on your device and fail at its job.

Some AV vendors mark the PDFSpark installer with the following alert names:

AdWare.MAC.Generic
Adware.Mac.InstallCore.453
Gen:Variant.Application.MAC.InstallMiez.2
InstallCore (PUA)
MacOS:InstallCore-JA [PUP]
Malware (ai Score=89)
Trojan.Application.MAC.InstallMiez.2