Can't open emailed pdf files

[Clitheroekid]

For some reason when I receive a pdf attachment by email (I use Outlook) I can no longer open it. When I click on it a window pops up entitled:

File Identifier By FileInfo.com The Central File Extensions Registry

The text reads:

Windows can't open your file. You can search FileInfo.com for programs that open the file, or you can use the default Windows Service.

It then gives two options:

What do you want to do?

Search FileInfo.com for programs that open .PDF files

Use the default Windows service

If I click on the default option another window then pops up saying Windows can't open the file and offering to search for a program that can.

If I choose to save the attachment I can then quite easily open it in Acrobat, but I don't want to have to do this every time I receive a pdf attachment.

This is extremely annoying and has only just started happening. I'm using Windows 7, and for the avoidance of doubt I've not recently installed any new versions of Acrobat.

All advice gratefully received.

[Itsallaguess]

This is extremely annoying and has only just started happening. I'm using Windows 7, and for the avoidance of doubt I've not recently installed any new versions of Acrobat.

If you save one of those PDF attachments to your desktop, and then double-click on it, which program opens it from there currently?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Alaric]

If I choose to save the attachment I can then quite easily open it in Acrobat, but I don't want to have to do this every time I receive a pdf attachment.

This is extremely annoying and has only just started happening. I'm using Windows 7, and for the avoidance of doubt I've not recently installed any new versions of Acrobat.

That you can save to disk and then open suggests it's not a problem with Acrobat.

What's fileinfo.com? I use Windows 7 with what sounds a very similar set up to yours and I've never met it or even heard of it.

You might check what you've got under Control Panel - Default Programs.

[Itsallaguess]

If I choose to save the attachment I can then quite easily open it in Acrobat, but I don't want to have to do this every time I receive a pdf attachment.

This is extremely annoying and has only just started happening. I'm using Windows 7, and for the avoidance of doubt I've not recently installed any new versions of Acrobat.

That you can save to disk and then open suggests it's not a problem with Acrobat.

Ah - I'd somehow missed that important bit!

Looks like there's something amiss with the file-association from Outlook - I'd give this a look at -

Change the file association for an email attachment

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/change-the-file-association-for-an-email-attachment-6fa9ac47-4e57-4ab8-9234-2422e3ea507f

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Clitheroekid]

Many thanks. I've managed to fix it by following the advice. For some reason in the Default Programs file the usual instruction to use Acrobat to open a pdf file had been replaced by one saying use File Reader to open it.

How or why this happened is a complete mystery. I've Googled File Reader and can't find anything to indicate it's malware, but I assume it must have been installed without my noticing when I downloaded some other software.

[stewamax]

Sounds like Firefox browser addin (a 'plug in' or an 'extension')
File Reader is a gubbins that allows Firefox to read a file (such as a .pdf).
If you are a Firefox user open Firefox and click the three tiny horizontal menu bars => Addons => Extensions or themes

[Infrasonic]

How or why this happened is a complete mystery. I've Googled File Reader and can't find anything to indicate it's malware, but I assume it must have been installed without my noticing when I downloaded some other software.

When installing third party software from downloads if you use the 'custom' setup option you can look to see if it it's going to install anything else via the check boxes, which you can then untick as required.
I've been caught out a couple of times when rushing and accepted the default install, then had to uninstall whatever the surprise free gift was...