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It's doubtful to me that this is due to malware.

Many malware hijack search settings. However, very few hijack default browsers themselves these days. In the past (10 years ago) it was much more common.

Furthermore, I don't know of many malware that touch the .PDF file extension associations, and there are plenty of other associations that would be better to hijack.

Feels more like a sloppy fix to comply with EU's DMA.

I'm sure HN users are technically competent enough to change the default browser setting. Not so sure about the average Windows user though...

The original post is about someone changing their default browser themselves, and this new system blocks it.