How to Fix the “PDE.plugin will damage your computer” Error on Mac?

Have you ever seen the error “PDE.plugin will damage your computer” error come up on your Mac device all of a sudden?

If you have then we are sure that you must be worried about it. Especially because of the fact that it says “will damage your computer” right at the end which could be quite serious.

Talking about this error, it is worth noting that the PDE.plugin file is not malicious. In fact, it is related to the HP printer driver and it can be fixed in a few simple steps.

macOS uses a gatekeeping technology that checks for trusted software to run on the computer so that no unauthorized software enters the system.

It is worth noting that back in 2020, HP unintentionally revoked the driver certificates on some older Mac devices which have been causing this PDE.plugin error.

We have compiled a list of solutions to solve this PDE.plugin that will damage your computer error on Mac after checking both the HP and macOS support forums.

So, make sure to follow these steps below and solve this error:

How to Fix the “PDE.plugin will damage your computer” error on Mac

1. Check for Mac Updates

As we mentioned earlier, HP unintentionally revoked driver certificates in 2020 which meant that Mac Gatekeeper sees this software as unauthorized.

This is the reason why it tags the plugin as malware but it is not malicious and you need to make your Mac aware of this.

You can check for Mac Updates and update your device if there is any available to make sure that this problem gets fixed with the latest update.

To update your Mac, do the following:

• Open the Apple menu located at the corner of your screen and select System Preferences.
• Click Software Update and then see if there is any update available.
• If any update is available, click on Update Now or Upgrade Now to download and install the update

Once the update is installed, you might not see the “PDE.plugin will damage your computer” error again. 

But if you do see this error again then make sure to follow the other troubleshooting steps mentioned below.

2. Delete and Add the HP Printer again

We have seen many HP Printer users say that their Mac started recognizing the PDE.plugin after they deleted and added their HP Printer back to the device.

So we are going to show you how you can delete and re-add your HP Printer:

• First of all, go to System Preferences and click on Printers & Scanners.
• Go through the list and select your HP Printer.

• Click on the Remove button and select Delete Printer.
• Download and Install the latest HP Printer software for your Mac from here.
• Re-add your HP Printer by going to System Preferences > Printers & Scanners > Add.
• Verify that the printer is working by taking out a test print.

Once you have done this, we are sure that your PDE.plugin will harm your computer error and will go away.

But if it doesn’t then we have other solutions as well which you can try and implement.

3. Remove and Reinstall HP Printer drivers

If the solution to delete and re-add your HP Printer did not help then you can try to remove and reinstall the HP Printer drivers for your Mac.

We have seen that some users even experienced a “Matterhorn.framework will damage your computer” error which is yet another false error.

So to solve these errors, you need to remove and reinstall your HP Printer drivers as follows:

• Go to Finder and look for the Applications folder.
• Find and open the HP or Hewlett Packard folder and click HP Uninstaller. Follow the on-screen instructions to remove the HP Printer drivers from your Mac.
• Restart your Mac once the HP Uninstaller has completed its tasks.
• Now, we need to re-add the HP Printer drivers so we will have to first download them to our Mac from here.
• Double-click on the downloaded DMG file and follow the on-screen instructions.
• Once the driver is installed, go to System Preferences and click Printers & Scanners and add your HP Printer.

If the issue still persists then you can try one of the solutions mentioned below.

4. Update HP Printer Drivers via HP Easy Start

HP knows that not everyone is well-versed with technology and can’t understand which HP Printer driver is the perfect choice for their system.

So they created a software named HP Easy Start which sets up the most compatible drivers with your HP Printer.

• To download HP Easy Start, go to this link and download and install it to your Mac.
• Once the software is installed, Run HP Easy Start and go to its menu bar. Here, click on Uninstall HP Software to remove all instances of previous HP Software installed on the Mac.
• Wait for the uninstallation to finish and click on Set Up New Device.
• Follow the on-screen instructions and restart your computer after the installation is complete.

We are sure that this method will solve your “PDE.plugin will harm your computer” error because the process is automated and there are minimal chances of error.

But if the problem still persists then there is one last solution you can try on your Mac which is mentioned below.

5. Reinstall the Printer using AirPrint

AirPrint is an Apple feature provided inside macOS which lets iPad and iPhone users print wirelessly using the printer.

If the printer is AirPrint compatible, you can print your documents from anywhere via this feature.

Make sure to add your HP Printer via AirPrint to your Mac and also ensure that both the HP Printer and your Mac are connected to the same WiFi network.

To do this, follow the steps mentioned below:

• Go to Apple Menu and click on System Preferences and then click on Printers & Scanners.
• Check if your printer is already on the list. If it is then select it and delete it.
• Click on Add Printer or Scanner and look for your HP printer name.
• Click on the Use or Print Using menu and select AirPrint and click on Add your printer name.
• See if the AirPrint-enabled printer is working with the help of a test print.

We are sure that this solution will definitely work in eliminating your “PDE.plugin will damage your computer” error because this solution does not require you to install any HP Drivers.

Conclusion

In this article, we have mentioned the best methods to solve the “PDE.plugin will damage your computer” error and we are sure that at least one of these solutions will make your problem go away.

So make sure to try each and every solution if the one above does not work and let us know in the comments section as to which method worked for you.