Hello, Yes it appears to be a browser hijacker. Please see: * http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-ask-toolbar-and-search/ Note: If you find that after restarting Firefox the Ask homepage is still there, see the articles: * [[Wrong home page opens when I start Firefox - How to fix]] * [[How to fix preferences that won't save]]

The Ask Toolbar does not appear on my control panel. This may be associated with the Trovi mess that has attached to me Internet Explorer. I would like to punch someone right in the nose for this mess.

Trovi is another piece of malware: * http://malwaretips.com/blogs/trovi-com-removal/ This might not fix the problems 100%, but it will definitely get you 95% of the way there - try scanning with free antimalware tools that can work alongside your existing antivirus: * [http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/ MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware] * [http://general-changelog-team.fr/en/downloads/viewdownload/20-outils-de-xplode/2-adwcleaner AdwCleaner] (for more info, see this [http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/ alternate AdwCleaner download page]) * [http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/default.aspx Microsoft Safety Scanner] * [http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/disinfection/5350 Anti-Rootkit Utility - TDSSKiller] * [http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro/ Hitman Pro] * [http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/ ESET Online Scanner] If you are having trouble removing the malware/adware/viruses, I recommend you post in a forum specializing in malware removal as they can give you detailed instructions for how to remove them: * Bleeping Computer - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums * Spyware Warrior Forums - http://www.spywarewarrior.com/index.php * SWI Forums - http://www.spywareinfoforum.com/ Please post back here if you find that you are still having trouble setting your home page/search/new tab page after removing the malicious applications.