konagal1 said

I have tried all the troubleshooting methods on pages including https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-and-diagnose-firefox-problems and on page https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-using-safe-mode#w_how-to-start-firefox-in-safe-mode short of creating a new profile and whatever comes after that on the list. The music started when I opened a PCH Sweepstakes page and is EXACTLY the same. It is firecrackers, fireworks and the music "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" Yuke! and VERY LOUD. I have tried

It starts when I open a new Firefox tab

It will NOT shut off even if I close that tab. It continues the entire 5 seconds even after the tab is closed. I have also updated my audio programs through the Add-Ons>PlugIns.

Hi konagal1, you are the second Mac user to report this in recent days. (Why do I hear fireworks and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" on flutes everytime I open a new tab and how do I stop it? -- unsolved, I think)

What is on your new tab -- is it the usual Firefox new tab page or some other page? Here's how you can change your new tab page:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste newtab and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.newtab.url preference and enter your preferred page:

• Page thumbnails (default) => about:newtab
• Blank tab => about:blank
• Built-in Firefox home page => about:home
• Any other page => full URL to the page

Press Command+t to open a new tab and verify that it worked. Fixed?

If problems persist, some potential diagnoses and remedies:

If Firefox won't let you edit this setting: does the setting indicate it is "locked"? In that case, we need to investigate the source of the lock.

If Firefox lets you save your change but ignores it: one of your extensions may be overriding it. You can review, disable, and/or remove extensions on the add-ons page. Either:

• Command+Shift+a
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Extensions. Then cast a critical eye over the list on the right and disable (or remove) anything unknown or unnecessary.

If the change works during your session, but at the next startup is back to the unwanted page: you might have a user.js file in your personal Firefox settings folder (your Firefox profile folder). This article describes how to track down and remove the file: How to fix preferences that won't save.

Any luck?

A user in another thread reported a PCH-related audio problem linked to a site thumbnail on his new tab page:

AndyTampa [said]

I noticed that my FlashGot media downloader icon would appear while the music was playing. While it was visible, I could see that the URL where it was getting the sound was a PCH Lotto page. I didn't have any PCH pages open.

Then, based on what was written above about new tabs, I looked at mine and found that my new tab settings said to "Show suggested and top sites". One of the top sites displayed was a PCH page. Once I removed it, the sounds stopped.

If you have a PCH page on your new tab page, try mousing over it and using the "X" button in the upper right corner of the thumbnail to remove it. Does that help?

There was an outbreak of this exact same problem a few years ago with Mac users. It was so identical that I am surprised none of the techies in here are "up with it". Back then it was a PUP - potentially unwanted program - that downloaded on the back of another. It is so very obviously adware and the only way to remove it is by using a removal procedure.

This is the one for Macs here.

I feel confident that if you follow the above steps for removal for Apple Mac, that it will eradicate it for you. Please let us know how you get on for the benefit of other users.

See also:

• https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/

Often ordinary malware just does not cut the mustard with these sneaky adware installers, after all they get past everyone's anti-virus ware in the first place and are not detected by them, even while banging out their merry jingles. So-oo, it is always wise to do a specific key word based search for the specific problem, to find the correct removal tool or the correct STEP BY STEP procedure, which is frequently recommended in a special order over any standard anti-malware software.

That is not to say the one that cor-el has suggested will not work, it may well do, but the point is we don't know that, because it has not been recommended to specifically target the audio adware. Conversely, the page I have linked to is recommended here to specifically target the audio adware. (You will see the recommended link for Mac users is from this page discussing the audio adware and appears just above STEP 1.)