Hi 4drdee, thank you for sharing your add-ons list. Not sure if you noticed this one:

Search Encrypt - A Private Search Engine

That will replace your normal choice and to regain control, you need to get rid of it.

You can view, disable, and often remove unwanted or unknown extensions on the Add-ons page. Either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a (Mac: Command+Shift+a)
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
• type or paste about:addons in the address bar and press Enter/Return

In the left column of the Add-ons page, click Extensions.

Then cast a critical eye over the list on the right side. Any extensions Firefox installs for built-in features are hidden from this page, so everything listed here is your choice (and your responsibility) to manage. Anything that is "search" related should considered a potential culprit. Anything else suspicious or that you just do not remember installing or why? If in doubt, disable (or remove).

Any improvement?

If that add-on keeps coming back after a Refresh, you may need to do a broader cleaning:

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program.

After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help surface undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it.

Take out as much trash as possible here. If you're not sure, feel free to post program names or a screenshot of the list.

(2) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in this support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

Hopefully that will flush anything on your system that could reinfect Firefox.

Did not have to use these fixes. Saw that malware "Search Encrypt" was linked to Google in Firefox. It had also disabled Malware-bytes, which I wanted to use to scan for ad ware. Deleted Malware-bytes and downloaded fresh copy. (Search Encrypt tried to block that too, but just ignored). Scan found two files for "Search Encrypt" which I quarantined. Now Google in Firefox Search is working fine.