You can check the Windows Control Panel for recently installed programs to see if anything from Conduit or other suspicious software shows up.

You can start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

• Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window.

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes

If you do not keep changes after a restart or otherwise have problems with preferences, see:

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Preferences_not_saved

I had the same problem and tried everything suggested. Here is what worked for me:

Go to your windows control panel and open Programs and Features. There will be a program called 'Search Protect' by Conduit. Uninstall this. In my case when I uninstalled this, the search.conduit page was removed from my newtab.

Hope this helps

I looked for conduit in Programs and Features but it wasn't there. I hate this thing!!

Why oh why can't anyone help with this awful search.conduit thing that has invaded my computer? I have tried all the suggestions given but nothing works! Please, Mozilla, give us some help!

When do you get this Conduit website?

You can open the about:config page via the location bar and search for prefs that refer to this website and reset user set (bold) prefs that refer to the site via the right-click context menu to the default value.

You can check the target line in the Firefox desktop shortcut (right-click: Properties) to make sure that nothing is appended after the path to the Firefox program.

Thanks but when I restart Firefox it comes up with the search.conduit page.

So, nothing comes up if you search on the about:config page?

You can check for recently installed suspicious or unknown extensions.

You can use one of these to start Firefox in Safe Mode:

• On Windows, hold down the Shift key while starting Firefox with a double-click on the Firefox desktop shortcut
• On Mac, hold down the Options key while starting Firefox
• Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes

Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problem.

See "Creating a profile":

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Profile_issues

If the new profile works then you can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over the problem

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox

Thank you for the information. Unfortunately, this was all too technical for me to follow and I was afraid of making things worse. I guess I'll just have to live with this problem. Thank you again.

You can try to create a new profile or reset Firefox.

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Managing+profiles
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/reset-firefox-easily-fix-most-problems

When you reset Firefox then a new profile is created and some personal data (bookmarks, history, cookies, passwords, form data) is automatically imported and the current profile folder will be moved to the desktop to an "Old Firefox Data" folder.
Installed extensions and other customizations (toolbars, prefs) that you have made are lost and need to be redone.

It is possible to recover more data from the old profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over the problem

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Recovering+important+data+from+an+old+profile