This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

How do I get rid of Yahoo search from starting in the creation of a new tab?

  • 2 replies
  • 16 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by cor-el

more options

my home page works correctly and I have removed the Yahoo tool bar from plugins/apps (can't remember which) But whenever I open a new tab it opens on this

http://search.yahoo.com/?fr=freeze&type=W3i_NA,132,3_6,Tab%20Search,20110520,16934,0,19,0

I would like it to open on my home page, which firefox does on startup. But I can't find a setting in options that will allow you to dictate what first appears when opening a new tab.

I tried this solution but it didn't work

https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/questions/811550?s=getting+rid+of+yahoo+search&as=s

my home page works correctly and I have removed the Yahoo tool bar from plugins/apps (can't remember which) But whenever I open a new tab it opens on this http://search.yahoo.com/?fr=freeze&type=W3i_NA,132,3_6,Tab%20Search,20110520,16934,0,19,0 I would like it to open on my home page, which firefox does on startup. But I can't find a setting in options that will allow you to dictate what first appears when opening a new tab. I tried this solution but it didn't work https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/questions/811550?s=getting+rid+of+yahoo+search&as=s

Chosen solution

Start Firefox in Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions (My.Freeze.com NetAssistant) is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox (Tools) > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (2)

more options

Do you also have a search bar on your tabs bar if so, it is probably "New Tab" extension, but suggest going through all of the following.

Remove the Yahoo Toolbar

  1. "Ctrl+Shift+A" (Add-ons Manager)
  2. Select Puzzle piece on left-side for Extensions List
  3. Find "Yahoo Toolbar" and click on "Uninstall" button, and restart Firefox. (if you really need to keep the Yahoo toolbar, you can hide the toolbar instead with customize, and still change all the search defaults as below)

Then to fix the default search engine used at the Location Bar, change the value of keyword.URL in about:config to one of the values shown in Location Bar search at MozillaZine.

  1. type in about:config into the location bar (in a new tab)
  2. if the warning message nonsense comes up uncheck the box before dismissing the dialog message
  3. filter on keyword
  4. right-click on keyword.URL and choose "modify" then paste in the Google search engine string of your choice.
  5. filter on defaulturl
  6. right-click on browser.search.defaulturl (if it exists)and again choose "modify" then paste in the Google search engine string of your choice.
  7. filter on ytff
  8. right-click on yahoo.ytff.search.popup_src (if it exists) and again choose "modify" then paste in the Google search engine string of your choice, if adventurous might see if "reset" would remove and see if gone in next session (well not for those keeping the extension).
    --above used in https://support.mozilla.com/questions/850287
  9. If new tabs open with a Yahoo search, then in "C:\program files\Mozilla Firefox: Find the yahoo.xml file and delete it (/questions/892957)
  10. If you find an extension call "New Tab" uninstall it (it is unwanted malware), this little gem came with a reinstall of "PicPick" software for me and adds a search bar to the already overcrowed tabs bar, when doing the reinstall update for PicPic do a custom install without anything relating to yahoo.


Avoiding the problems: Many software installations contain additional baggage known as crapware. The Yahoo Toolbar is packaged with Java picture

More information on ask.com, Yahoo Toolbars which involve extensions, not just changes to the home page.

more options

Chosen Solution

Start Firefox in Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions (My.Freeze.com NetAssistant) is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox (Tools) > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).