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How do I remove the Web bar that installed with update of Firefox?

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When I updated Firefox with 38.0.1, it installed a HUGE Web Bar at the top of the page with arrows that take me to weird pages, home takes me to something called Trovi, a drop down arrow with all browsers installed, a huge search the web bar, an icon for facebook, a music sign icon and arrow that takes me to You Tube. This is above the original web bar with file, edit, view, history, bookmarks, tools and help on it. How do I remove this? When I right click it says Web Bar and when I click on about it says Web Bar Media, Version 2.0 Build 5435.23818 (11/18/2014) and when I click on End User Agreement, I get a warning from McAfee as a dangerous site!!! What is going on?

When I updated Firefox with 38.0.1, it installed a HUGE Web Bar at the top of the page with arrows that take me to weird pages, home takes me to something called Trovi, a drop down arrow with all browsers installed, a huge search the web bar, an icon for facebook, a music sign icon and arrow that takes me to You Tube. This is above the original web bar with file, edit, view, history, bookmarks, tools and help on it. How do I remove this? When I right click it says Web Bar and when I click on about it says Web Bar Media, Version 2.0 Build 5435.23818 (11/18/2014) and when I click on End User Agreement, I get a warning from McAfee as a dangerous site!!! What is going on?

Chosen solution

A recent round of infections also tampered with Firefox's program folder, so if the above doesn't help, please try:

Clean Reinstall

We use this name, but it's not about removing your settings, it's about making sure the program files are clean -- and do not contain alien code files. As described below, this process does not disturb your existing settings. Do NOT uninstall Firefox, that's not needed.

(1) Download a fresh installer for Firefox 38.0.1 from https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ to a convenient location. (Scroll down to your preferred language.)

(2) Exit out of Firefox (if applicable).

(3) Rename the program folder

(64-bit Windows folder names)

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files (x86)\OldFirefox

(32-bit Windows folder names)

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files\OldFirefox

(4) Run the installer you downloaded in #1. It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

Any improvement?

Note: Some plugins may exist only in that OldFirefox folder. If something essential is missing, look in these folders:

  • \OldFirefox\Plugins
  • \OldFirefox\browser\plugins

You might also check whether Firefox has a non-standard connection setting. You can do that here:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > Network mini-tab > "Settings" button

The default "Use system proxy settings" should piggyback on your Windows/IE "LAN" settings. But you can try "No proxy" to see whether that makes any difference.

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All Replies (2)

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Sorry to hear about that. Usually this kind of page modification would be caused by an add-on. Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons. I know it seems long, but it's not that bad.

(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 in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Take out as much trash as possible here.

(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
  • in the Windows "Run" dialog, type or paste
    firefox.exe "about:addons"

In the left column, click Plugins. Set nonessential and unrecognized plugins to "Never Activate".

In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions.

Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.

Any improvement?

(3) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our 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.

Success?

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Chosen Solution

A recent round of infections also tampered with Firefox's program folder, so if the above doesn't help, please try:

Clean Reinstall

We use this name, but it's not about removing your settings, it's about making sure the program files are clean -- and do not contain alien code files. As described below, this process does not disturb your existing settings. Do NOT uninstall Firefox, that's not needed.

(1) Download a fresh installer for Firefox 38.0.1 from https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ to a convenient location. (Scroll down to your preferred language.)

(2) Exit out of Firefox (if applicable).

(3) Rename the program folder

(64-bit Windows folder names)

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files (x86)\OldFirefox

(32-bit Windows folder names)

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files\OldFirefox

(4) Run the installer you downloaded in #1. It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

Any improvement?

Note: Some plugins may exist only in that OldFirefox folder. If something essential is missing, look in these folders:

  • \OldFirefox\Plugins
  • \OldFirefox\browser\plugins

You might also check whether Firefox has a non-standard connection setting. You can do that here:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > Network mini-tab > "Settings" button

The default "Use system proxy settings" should piggyback on your Windows/IE "LAN" settings. But you can try "No proxy" to see whether that makes any difference.