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Yahoo was made my default search engine.

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I tried countless different methods of removing Spigot files, Wajam files, but i cannot get it to go away. Chrome does not have this problem. I like Mozilla more, but I'll switch if I can't get this resolved. The source of my problems came from downloading Bittorent. I have removed Bittorent, Spigot, and Wajam. But this will change my search engine default. I've delete Yahoo as option, and changed it to Google. I have reset my comp, but still Yahoo is there. Normally I don't mind Yahoo, now I'm infuriated because of the principle of the matter. Please help.

I tried countless different methods of removing Spigot files, Wajam files, but i cannot get it to go away. Chrome does not have this problem. I like Mozilla more, but I'll switch if I can't get this resolved. The source of my problems came from downloading Bittorent. I have removed Bittorent, Spigot, and Wajam. But this will change my search engine default. I've delete Yahoo as option, and changed it to Google. I have reset my comp, but still Yahoo is there. Normally I don't mind Yahoo, now I'm infuriated because of the principle of the matter. Please help.

Chosen solution

Hi David, are you able to reset your home page using the steps in these articles:

Your selected page should appear when you launch a new window (Ctrl+n).

  • If you go back into Options and your setting was not saved, you might have something named SearchProtect on your computer. That needs to be removed through the Control Panel.
  • If your setting is saved, but new windows ignore it, an extension may still be in control. Please review those again.
  • If Ctrl+n is good but your Firefox icon/shortcut launches the wrong page, check whether the shortcut has been hacked (steps below).

To check the shortcut: right-click > Properties > Shortcut tab. (If it's pinned to the Task Bar, you need to right-click > right-click Mozilla Firefox > Properties > Shortcut tab.) For 64-bit Windows 7, the "target" should be no more and no less than the following:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"

Anything after that could be forcing Firefox to launch a specific page.

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All Replies (5)

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If you have set the default to Google, and the change is saved, but it is ignored, then a bad add-on is the most likely explanation. Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning out browser hijackers. Sorry for the length -- it's not as bad as it looks:

(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, as well as innocent-sounding programs with misleading names. 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 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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I'm found some suspicious things under plug-ins. I'm sure it was good to disable some of them, however, Yahoo is still my homepage. I appreciate the help.

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I am thinking you may want to download malwarebyte and a free AV (if you don't already have one) and check your computer for malwares and viruses.

Once finished, try uninstall firefox, remove profile folder (you can back up bookmarks and passwords first), then reinstall it.

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Chosen Solution

Hi David, are you able to reset your home page using the steps in these articles:

Your selected page should appear when you launch a new window (Ctrl+n).

  • If you go back into Options and your setting was not saved, you might have something named SearchProtect on your computer. That needs to be removed through the Control Panel.
  • If your setting is saved, but new windows ignore it, an extension may still be in control. Please review those again.
  • If Ctrl+n is good but your Firefox icon/shortcut launches the wrong page, check whether the shortcut has been hacked (steps below).

To check the shortcut: right-click > Properties > Shortcut tab. (If it's pinned to the Task Bar, you need to right-click > right-click Mozilla Firefox > Properties > Shortcut tab.) For 64-bit Windows 7, the "target" should be no more and no less than the following:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"

Anything after that could be forcing Firefox to launch a specific page.

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Thanks for the help fellas, I ended up running Malware Bytes several times and got the issue resolved. I appreciate the assistance.