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pop ups in safe mode and on every other site too! Help, I've tried all the 'fixes' suggested

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  • Last reply by FredMcD

FLWatson
FLWatson
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Over the last couple of months, I'm just about driven nuts, I've now discovered that the problem also happens in IE and in Chrome. Extra web sites when I try to open a new tab, the Mozilla Home page and search disappears consistently and I get weird pop-ups even on supposedly secure webpages -such that i can no longer carry out any banking or shopping. I've discovered some weird programmes but I cannot uninstall them.

Over the last couple of months, I'm just about driven nuts, I've now discovered that the problem also happens in IE and in Chrome. Extra web sites when I try to open a new tab, the Mozilla Home page and search disappears consistently and I get weird pop-ups even on supposedly secure webpages -such that i can no longer carry out any banking or shopping. I've discovered some weird programmes but I cannot uninstall them.

All Replies (3)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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It could be a bad add-on. Do the ads mention any particular ad network or provider? Sometimes that helps in tracking it down.

More generally: Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning out bad Add-ons. Sorry for the length -- it's not as bad as it sounds:

(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 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?

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Since extensions do not run in Firefox's Safe Mode and all browsers are affected, it could be that your network connection has been hijacked/re-routed.

To check Firefox's connection setting:

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

The default of Use system proxy settings will use the Windows/IE "LAN" settings. You also could try No Proxy.

One possible way to re-route your web traffic is changing your DNS servers. These can be set in an individual browser, or in Windows (LAN setting), or in your network router or cable/DSL modem. Describing how to investigate that is a little beyond the scope of this forum.

FredMcD
FredMcD
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Adblock Plus {web link} Blocks annoying video ads on YouTube, Facebook ads, banners and much more. Adblock Plus blocks all annoying ads, and supports websites by not blocking unobtrusive ads by default (configurable).