Popups and redirects-cant seem to make them stop. Need help.
I started seeing popups and redirects a few weeks ago. Since then I've run numerous malware and adware programs to resolve, with no success. (ADWCleaner, Malwarebytes, Spybot, YAC, etc) All cleaners now come back with a report of no issues. But i still have the problems. I reset Firefox... Same issues. I uninstalled and reinstalled Firefox. Same issues. I came across a forum post that described a similar issue and the solution included opening the Foxfire user profile through about:config and deleting suspicious files. I've done that and none appear suspicious. I'm reluctant to delete something that I may need. Can someone expand on this solution and is there a way to compare what files I have to what I should have, so anything suspicious can be identified? Any other recommendations for eliminating this persistent problem? Thanks in advance.
Chosen solution
As far as "comparing files" in your Profile against some sort of standard Profile goes, many extensions add files to the Profile folder and the files that makeup the Profile can change as new versions of Firefox come out. Depending upon how old your current Profile is, you could have a dozen or more old and unused files. That coupled with the wide variety of extensions available, makes it very difficult to do a file comparison with any accuracy at all.
It might help if you can tell us exactly which URLs are being loaded in those popups and redirects. Someone here might recognize the "source" or might see a pattern.
Have you read this KnowledgeBase article? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-caused-malware Specifically, mention of this Anti-Rootkit Utility - TDSSKiller
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Create a new Profile to see if that fixes your issue. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles Do not delete anything, just yet - this is a troubleshooting procedure.
Chosen Solution
As far as "comparing files" in your Profile against some sort of standard Profile goes, many extensions add files to the Profile folder and the files that makeup the Profile can change as new versions of Firefox come out. Depending upon how old your current Profile is, you could have a dozen or more old and unused files. That coupled with the wide variety of extensions available, makes it very difficult to do a file comparison with any accuracy at all.
It might help if you can tell us exactly which URLs are being loaded in those popups and redirects. Someone here might recognize the "source" or might see a pattern.
Have you read this KnowledgeBase article? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-caused-malware Specifically, mention of this Anti-Rootkit Utility - TDSSKiller
Thanks for the recommendations. I'll try creating a new profile and also read the article. I'll post the outcome.
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).
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Adblock Plus Pop-up Addon {web link}
Adblock Plus Pop-up Addon extends the blocking functionality of
Adblock Plus to those annoying pop-up windows that open on mouse
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I created the new profile and set it as default. I haven't had issues since then, so it appears this has solved my problem. Is there anything further I should do?