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When I go on Zillow, half the time it sends me to another website, how can I stop this?

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Trying to hit the back arrow doesn't help. The other website takes over about mortgages. I have to go to another Tab and try connecting with Zillow. I have the Zillow URL on my Bookmark toolbar. I have deleted this several times and tried saving it again to no avail.

Trying to hit the back arrow doesn't help. The other website takes over about mortgages. I have to go to another Tab and try connecting with Zillow. I have the Zillow URL on my Bookmark toolbar. I have deleted this several times and tried saving it again to no avail.

All Replies (1)

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I think your "Dynamic Updater" extension could be the culprit. But to be a little more thorough, here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons and other hijackers. 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. Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it. 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. Bear in mind that all extensions are optional, none come with Firefox.

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.

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