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When opening Firefox, it won't go to my homepage, instead it goes to a different page, why?

  • 11 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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I don't know what happened, but yesterday when I opened Firefox, instead of going to my homepage (Google). It went to a news page that said Apple was desperate and was giving away iPads for $1. Then I closed it and reopened Firefox and I got a web page that was Firefox asking me to do a survey to win a free iPad. And this morning when I opened it, it went to: http://play-bar.net/landing/?l=3 and another page telling me to update my Adobe...

What can I do? My homepage is set to Google, but I don't understand why it won't go to Google. I have no add-ons or extensions, or any program...

I don't know what happened, but yesterday when I opened Firefox, instead of going to my homepage (Google). It went to a news page that said Apple was desperate and was giving away iPads for $1. Then I closed it and reopened Firefox and I got a web page that was Firefox asking me to do a survey to win a free iPad. And this morning when I opened it, it went to: http://play-bar.net/landing/?l=3 and another page telling me to update my Adobe... What can I do? My homepage is set to Google, but I don't understand why it won't go to Google. I have no add-ons or extensions, or any program...

All Replies (11)

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hello, this sounds like a problem possibly caused by adware on your pc.

  1. please go to the firefox menu ≡ > addons > extensions & remove any suspicious entries (toolbars, things that you have not installed intentionally, don't know what purpose they serve, etc).
  2. also go to the windows control panel / programs and remove all toolbars or potentially unwanted software from there.
  3. finally, run a full scan of your system with different security tools like the free version of malwarebytes & adwcleaner, which are specialised in adware and browser hijackers.

Remove a toolbar that has taken over your Firefox search or home page Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware

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I downloaded those malware stuff you suggested in your reply, but it didn't work...

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Run most or all of the listed malware scanners. Each works differently. If one program misses something, another may pick it up.

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You can check the target line in the Firefox desktop shortcut (right-click: Properties) to make sure that nothing is appended after the path to the Firefox program.

You can use the SearchReset extension to reset some preferences to the default values.

Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).


Do a malware check with several malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.

Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware. All these programs have free versions.

Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.

You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.

See also:

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The target line in the Firefox properties used to have: http://esurf.biz/?ssid=1446409322&a=1003679

And I took off that URL, and hoped it would go back to going to my home page, and it doesn't. Now my target line says: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"

But, I don't know what that means.

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If the target line shows "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" then that is OK.

Do you see the unwanted page on the about:config page if you use its search bar?

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar and search for prefs that refer to play-bar. You can reset user set (bold) pref(s) prefs via the right-click context menu to the default value.

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.

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That target line is normal for a 64-bit version of Windows. It is the location of the Firefox program.

If your desktop shortcut is clean but you still get a hijack in place of your home page, a bad add-on is the most likely culprit. You said you didn't see any extensions on the Add-ons page. Here's another way to extract a list of them:

Open the support information page using any of these:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

Then scroll down to the Extensions heading, and use the mouse to select from there through the table that follows and copy, and then paste into a reply. It will look a little messy, but don't worry, we're used to it. Perhaps we can spot something suspicious.

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Alright, so did what you said, but there is nothing in my Extensions... Just this: Extensions Name Version Enabled ID

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Hmm, so:

  • home page setting is correct
  • desktop shortcut is clean (bad URL removed)
  • no extensions

Two follow-ups:

(1) Do Ctrl+n and the Home button work as expected? (2) Do you get the wrong page using the desktop shortcut while Firefox is running, or only for the initial startup window?


In rare cases, there is a program folder infection (autoconfig file). To address that, we suggest:

Clean Reinstall

We use this name, but it's not about removing your settings, it's about making sure the program files are clean (no inconsistent, corrupted, or alien code files). As described below, this process does not disturb your existing settings. Do NOT uninstall Firefox, that's not needed.

(A) Download a fresh installer for Firefox 42.0 from https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ to a convenient location. (Scroll down to your preferred language.)

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

(C) Rename just the current program folder, either:

(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

(D) Run the installer you downloaded in (A). It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

Does Firefox work more normally?

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

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

Otherwise, there's no reason to keep the old folder except research/curiosity.

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The shortcut works, it is just the initial startup window. Should I do the clean reinstall?

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Does that page also open if you click the toolbar Home button or if you open a new tab by clicking the plus on the Tab bar?