opening a new tab, "Flicker" browser screen opens (Get rid of?)
When opening a new tab, instead of just being able to search what I am looking for, a screen called "Flicker" comes up, which wants to search for me. I was told by security person that this is dangerous search screen to have, because I can be tracked by the "Bad guys". How can I get rid of it? I've tried to do this before, but have been unable to.
Chosen solution
By the way, "flickr" -- with no "e" -- is a photo sharing site owned by Yahoo. If you have any extensions from Yahoo, make sure those are not responsible for putting flickr on your new tab.
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Hi Lovinlife2, the typicaly way that your new tab page would get changed is through an add-on, more specifically, an extension.
Do you recall when this started? There's a reasonable chance some junk snuck in with some free software at some point. 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 really 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. All extensions are optional; the troublemaker might not be obvious from its name.
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?
Chosen Solution
By the way, "flickr" -- with no "e" -- is a photo sharing site owned by Yahoo. If you have any extensions from Yahoo, make sure those are not responsible for putting flickr on your new tab.