This setting gets changed every time you start Firefox?

The diagnostic extension you ran (thank you) reports that your currently active personal settings folder (your Firefox profile folder) contains a user.js file. This file can be used to override your settings. Let's try taking that file out of the equation.

Open your current Firefox profile folder using

Help > Troubleshooting Information > "Show Folder" button

Scroll down to user.js and rename it to something like user_js.old

Hopefully then when you restart Firefox your own preferences will stick.

Could you list the content of the user.js file in a forum reply?

Use Open with in the right-click context menu to open the file with Notepad (do not double-click as that will give an error).

user_pref("extensions.autoDisableScopes", 0); 
user_pref("extensions.shownSelectionUI", true);
user_pref("extensions.enabledScopes", 15);
user_pref("extensions.newAddons",false);
user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://proxy.allsearchapp.com/app/start/");
user_pref("browser.search.defaultenginename", "All Search");
user_pref("browser.search.defaultenginename", "All Search");
user_pref("browser.newtab.url", "http://proxy.allsearchapp.com/app/start/");
user_pref("extensions.enabledAddons", "sp@sp.com:1.0");

I posted my User.js file above. I also renamed it with >old and restarted my firefox and the same thing happened! I still get the search engine home page even after using an new homepage!!! I am still very frustrated!

Well I finally got it fixed! the last message I got told me to go to the Help>Trouble shooting section of my firefox and look for something, I did then I saw a box in the upper right corner that said "reset Firefox to Default state" so I went back there later and decided to try that when nothing lse worked for me. I had for DAYS tried everything I knew. I was getting ready to dump it all and go back to inter net Explore which I did not want to do. So I figured what do I have to loose. I had backed up my bookmarks and other things so I hit the button and things happened and IT WORKED! I am not back!!! I have my homepages and things are now good! all the last few days are a memory! Thanks everyone. I hope this never happens to anyone. I will never look for downloading cheap programs again!!!! NEVER>

The Chosen Solution worked for me last week -- thanks! -- but now the infuriating proxy.allsearchapp.com/app/start/ is back! I don't understand how this thing can keep getting into Firefox and making itself my homepage so easily without my permission. I have a feeling it'll be back, and when it is I'm afraid I'll have to give up on Firefox despite many years as a satisfied user. (And why would Allsearch think anyone would want to use a product that forces itself onto your computer?)

Hi rune777, I think you still have unwanted software running on your computer.

I assume you run Windows. Have you tried these popular clean-up tools?

Malwarebytes Anti-malware : http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

SUPERAntiSpyware : http://www.superantispyware.com/

I also saw someone recommend AdwCleaner for this problem:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

Thanks, jscher200)! I ran the Reimage progam from www.bleepingcomputer.com and it looks like it did the trick -- for now. After paying a tidy sum to Norton every year for protection from this kind of junk, it seems odd that I now have spend more money to buy a another program ($40 for a one-year Reimage sub) to rid me of it. But it was worth it, so far. I greatly appreciate your help!

Hi rune777, I'm sorry, I didn't mean you should click that ad, but use the free tool AdwCleaner which is available from the article. Online software advertising is getting out of control.

I got mine fixed for good!!! YEA!

No problem, jscher2000. I read a number of positive reviews and Reimage looked like it was worth a try. It was helpful but IE (which I don't use) is still infected with the infernal proxy.allsearchapp.com hijacker, which I thought I eliminated last week. I contacted Reimage support but haven't gotten a response yet. I could just delete IE, but I want to make sure allsearchapp is completed removed.

And I'd say that ALL online advertising is getting out of control. YouTube is like watching network broadcasting, for one thing.

Thanks again for your help and followup!

Hi rune777, I recommend not trying to delete IE. Various parts of Windows depend on its components, and you might end up having to repair that.

More good advice, jscher2000. It looks like it would be very complicated even if I could manage to pull it off, so it's definitely not worth the risk.

I had this issue to and fixed it in three steps:

1) In my Firefox browser address bar, I typed: "about:config" and removed all references to proxy.allsearchapp.com.

2) From the Windows "start" menu, go to "Run" and type "REGEDIT" to enter the windows registry editor. NOTE: Be sure to save a copy of your entire registry before making any changes. I then searched the entire registry for "proxy.allsearchapp.com" and removed all keys with that reference. Be sure to delete any reference to "sp@sp.com" - that is another aspect of this nasty malware.

3) I opened the "user.js" file - Removed all references to proxy.allsearchapp.com & sp@sp.com.

Now close and reopen FireFox and all life should be returned to normal.

If you notice that proxy.allsearchapp.com is returning despite making the above changes, remove any software you may have downloaded (from CNET?) that would have installed this search proxy. Then redo the changes above. Of course, another easy option would be to download and install SpyBot Search & Destroy!

Thanks, drew_alpha! I'll give it a try...

How do you delete or remove the references to it. I've tried right clicking and get everything but delete, and nothing happens when I tap the Delete key. When I learn how to remove it, should I remove all the references that have browser.newtab.com in them? Thanks

Hi BCGramma, I'm not sure which step of the many different processes you're on...

If you are in about:config, you don't want to remove references to newtab, but to the URL where you are ending up. For example, if you are ending up at terriblewebsite.com, then where you see that, right-click and choose Reset.

Does that help? If not, could you provide a little more context?

I got this fixed at last; 1. Remove all references to allsearch, sp@sp, and hotsearch from the registry. 2. in Firefox, go to Help/Troubleshooting Information, and select Reset Firefox from the box which says Reset Firefox to its default. This will negate the need to edit about:config yourself. it only took me five days to find this fix. None of the free adaware removers are useful because none of them are really free, and they couldn't fix the problem anyway. They are not much better than this allsearchapp we were all trying to get rid of.

Basically, to fix this problem, you need to perform some manual procesures. If you run security software only this will not help you completely. You many find some good and surely free recommendations in this guide - http://remove-malwares.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-fix-google-redirect-problem.html