Why does Firefox frequently redirect me to sites other than the one I request? Occasionally vaguely similar to what I want but usually unrelated.
I request a site, even one I frequently go to and I am sent somewhere else. I go back and try again, but it may take 3 or 4 tries, then I am informed that the session has expired. I close Firefox and start over, but I am not always successful and may have the same problem. It does not happen every single time, but often enough too be very frustrating.
Chosen solution
The forum software detected your Firefox as version 12. Is that correct?
Version 12 is not secure; Mozilla discloses security flaws after each new release. Is something holding you back from upgrading to Firefox 23? Please let us know so we can suggest solutions or workarounds.
If Help > About Firefox shows Firefox 23.0.1, you may need to clear the preference that is misreporting your version number. See: How to reset the default user agent on Firefox.
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Does this occur when you click links in search engine results? There were some malware around that did this, which you can read about by searching for "Google Redirect Virus". Some are quite difficult to remove.
You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:
- Microsoft Safety Scanner
- MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware
- TDSSKiller - AntiRootkit Utility - especially useful for tough cases
- AdwCleaner (ignore banner ads for other products)
Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.
Chosen Solution
The forum software detected your Firefox as version 12. Is that correct?
Version 12 is not secure; Mozilla discloses security flaws after each new release. Is something holding you back from upgrading to Firefox 23? Please let us know so we can suggest solutions or workarounds.
If Help > About Firefox shows Firefox 23.0.1, you may need to clear the preference that is misreporting your version number. See: How to reset the default user agent on Firefox.
Once you feel your system is clean and your Firefox is up-to-date, we should review your add-ons and settings to see whether one of those might be the culprit. You can extract that information by going to this page:
Help > Troubleshooting Information
and clicking the Copy text to clipboard button, then pasting into a reply. (It may not be pretty, but hopefully is readable.)