How do I get rid of a user.js file that blocks my FF updates?
There is a file that keeps changing my home page and having it come back after shutdown. It also gives me annoying popups when I change url's.
user_pref("keyword.URL", "http://findwide.com/serp?guid={1E0C325A-0757-4B3D-94CE-D7C8580D8748}&action=default_search&serpv=6&k=");
user_pref("browser.search.defaultenginename", "FindWide");
user_pref("browser.keywordURLPromptDeclined", 1);
user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://start.findwide.com/v/2/?guid={1E0C325A-0757-4B3D-94CE-D7C8580D8748}&serpv=6");
user_pref("browser.startup.page", 1);
user_pref("browser.newtab.url", "");
user_pref("extentions.y2layers.installId", "28786112-7455-4751-b52f-eda79ae28108");
user_pref("extentions.y2layers.defaultEnableAppsList", "twittube,buzzdock,YontooNewOffers");
user_pref('extensions.autoDisableScopes', 0);user_pref('security.csp.enable', false);user_pref('security.OCSP.enabled', 0);user_pref('extensions.blocklist.enabled', false);Modified by cor-el
All Replies (4)
You can remove the file manually, as described in this article: How to fix preferences that won't save.
But... what is creating the file? It might come back unless you can root out the source. And since it prevents Firefox from detecting expired or revoked security certificates, it's potentially dangerous.
You may want to do some supplemental malware scanning. There are a variety of free tools recommended in this article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware.
Any luck?
In case one of your extensions is the culprit, try disabling ALL nonessential or unrecognized extensions here:
orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons > Extensions category
Usually a link will appear above a disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the add-ons page and click the link as the last step.
The FindWide site also mentions removing FindWide.com using the Windows Control Panel (Programs and Features section). You might already have completed that step.
Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
You can check if you have a user.js file in the profile folder to initialize some prefs on each start of Firefox.
The user.js file is only present if you or other software has created it, so normally it wouldn't be there. you can check its content with a plain text editor if you didn't create this file yourself.
The user.js file is read each time you start Firefox and initializes preferences to the value specified in this file, so preferences set via user.js can only be changed temporarily for the current session.
If you do not keep changes after a restart or otherwise have problems with preferences, see: