Firefox automatically opens addon page on every startup
I knew the App Market/Conduit virus was on my computer, so I got rid of it-or so it seems. Now every time I turn on or restart the computer Firefox automatically opens, about:newaddon?id={64d64833-9296-421b-a362-83cfbd6291b6} and the addon name shows blank; a few seconds later it automatically closes. I did find out that that url has to do with App Market. But when I open Firefox again, it's as if nothing happened. There are no crash reports on this, despite the many times it's happened. I've tried scanning my computer many times afterward with no luck. There is no user.js file, and I deleted every extension and program related to Conduit.
Chosen solution
I found the solution! It turns out the adware set my computer so it would go to Firefox on startup. Now, when you go to your normal Windows startup entry things, it only says Firefox, nothing else.
Then I installed CCleaner and looked at the startup entries there. In the Firefox section not only did it have the program, but also the URL it redirects me to. I deleted it, restarted, and it worked!
Now, to find out what BackgroundContainer.dll is... ^^;
I downloaded CCleaner from a site called Bleeping Computer. I think my mistake was downloading from CNET, which is sad because I always thought that site was reputable and trustworthy. But do not be fooled... MyWOT.com says CNET is no longer that safe. Bleeping Computer, however, is much safer and trusted. uwu
Read this answer in context 👍 2All Replies (9)
What is the value in "browser.startup.homepage" on "about:config" ?
about:home
Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.
(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)
- On Windows you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
- On Mac you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the option key while starting Firefox.
- On Linux you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-mode (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)
- Or open the Help menu and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.
Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"
If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for that.
To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.
When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help other users who have the same problem.
Thank you.
Is there a way to make it stay in safe mode, all the time? From that it looks like you can only start safe mode manually every time you open Firefox, which doesn't help with the fact that it opens and closes automatically.
In any case, that doesn't solve the problem
Modified by Patfo
Hello Patfo, check also if you have something related to appmarket- Toolbar/Conduit in windows %ProgramFiles%
or C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
and in : Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\your profile(es)\extensions
thank you
Sorry for the late reply--I have found nothing related to it in ProgramFiles. The only files in the extensions folder are for the extension NoScript.
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.
It's just firefox.exe, nothing after it
Chosen Solution
I found the solution! It turns out the adware set my computer so it would go to Firefox on startup. Now, when you go to your normal Windows startup entry things, it only says Firefox, nothing else.
Then I installed CCleaner and looked at the startup entries there. In the Firefox section not only did it have the program, but also the URL it redirects me to. I deleted it, restarted, and it worked!
Now, to find out what BackgroundContainer.dll is... ^^;
I downloaded CCleaner from a site called Bleeping Computer. I think my mistake was downloading from CNET, which is sad because I always thought that site was reputable and trustworthy. But do not be fooled... MyWOT.com says CNET is no longer that safe. Bleeping Computer, however, is much safer and trusted. uwu
Modified by Patfo