How do I fix Firefox virus?
Hi! I need help with a Firefox virus of some kind. I'm noticing that new tabs are sporadically popping up here and there during my internet excursions that are directing me to adult related or questionable content. One page Firefox actually caught that I believe would've led me to some kind of virus or malware. I'm not inundated with windows, but I know it's there. I did find an add-on in my browser that I know I didn't install, so I disabled that. I've run an Avast virus scan, and it came up clean. I've run a Spybot scan, and it came up clean. Both programs are fully up to date. Firefox is updated. However, I had another tab open today. Do I need to refresh Firefox? Suggestions? Thank you for your help!
Все ответы (9)
Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.
You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:
- Microsoft Safety Scanner
- MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware
- Anti-Rootkit Utility - TDSSKiller (for more info, see this alternate TDSSKiller download page)
- AdwCleaner (for more info, see this alternate AdwCleaner download page)
- Hitman Pro
- ESET Online Scanner
Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista if you don't already have one. Windows 8/10 have antivirus protection built-in.
Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.
You will also want to make sure that you have no suspicious extensions installed in Firefox. If you do, see the Disable or remove Add-ons support documentation for information on how to remove these add-ons.
Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!
I've already run a separate malware scanner on my computer along with my antivirus. I don't want to install multiple programs that will potentially conflict with each other. I have already disabled the suspicious add-on, and I have already read Firefox's malware article. Is refreshing Firefox the next step? How much does refreshing change in my browser?
It's safe to run the malware cleaners that I listed about without them conflicting. In your situation, I'd probably recommend running AdwCleaner for sure because it often finds adware, which sounds like the issue that you are facing.
One other thing I would recommend doing is flushing your DNS. This only takes a few seconds to do. DNS is the service that converts a website URL to an IP address that Firefox uses to connect to a website. A common issue is an attack called DNS poisoning, which is when someone gives your computer false IP addresses for websites so that when you connect, Firefox is using the wrong IP address. Flushing DNS simply removes all saved IP addresses from your computer, forcing Firefox to find that information again.
If you've removed the addon and ran a scanner but are still experiencing issues, refreshing Firefox is the next thing that I would recommend. You can learn a lot more about the refresh feature in the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings documentation.
To give you the brief rundown, basically refreshing Firefox reverts it back to default, the same way that it would have looked when you first bought it. This means that it will remove any settings, extensions or customization that you have on Firefox. However, it will keep personal data, such as your bookmarks, history, cookies and passwords saved on the browser.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.
Can I install AdwCleaner without having to remove Spybot? Spybot is the malware program I currently use.
Hi, AdwCleaner is a stand Alone Scan on Demand. So yes.
Thank you for all the help! So I flushed the DNS, which was successful. I ran AdwCleaner, and that worked well, too. However, there were two entries that were identified, but not deleted. Here's the log excerpt:
***** [ Firefox (and derivatives) ] *****
No malicious Firefox entries cleaned.
***** [ Firefox URLs ] *****
Not Deleted api.searchpredict.com Not Deleted api.searchpredict.com
Some search results online showed that this could be a virus of some kind. Is there another program I could run or do I go back to the refresh Firefox option?
Hi, those should be removed. Please let the experts help you :
Hi again, I couldn't wait, so I eventually did refresh Firefox. After that, I did another AdwCleaner scan. Both of those entries were gone, and the scan came up clean. Do you think that means everything's okay now?
Hi, ya, your good till next time. There will always be a next time. Suggest use the URL I provided next time as there are tools on their page that you download and then post back and they will look at and get back to you on it and tell you exactly what you need to do. Just be patient as next time it maybe more elaborate so, go to the experts for help.