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Search bar hijacked by google

  • 3 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 14 views
  • Last reply by Hobbes234

Hobbes234
Hobbes234
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Have been using Duck duck go search bar but recently every time after i close Firefox the searchbar is set on google search again. I have run AVG, Spybot search and destroy and Malwarebytes they are fine and I can see any suspicious add-ons in my firefox.

Browser protect has popped up once and warned me that google was trying to hijack a duck duck go search i was trying to do and i told it to block it which it has but still no change.

I have also reset firefox but no luck there.

Finally I have manually changed my keyword:url in about config to the correct duck duck go address of https://duckduckgo.com/? but still happening. Im all out of tricks now and could really use some help this is very frustrating.

Cheers guys!

Have been using Duck duck go search bar but recently every time after i close Firefox the searchbar is set on google search again. I have run AVG, Spybot search and destroy and Malwarebytes they are fine and I can see any suspicious add-ons in my firefox. Browser protect has popped up once and warned me that google was trying to hijack a duck duck go search i was trying to do and i told it to block it which it has but still no change. I have also reset firefox but no luck there. Finally I have manually changed my keyword:url in about config to the correct duck duck go address of https://duckduckgo.com/? but still happening. Im all out of tricks now and could really use some help this is very frustrating. Cheers guys!

Chosen solution

Is the DuckDuckGo search bar separate from the built-in Firefox search bar?

I know you can get a search plugin for the built-in Firefox search bar (see attached screen shot; from https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/ad.../duckduckgo-ssl/). Selecting that on your Firefox search bar will also select DuckDuckGo as the search engine for address bar searches.

As for hijacking, I don't know what would cause that, unless your settings were reset somehow. Can you see any pattern to it?

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All Replies (3)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Note that starting with Firefox 23 it will no longer be possible to specify the search engine for the location bar via the keyword.URL pref.
In Firefox 23+ the search engine used in the location bar is the search engine that is selected in the Search Bar. You can consider to use a (one letter) keyword search for searching via the location bar.

See also:

If you do not keep changes after a restart or otherwise have problems with preferences, see:

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

Is the DuckDuckGo search bar separate from the built-in Firefox search bar?

I know you can get a search plugin for the built-in Firefox search bar (see attached screen shot; from https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/ad.../duckduckgo-ssl/). Selecting that on your Firefox search bar will also select DuckDuckGo as the search engine for address bar searches.

As for hijacking, I don't know what would cause that, unless your settings were reset somehow. Can you see any pattern to it?

Hobbes234
Hobbes234 Question owner
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Thanks very much for the help guys, it seems to have solved the problem!