You can no longer set the default search engine via a pref, so you must have some malicious software on your computer if the search engine gets changed. Try to delete the search.json file and possible search-metadata.json and search.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder to reset the search engines to the default. You can use this button to go to the current Firefox profile folder: *Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory:<br>Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder *http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox Firefox will rebuild the search.json file from the default built-in search engines that come with Firefox and the searchplugins folder in the Firefox profile folder. ----- Do a malware check with several malware scanning programs on the Windows computer. *https://support.mozilla.org/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-caused-malware Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware. All these programs have free versions. Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan. *Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:<br>http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php *AdwCleaner:<br>http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/<br>http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Removal-Tools/AdwCleaner.shtml *SuperAntispyware:<br>http://www.superantispyware.com/ *Microsoft Safety Scanner:<br>http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx *Windows Defender:<br>http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/using-defender *Spybot Search & Destroy:<br>http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html *Kasperky Free Security Scan:<br>http://www.kaspersky.com/security-scan You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller. *Anti-rootkit utility TDSSKiller:<br>http://support.kaspersky.com/5350?el=88446 See also: *"Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked ----- Do a clean reinstall of the current Firefox release and delete the Firefox program folder before installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release. *Download the Firefox installer and save the file to the desktop<br>*https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/ If possible uninstall your current Firefox version to cleanup the Windows Registry and settings in security software. *Do NOT remove "personal data" when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because this will remove all profile folders and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords including data in profiles created by other Firefox versions. Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer. *(32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\" *(64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\" *It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling. *http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_Firefox Your personal data like bookmarks is stored in the Firefox profile folder, so you won't lose personal data when you uninstall and reinstall or update Firefox, but make sure NOT to remove personal data when you uninstall Firefox as that will remove all Firefox profile folders and you lose your personal data. If you keep having problems then create a new profile to test if your current profile is causing the problem. ---- *http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox *http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup *http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Clean_reinstall

Type '''about:addons'''<enter> in the address bar to open your Add-ons Manager. Hot key; '''<Control>''(Mac=<Command>)''<Shift> A)''' In the Add-ons Manager, on the left, select '''Extensions.''' Remove Google '''Anything.''' Now do the same in the computers Programs Folder. '''Windows:''' Start > Control Panel > Uninstall Programs. '''Mac:''' Open the "Applications" folder. '''Linux:''' Check your user manual. ------------------ After the problem is fixed, Bookmark and use this; Download the '''[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/searchreset/ Mozilla Search Reset]''' {web link} This add-on is very simple: on installation, it backs up and then resets your search preferences and home page to their default values, and then uninstalls itself. This affects the search bar, URL bar searches, and the home page.