Erratic behavior Firefox?: Data loss, tabs opening for plugins, search field inoperable
A few of days ago I opened my firefox browser and noticed some very strange behavior:
1. Data loss: all themes were gone; all bookmarks from one of my folders were gone.
2. The internet search field in the upper right hand corner is inoperable.
3. A Google toolbar had been installed on my browser without my knowledge.
4. When I first opened the browser, tabs for all my plugins opened simultaneously.
It was as if I had a completely new firefox browser installed on my system. Since this occurred, I have tried the following disabling and/or removing all my "extra" plugins; reinstalled firefox on two separate occasions; searched in vain for an answer on the internet.
When I couldn't fix this I decided I would just have to live with this problem. So I reinstalled Google toolbar (for convenient searching), and I reinstalled my theme and re-enabled my plugins. But then I opened my browser yesterday and all my themes were gone again. Google toolbar was missing as well. I closed my browser and reopened it to find that themes were still gone, but Google toolbar had magically reappeared. This morning I did a fresh install. All my extra plugins are gone. No Google toolbar. I reinstalled a new theme. Search field in upper right hand corner still inoperable.
Any suggestions to resolve this issue are welcome.
Thank you.
All Replies (3)
Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.
See Basic Troubleshooting: Make a new profile
If that new profile works then you can transfer some files from the old profile to that new profile (be careful not to copy corrupted files)
See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox
Okay, I'll give it a go. Your solutions seems logical. It is probably an extension or something. In lieu of getting a response I uninstalled firefox 3.6.15 and installed firefox 4 beta 12. My search field works now and I'm no longer having trouble with all my extensions opening in tabs for their respective websites. When I checked extensions in my add-ons, I noticed that almost all of them are incompatible with this version of Firefox. That is probably why I'm no longer having issues. Coincidence? I think not. I may try completely removing all the extensions in my profile first. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for your help.
Just wanted to let you know that I've isolated the problem. The source appears to be an extension called WOT or Web Of Trust, a contradiction in terms since it hijacks your browser, adding a Google tool bar, and a whole host of conflicts within Firefox. Once I deleted it and removed the Google install it put in my profile, everything returned to normal on 3.6.15. But then a couple of days later while testing ff 4 beta 12, I had the same thing happen again as soon as I opened the browser. I implemented the fix as before and everything returned to normal. What I don't understand is how WOT got on my computer to begin with. This has been one of the nastiest drive-by dl's I've seen in some time. FF users need to avoid WOT and FF needs to warn their users about this malware and what to do if they have these issues. Thanks again for your help.