Homepage hijacked by Bing
Hi,
All of a sudden FF (current version) started using Bing.com as its homepage rather than the URL that I specified in preferences. PC running the current version of Win10.
A Google search seems to indicate that this is due to a virus but all the fixes are outdated apparently.
I tried reinstalling FF I tried refreshing FF I tried restarting FF with add-ons disabled
I cannot get rid of this issue. FF won't use the homepage URL that is specified in preferences and keep on using Bing.com
Please help. Let me know what to do.
Thank you very much in advance for your help. Best, -a-
All Replies (10)
Known homepage hi-jackers seem to favor Bing. Please see this support article. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-caused-malware
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 “ Bing “ Anything.
Also remove SafeSearch, SearchAssist Incognito, FileConverter Addon, SearchLock, DiscreteSearch, WebSearch, Findwide Search Engine
Now do the same in the computer’s Programs Folder.
Windows: Start > Control Panel > Uninstall Programs. Mac: Open the Applications folder. Linux: Check your user manual.
This could be an issue caused by AdAware or Web Companion from Lavasoft.
You can look for a file named dsengine.js in these locations. You should only find channel-prefs.js in the "defaults\pref" location. Any file found here apart from channel-prefs.js is suspicious.
You can check the content of the file in a text editor (use open with and do not double-click the file).
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\ C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\
You can look for a file named dsengine.cfg in the main Firefox program folder.
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\ C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\
Delete the dsengine.js and dsengine.cfg files when present.
FredMcD said
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 “ Bing “ Anything. Also remove SafeSearch, SearchAssist Incognito, FileConverter Addon, SearchLock, DiscreteSearch, WebSearch, Findwide Search Engine Now do the same in the computer’s Programs Folder. Windows: Start > Control Panel > Uninstall Programs. Mac: Open the Applications folder. Linux: Check your user manual.
Thanks. The only extension installed is ublock origin. There are no suspicious programs to uninstall from what's listed in Windows apps
cor-el said
This could be an issue caused by AdAware or Web Companion from Lavasoft. You can look for a file named dsengine.js in these locations. You should only find channel-prefs.js in the "defaults\pref" location. Any file found here apart from channel-prefs.js is suspicious. You can check the content of the file in a text editor (use open with and do not double-click the file). C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\ C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\ You can look for a file named dsengine.cfg in the main Firefox program folder. C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\ C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\ Delete the dsengine.js and dsengine.cfg files when present.
Thanks. Only channel-prefs.js can be found in C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\defaults\pref\ There are no desengine.xxx files in C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\
the-edmeister said
Known homepage hi-jackers seem to favor Bing. Please see this support article. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-caused-malware
Thanks a lot but none of the proposed solutions apply or were able to fix my issue :(
Don't know if this is relevant but whenever I click the homepage icon (little house icon) I DO get to the homepage specified in FF preferences. I don't go back to Bing.com. I wonder why FF won't use this URL whenever it is launched...
best, -a-
You can check the target line in the Firefox desktop shortcut (right-click: Properties) to make sure nothing is appended after the path to the Firefox program.
cor-el said
You can check the target line in the Firefox desktop shortcut (right-click: Properties) to make sure nothing is appended after the path to the Firefox program.
The shortcut is vanilla. Nothing added in order to change the home page...
Modified by asheenlevrai
asheenlevrai said
Don't know if this is relevant but whenever I click the homepage icon (little house icon) I DO get to the homepage specified in FF preferences. I don't go back to Bing.com.
Maybe you could try this : Click the home page icon and copy the URL.
Then on your desktop : delete the shortcut and create a new one, using the URL you just copied.
It's a stab in the dark, but worth a try, since you've already tried everything else in the book ......
(Must be sooo frustrating !)