For #1: what is Zenmate? I don't think that's ever included with Firefox when you download it from Mozilla's site.

When Firefox installs, it checks your system for existing plugins and extensions, in the Windows Registry and in various shared folders, so that could explain how it suddenly appeared.

If you do not remember installing it before, possibly you loaded an unofficial bundle that will keep pushing new software onto your system. Let's investigate that first.

Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons and other hijackers. I know it seems long, but it's really not that bad.

(For Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10; XP is somewhat different)

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it. Take out as much trash as possible here.

(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
• in the Windows "Run" dialog, type or paste
  firefox.exe "about:addons"

In the left column, click Plugins. Set nonessential and unrecognized plugins to "Never Activate".

In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions. All extensions are optional; the troublemaker might not be obvious from its name.

Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.

Any improvement?

(3) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

Johnaugust said

2. How do I get firefox to use my gmail account and not my OUTLOOK?

I assume you mean if you click an email address link? Check out this article for the steps: Change the program used to open email links.

jscher2000 said

For #1: what is Zenmate? I don't think that's ever included with Firefox when you download it from Mozilla's site.

ZenMate Security & Privacy VPN https://zenmate.com/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/zenmate-security-privacy-vpn/

I agree that Firefox (for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux) has never came with either the ZenMate extension or the application.

Johnaugust said

1. I set up firefox and also got zenmate. Am I currently paying for this?

The Firefox web browsers including the desktop version for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux from say www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ has always be 1000% free and never bundled with any applications.

zenmate was perhaps already on your computer due to being bundled with some software.