Hmm, normally I would be suspicious that you have an unwanted extension, but Avira Browser Safety doesn't sound like it would have this feature. Still, you could test in Firefox's Safe Mode. That's a standard diagnostic tool to deactivate extensions and some advanced features of Firefox. More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

• "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
• Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any difference?

You might also check your Firefox connection setting here:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > Network mini-tab > "Settings" button

The default "Use system proxy settings" should piggyback on your IE/LAN setting, but you also could try "No proxy".

Although it seems unlikely, it's possible that something has changed or been injected into your Firefox program files. For that I suggest:

Clean Reinstall

We use this name, but it's not about removing your settings, it's about making sure the program files are clean (no inconsistent or alien code files). As described below, this process does not disturb your existing settings. Do NOT uninstall Firefox, that's not needed.

(1) Download a fresh installer for Firefox 38.0.5 from https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ to a convenient location. (Scroll down to your preferred language.)

(2) Exit out of Firefox (if applicable).

(3) Rename the program folder:

(64-bit Windows folder names)

C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files (x86)\OldFirefox

(32-bit Windows folder names)

C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox

to

C:\Program Files\OldFirefox

(4) Run the installer you downloaded in #1. It should automatically connect to your existing settings.

Does a cleanly reinstalled Firefox search Google normally??

Note: Some plugins may exist only in that OldFirefox folder. If something essential is missing, look in these folders:

• \OldFirefox\Plugins
• \OldFirefox\browser\plugins

I can't find any references to this in searches, so maybe you could pull out a bit more information:

• Open the "Inspector" tool by pressing Ctrl+Shift+i. This should display the HTML source code of the page in the lower part of the tab.

• Click the little icon in the upper left (looks like an arrow pointing to a box) and then click the upper left corner of the black box. This should display a selection bar over the relevant portion of the HTML source.

• Using the mouse, hover over the selected part of the HTML source and then the next element up, and so on, watching the blue highlight over the page, until you find what seems to be the outermost part of the source that is associated with the black box. Then click that to select it.

• To share the source code of that section of the page with forum volunteers, you can paste it on the Pastebin site (no registration needed). Right-click the HTML element you selected and choose Copy Outer HTML. Then go to http://pastebin.com/ and paste the code into the New Paste box.

• The code might be hard to read, but skim through it to make sure it doesn't have your email address or other personal information. To save, you can leave the various controls below the box at their default values, and assign a name like Black Box on Google (or more if you like) before clicking Submit. Then you should get a link you can paste back here for someone to look at.