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FireFox startup goes to a Direct TV ad. I have to hit 'home' to get my home pages. How to get rid of it?

mac216ster
mac216ster
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I just rebooting my machine, and when I startup FireFox, it is NOT displaying my home pages. It just displays a page with a Direct TV ad.

If I shut it down and open again, same thing.

I have to actually click on the 'home' icon to get my home screens.

How do I get rid of this Direct TV 'thingy'????? It does not show up in my options under startup options. This is the link to the Direct TV ad that is displaying: https://www.directvnow.com/thegoodstuff?ref=EDe9DNMIq00PDC7QE&-6266901-11193130-2819196-202154882-401337634-82609788#the-full-lineup

I can't find a trace of it in the options function

Thanks in advance

I just rebooting my machine, and when I startup FireFox, it is NOT displaying my home pages. It just displays a page with a Direct TV ad. If I shut it down and open again, same thing. I have to actually click on the 'home' icon to get my home screens. How do I get rid of this Direct TV 'thingy'????? It does not show up in my options under startup options. This is the link to the Direct TV ad that is displaying: https://www.directvnow.com/thegoodstuff?ref=EDe9DNMIq00PDC7QE&-6266901-11193130-2819196-202154882-401337634-82609788#the-full-lineup I can't find a trace of it in the options function Thanks in advance

All Replies (1)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Could be a hacked shortcut. Here's how to investigate.

The Firefox icon can be set up to launch specific pages at startup (or more specifically, when you use the icon). To check whether that is set:

First, open the shortcut as follows:

  • Desktop shortcut: right-click the icon, choose Properties
  • Pinned taskbar icon: right-click the icon, right-click Mozilla Firefox, choose Properties

Windows normally will select the Shortcut tab. If not, go ahead and click the Shortcut tab.

You'll see the Target highlighted. On 64-bit Windows, that usually is no more and no less than the following: 

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"

If anything follows after that, try clearing it out.

After OK'ing the Properties dialog, you can test right away to confirm that Firefox now launches only your home page. Either:

  • double-click desktop shortcut
  • right-click pinned taskbar icon, click Mozilla Firefox

Success?

If the problem returns, there probably is some stuff you need to clean off of your system.

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.

(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. If you're not sure, feel free to post program names or a screenshot of the list.

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

  • Ctrl+Shift+a (Mac: Command+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 Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions; the troublemaker might not be obvious from its name. All Mozilla-installed extensions are hidden from this page, so whatever you see here is your choice and your responsibility to enable, disable, or remove.

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.