Google Maps redirecting to undesireable website
I've been having issues with Firefox on Ubuntu 18.10 for a while now. For whatever reason, whenever I try to access maps.google.com it states that the website is unavailable, whereas that maps.google.ca redirects to ww1.google.ca which, in turn, redirects to mediadiscovery.net - which is a website blocked by my router's adblocker. When I use Chromium or Vivaldi, I don't have that same issue, the website is completely accessible; also, if I instead use www.google.com/maps then I actually reach Google Maps from Firefox. I've already tried clearing cookies and cache, as well as restarting Firefox fresh. I only have one extension enabled (GNOME Shell Integration) and 3 plugins (OpenH264, Widevine and Shockwave Flash).
Any help is much appreciated. Also, I got the troubleshooting information while running in Safe Mode, which had no impact on the behavior I previously described.
Chosen solution
FredMcD said
I take it the new profile is working without a problem, yes? When you are ready, we can start moving parts of your old data and Copy it to the new profile.
First; open your file browser to the New profile;
Type about:support<enter> in the address bar.
Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Folder. To its right press the button Show Folder. This will open your file browser to the current Firefox profile. Now Close Firefox.
Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder
Linux: Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Directory. To its right press the button Open Directory.
Second, open another file browser to the Old profile. You should see it on the directory "tree" in the first file browser. Right click on that folder and select Open In New Window.
Warning ! ! Only Copy the files you are told. We will avoid anything that might cause problems. Here is the list of files;
cookies: cookies.sqlite Do not bother. Cookies will be created when you return to the website. However, you will have to log in everywhere. And you may lose any settings that websites store on your computer.
extensions(add-ons, themes): it would be better to download them fresh. If you need to remember what add-ons you had, open the extensions sub-folder and look at the .xpi files ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ logins.json and key3.db [v58+]key4.db : These are the password files. Copy Both !
persdict.dat : custom dictionary - words you added to the dictionary
mimeTypes.rdf [v55+]handlers.json : What to do with what type of file.
places.sqlite : History and Bookmarks.
prefs.js : Your settings. Note: If you were having problems, this could be contaminated.
cert8.db [v58+]cert9.db and possibly cert_override.txt : Stores all your security certificate settings and any SSL certificates you have imported into Firefox. If removed, the cert8.db, cert9.db file will be replaced.
search.json.mozlz4 : file stores the user-installed search engines that are available in the Firefox v47+
search.sqlite file and searchplugins folder store the search engines that are available in the Firefox Search bar before Firefox v47 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Copy these files from the old to the new. You may get a message that the files already exist. Choose to over-write for each file.
Thanks for the incredibly clear instructions! So, upon copying what you told me (namely cookies.sqlite - because I didn't wanna lose these -, places.sqlite and cert9.db, I realized the new profile had been tainted with the Google Maps redirection. Long story short, I decided to create yet another profile and try out the three files to figure out where the redirection was happening - and places.sqlite was the culprit. Long story short, I actually decided to fix my original default profile; to do so, I looked up all over my History for the redirections I originally reported and selected "Forget about this site" for each occurrence (consider that this option erases all the occurrences of any given website, but it turns out these redirections had a couple of different websites, so it took me a couple of attempts) - and, well, now I do have a working Firefox profile with all my original configuration, cookies and such.
FredMcD, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to walk me through this whole process and help me sort my problem out. You're incredible!
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (9)
Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link}
A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?
FredMcD said
Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?
Thanks for the response, FredMcD, but unfortunately that does not solve the problem at all - I've both tried SafeMode and Refresh, neither worked.
I called for more help. This sounds like Malware, but I have been told Linux is not affected like other systems.
Start your Computer in safe mode with network support. Then start Firefox. Try Secure websites. Is the problem still there?
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Linux+Safe+Mode Starting Any Computer In Safe Mode; Free Online Encyclopedia
FredMcD said
I called for more help. This sounds like Malware, but I have been told Linux is not affected like other systems. Start your Computer in safe mode with network support. Then start Firefox. Try Secure websites. Is the problem still there? http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Linux+Safe+Mode Starting Any Computer In Safe Mode; Free Online Encyclopedia
Thanks for the suggestion, FredMcD, but indeed Linux is not affected by malware for once; and it's only a problem with maps.google.ca and maps.google.com - any other website seems to work correctly. In Safe Mode, though, the redirection seems to fulfill and takes me to antivirusdownload555.blogspot.com - so, indeed, it might seem like there's something really weird with my Firefox configuration.
One last thing: I tried going to the secure versions of both Google Maps websites I reported as not working, and they both work correctly. On Chromium and Vivaldi, I just checked that I'm redirected from http to https when I request either of the sites - so, could it be that Firefox is redirecting to my aforementioned website instead of the secure version for some bizarre reason?
Use these links to create a new profile. Use this new profile as is. Is the problem still there?
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox#Navigating_to_the_profile_folder
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles
Type about:profiles<enter> in the address bar.
FredMcD said
Use these links to create a new profile. Use this new profile as is. Is the problem still there? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-run-firefox-when-profile-missing-inaccessible http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox#Navigating_to_the_profile_folder https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles Type about:profiles<enter> in the address bar.
OK, so the new profile doesn't have the same Google Maps redirection problem as the current one. Is there anyway I can actually pin down what is causing the issue?
I take it the new profile is working without a problem, yes?
When you are ready, we can start moving parts of your old data and Copy it to the new profile.
First; open your file browser to the New profile;
Type about:support<enter> in the address bar.
Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Folder. To its right press the button Show Folder. This will open your file browser to the current Firefox profile. Now Close Firefox.
Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder
Linux: Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Directory. To its right press the button Open Directory.
Second, open another file browser to the Old profile. You should see it on the directory "tree" in the first file browser. Right click on that folder and select Open In New Window.
Warning ! ! Only Copy the files you are told. We will avoid anything that might cause problems. Here is the list of files;
cookies: cookies.sqlite Do not bother. Cookies will be created when you return to the website. However, you will have to log in everywhere. And you may lose any settings that websites store on your computer.
extensions(add-ons, themes): it would be better to download them fresh. If you need to remember what add-ons you had, open the extensions sub-folder and look at the .xpi files ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ logins.json and key3.db [v58+]key4.db : These are the password files. Copy Both !
persdict.dat : custom dictionary - words you added to the dictionary
mimeTypes.rdf [v55+]handlers.json : What to do with what type of file.
places.sqlite : History and Bookmarks.
prefs.js : Your settings. Note: If you were having problems, this could be contaminated.
cert8.db [v58+]cert9.db and possibly cert_override.txt : Stores all your security certificate settings and any SSL certificates you have imported into Firefox. If removed, the cert8.db, cert9.db file will be replaced.
search.json.mozlz4 : file stores the user-installed search engines that are available in the Firefox v47+
search.sqlite file and searchplugins folder store the search engines that are available in the Firefox Search bar before Firefox v47 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Copy these files from the old to the new. You may get a message that the files already exist. Choose to over-write for each file.
Chosen Solution
FredMcD said
I take it the new profile is working without a problem, yes? When you are ready, we can start moving parts of your old data and Copy it to the new profile.
First; open your file browser to the New profile;
Type about:support<enter> in the address bar.
Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Folder. To its right press the button Show Folder. This will open your file browser to the current Firefox profile. Now Close Firefox.
Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder
Linux: Under the page logo on the left side, you will see Application Basics. Under this find Profile Directory. To its right press the button Open Directory.
Second, open another file browser to the Old profile. You should see it on the directory "tree" in the first file browser. Right click on that folder and select Open In New Window.
Warning ! ! Only Copy the files you are told. We will avoid anything that might cause problems. Here is the list of files;
cookies: cookies.sqlite Do not bother. Cookies will be created when you return to the website. However, you will have to log in everywhere. And you may lose any settings that websites store on your computer.
extensions(add-ons, themes): it would be better to download them fresh. If you need to remember what add-ons you had, open the extensions sub-folder and look at the .xpi files ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ logins.json and key3.db [v58+]key4.db : These are the password files. Copy Both !
persdict.dat : custom dictionary - words you added to the dictionary
mimeTypes.rdf [v55+]handlers.json : What to do with what type of file.
places.sqlite : History and Bookmarks.
prefs.js : Your settings. Note: If you were having problems, this could be contaminated.
cert8.db [v58+]cert9.db and possibly cert_override.txt : Stores all your security certificate settings and any SSL certificates you have imported into Firefox. If removed, the cert8.db, cert9.db file will be replaced.
search.json.mozlz4 : file stores the user-installed search engines that are available in the Firefox v47+
search.sqlite file and searchplugins folder store the search engines that are available in the Firefox Search bar before Firefox v47 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Copy these files from the old to the new. You may get a message that the files already exist. Choose to over-write for each file.
Thanks for the incredibly clear instructions! So, upon copying what you told me (namely cookies.sqlite - because I didn't wanna lose these -, places.sqlite and cert9.db, I realized the new profile had been tainted with the Google Maps redirection. Long story short, I decided to create yet another profile and try out the three files to figure out where the redirection was happening - and places.sqlite was the culprit. Long story short, I actually decided to fix my original default profile; to do so, I looked up all over my History for the redirections I originally reported and selected "Forget about this site" for each occurrence (consider that this option erases all the occurrences of any given website, but it turns out these redirections had a couple of different websites, so it took me a couple of attempts) - and, well, now I do have a working Firefox profile with all my original configuration, cookies and such.
FredMcD, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to walk me through this whole process and help me sort my problem out. You're incredible!
Modified by GryphonBR
That was very good work. Well done.