hello lancashg, no this is certainly no part of firefox but adware. please install the search reset addon - it will revert the most common customizations those adware programs do in firefox back to the default: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/searchreset/

also run a full scan of your system with the security software already in place and different tools like the free version of malwarebytes and adwcleaner to make sure that there aren't other remnants of it on your harddrive...

Remove a toolbar that has taken over your Firefox search or home page

1. In the Location bar, type about:config and press Enter. The about:config "This might void your warranty!" warning page may appear.
2. Click I'll be careful, I promise!, to continue to the about:config page.

Then search browser.startup.homepage, click on it and change the value putting in www.google.it,for example. Then press ok and restart firefox.

You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

• Microsoft Safety Scanner
• MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware
• TDSSKiller - AntiRootkit Utility
• Hitman Pro
• ESET Online Scanner

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.

Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

Thanks so much, it has worked! Any idea how I can prevent this happening again? I have no idea how it got on my machine.

Thanks for your reply. I couldn't find the Location Bar so I did what philipp suggested which worked. Thanks for the info on the free scanners which I have just used.

thanks for reporting back & glad it worked. just be careful when you download software from the web, it nowadays often comes bundled with unwanted adware offers. in fact, the page that has overwritten your homepage seemed to have a referral link for manycam in it, so that might be how it got onto your pc originally.