Why is Firefox trying to open sites I have never visited?
I recently downloaded a new driver and it was obviously malware not the driver I wanted. I ran various programs to remove the malware, but every time I start Firefox or internet explorer they try to open malicious sites. I uninstalled Firefox, then restarted my computer and downloaded a new version of Firefox, but it continues to try and go to malicious sites. I have looked in all the settings inside Firefox and cannot find any reference to these malicious sites. Therefore I am assuming that Firefox must load some file when it starts up that the malicious software probably modified that causes Firefox to go to the malicious site. I am not computer literate, so I am hoping someone can give me some ideas of where to look for this file and how to remove it, I am running Windows 8.1 and the site that Firefox keeps trying to go to is searchinternet-a.akamihd.net. Any suggestions on how to fix this with simple instructions would really be appreciated. I have run adwcleaner and malware bytes to remove the infections, but they have not corrected this issue with Firefox or Internet explorer.
Regards Gary
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Hi Gary, where exactly does that unwanted site appear? For example:
- replaces home page at startup and in new windows (Ctrl+n)
- replaces home page at startup only (only using program shortcut)*
- replaces new tab page
- replaces default search engine
- opens when following links or loading other sites
- opens at random
More generally: Here is 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; none come with Firefox.
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.
* If the problem is specific to your program icon(s):
Check for a hijack. Either:
- 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.
The Target line should not have anything after this part:
- 32-bit Firefox on 64-bit Windows: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"
- Otherwise: "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"
If anything is listed after that, clear it out and save your change. To test, you can either:
- Desktop shortcut: double-click the icon to launch a new window
- Pinned taskbar icon: right-click the icon, click Mozilla Firefox to launch a new window
If you get your home page, it worked.
You may have ad / mal-ware.
Mac Malware Scanners https://discussions.apple.com/message/29938930#29938930
You can also try https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/index.html
Thanks guys, Fred, I am running a PC not a mac and already have malwarebytes installed so neither of those help me, but thatnks for the suggestion.
Jscher, I have tried your first 2 suggestions, but did not find anything wrong, so will try the 3rd suggestion this evening when I get back home from work.
Thanks everyone.
Gary
Thrasherg said
Thanks guys, Fred, I am running a PC not a mac
Sorry, your System Details showed you on a Mac.
You may have ad / mal-ware. Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.
Run most or all of the listed malware scanners. Each works differently. If one program misses something, another may pick it up.
Do a clean reinstall of the current Firefox release and delete the Firefox program folder before installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.
- Download the Firefox installer and save the file to the desktop
*https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/
If possible uninstall your current Firefox version to cleanup the Windows Registry and settings in security software.
- Do NOT remove "personal data" when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because this will remove all profile folders and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords including data in profiles created by other Firefox versions.
Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.
- (32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
- (64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"
- It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_Firefox
Your personal data like bookmarks is stored in the Firefox profile folder, so you won't lose personal data when you uninstall and reinstall or update Firefox, but make sure NOT to remove personal data when you uninstall Firefox as that will remove all Firefox profile folders and you lose your personal data.
If you keep having problems then create a new profile to test if your current profile is causing the problem.
Do a malware check with several malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.
Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware. All these programs have free versions.
Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.
- Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php - AdwCleaner:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Removal-Tools/AdwCleaner.shtml - SuperAntispyware:
http://www.superantispyware.com/ - Microsoft Safety Scanner:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx - Windows Defender:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/using-defender - Spybot Search & Destroy:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html - Kasperky Free Security Scan:
http://www.kaspersky.com/security-scan
You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.
- Anti-rootkit utility TDSSKiller:
http://support.kaspersky.com/5350?el=88446
See also:
- "Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked
Thanks everyone, I ran all the different bits of software suggested, and uninstalled firefox, removed the folders as instructed and reinstalled but I still have the same issue. I am going to reformat the hard drive, install windows10, so everything will be installed from a clean slate and see if that resolves it. Many thanks for all the suggestions.
Gary