Then you need to set a homepage or homepage search engine for Firefox.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-or-remove-search-engine-firefox

Yahoo now comes up on my Firefox browser With reference to my question just posted, also now when I click on my Firefox browser, the Yahoo search engine seems to take over and it won't let me come out of it. Mark

Firefox is a web browser and not a search engine as Yahoo is a search engine. Mozilla does not have a search engine of their own.

Firefox has not come with Yahoo as one of the search engine defaults (nor anything else Yahoo related) either by Firefox install or a Firefox update since the Firefox 57.0 Release as you can see in /forums/contributors/712925

It could have been installed/changed by one of your Extensions you have installed in Firefox either during recent extension install or extension update. So either it added a Yahoo search engine or took over your Homepage.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-set-the-home-page https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/extension-changed-my-new-tab-page https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/wrong-home-page-opens-when-i-start-firefox-how-fix

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-or-remove-search-engine-firefox https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/change-your-default-search-settings-firefox

Thank-you James and Mark very much for your replies. This all happened because I wanted to install an app called "Marine traffic" onto my computer. So I looked up how to do it and it seemed to say that it needed something like "Opera" to be installed so I did. As soon as I did this the Firefox browser was not the same for some reason. I now get a blank white screen with a search bar in the centre when I press my Firefox tag at the bottom of my screen. This blank white screen has a contact us button at the bottom which when you press it says "[email protected]". So this screen comes up but there is another + tag next to it which enables me to open up another search browse session and this time it is the usual Firefox screen. However when I search for anything it now comes up with a yahoo search instead of a Firefox "web browse".

All my history (up to the point when I installed the Opera) that was memorized by Firefox has been lost. Also when I play You tube videos the subtitle support (ie where you can read what the person in the video is saying) now comes up with senseless words, partly in French partly in English.

So I have, I believe, set Firefox as my default browser (thank-you for telling me that Firefox is a web browser, that is interesting, anyway I enjoy using Firefox). This is because I have pressed a few times now the "do you want Firefox as your default browser" question that comes up. Do I need to do anything more than this to ensure that this is the case? I want to get rid of the Opera facility but can't see how to do this.

Any more guidance that you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Mark

When I go onto "settings" in Firefox, then onto "Home" it says that Firefox is my default browser. However the answer to the question "choose what you see when you open a new tab" is "custom URL's" Should I change that to "Firefox home (default)"?

I have now managed to uninstall Opera. This has helped because now when I press on my Firefox icon in the task bar it comes up with the normal Firefox homepage instead of the blank screen with a search bar in it. So that must be a step in the right direction? However when I then do a search it still comes up with the Yahoo search

Hi Mark, could I point you to the last article James linked to:

Change your default search settings in Firefox

What is your default search engine set to? Sometimes it will be something like McAfee or another non-Yahoo-sounding name, but actually it is a partner of Yahoo. You could try Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo and see whether those work.

If searches are hijacked to Yahoo even with one of the above three as your default search engine, then a likely culprit would be an extension. You can view, disable, and often remove unwanted or unknown extensions on the Add-ons page. Either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a (Mac: Command+Shift+a)
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
• type or paste about:addons in the address bar and press Enter/Return

In the left column of the Add-ons page, click Extensions. On the right side, find the "Manage Your Extensions" heading.

If there is at least one extension before the next heading -- "Recommended Extensions" -- please continue:

Then cast a critical eye over the list below that heading. Any extensions Firefox installs for built-in features are hidden from this page, so everything listed here is your choice (and your responsibility) to manage. Does anything mention search, private search, etc.? Anything suspicious or that you just do not remember installing or why? If in doubt, disable (or remove). For your privacy and security, don't let mystery programs linger here.

Any improvement?

Note: If you are blocked from accessing the list, switch to Firefox's Troubleshoot Mode and try again. See: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.

You might also run some malware scans in case you didn't get the official Opera install but something bundling Opera with some other invasive programs. The following article lists tools other Firefox users have found helpful. They are either free or have a free trial with no obligation to subscribe.

Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware

Thank-you jscher2000, the level of support that you are giving me here is excellent. I am so pleased that I have chosen the Firefox browser and I find it interesting to begin to understand some of the issues. So now I looked at what my default engine was set to. This is quite interesting because it was set to Google but the icon for Google was different to what I am used to. It was an icon with a "G" for Google but had a small search icon in the bottom right corner of the logo. So I scrolled now for the other search engine options and change the default search engine to the "normal" Google icon. Now the Yahoo search does not not seem to interfere. So that is good because the Yahoo search was asking me to accept Cookies before I could do the search and I was worried about doing that.

Interestingly, also, is that the Google logo with the small search icon in the bottom right corner has, I believe since the Opera installation, appeared in the horizontal list below the address bar on the Firefox front page (along with ebay YouTube etc). That Google logo with the small search icon is still there. (should or can I get rid of it?)

I also went to "manage your extensions", also as you suggested and there is only one under "enabled", namely "Google Chrome remote desktop". Below that there are 4 recommended extensions, namely "Enhancer for YouTube", "Video downloadHelper", "Simple Tab Groups" and "GestureFy" . None of these I have instigated. Do I need to do anything with these? There are other recommendations under "Find more add-ons. So I think that we are getting there, thanks to your help. I have two tags for Firefox in the task bar at the bottom of my page. I use one and the other I don't and I haven't known whether to or how to get rid of the one that I don't use, shall I do that also? Thanks again, Mark

Sounds good!

On the fake Google search engine:

You should be able to remove an unwanted search engine from the Search Shortcuts box toward the bottom of the Search panel on the Settings page.

On the Add-ons page:

I don't know what "Google Chrome remote desktop" is doing in Firefox. Do you recall where that came from?

You can ignore the recommended add-ons unless you are looking to meet a specific need.

On the Task Bar:

Over the years, I have occasionally noticed that my old pinned shortcut could start Firefox but the windows formed a separate group. In that case, I would unpin the shortcut and try to re-pin it from the new group (right-click context menu). That usually worked but sometimes took an extra try. I don't know the reason for this glitch.

Thank-you , sorry for the late response.

So I removed the unwanted search engine (Google with the search icon in the right corner) from the search page in settings. It still appears below the address bar on the front page of Firefox. Is there a way to get rid of it there? On the Add-ons page: No I do not know where the "Google Chrome remote desktop" came from. I don't use Google Chrome. Shall I remove that also?

I'll ignore the recommended Add-ons.

On the task bar: I am not sure that I completely understand what you mean but I noticed that you said "right click the context menu" . I'm not sure what the context menu is but when I right click on the unwanted taskbar icon (ie the other Firefox icon that I don't use) there is an option to "unpin from taskbar". Shall I just click on that? I'll have a look at the Malaware infomation that you kindly sent also. I would still like to now install the "Marine traffic" app (my son works on a boat and it would be nice to see where he is). It says that it is for a mobile but I would like to install it on my laptop. Do you think I should now be able to do that? Mark

Yes, it is important to remove any unrecognized extensions.

Yes, right-click the icon/button. (The menu that appears when you right-click something is called the context menu.)

Unless Marine Traffic has an app for Windows -- iOS and Android apps don't run on Windows -- you can try using the website for your search. On https://www.marinetraffic.com/ it looks like you need to sign in to find a vessel.

Thank-you so much for all your help. I have managed also to find a location of a ship on Marine Traffic.

It's problem solved. God bless you.