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Please see Configuration Options for Search.

Let us know if this solves your question.

¡Gracias!

Ups! Wrong link.

Please see Add or remove a search engine in Firefox

Hi 1Louder, Firefox is designed to let you choose your preferred home page and search engine and have that remembered permanently.

The default settings (about:home home page, Yahoo as search default in North America) are restored when a user selects to run the Refresh feature, but that shouldn't happen automatically. Also, Refresh removes all your extensions, so it's likely you would notice lots of changes.

External software sometimes removes or changes Firefox settings files. Examples include Advanced SystemCare and CCleaner. I have no idea what is running on your company's systems.

Have you noticed any pattern to losing your setting(s)?

Hmm, I failed to mention add-ons as a potential culprit, particularly if your settings are ignored.

I don't know whether your IT is familiar with how to check for extensions which hijack your preferences, but that certainly would be worth checking. For future reference, here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons, hijackers, and ad injectors. I know it seems long, but it's 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. 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. Bear in mind that none of these came with Firefox, they are all optional.

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) To check for other issues, you can supplement your regular security software 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.

Success?

Type about:addons<enter> in the address bar to open your Add-ons Manager. Hot key; <Control>(Mac=<Command>)<Shift> A)

In the Add-ons Manager, on the left, select Extensions. Remove yahoo Anything. Now do the same in the computers Programs Folder.

Windows: Start > Control Panel > Uninstall Programs. Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. Linux: Check your user manual.

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.

After the problem is fixed, Bookmark and use this; Download the Mozilla Search Reset {web link} This add-on is very simple: on installation, it backs up and then resets your search preferences and home page to their default values, and then uninstalls itself. This affects the search bar, URL bar searches, and the home page.

Thank you for the input. Unfortunately these are all methods I've been doing repeatedly on both personal and corporate PC's. All the forums I have checked over the last year or so have been threading constantly about this. Several have Mozilla personnel acknowledging they were aware of the problem, stating it was a glitch that surfaced in version 35. Changing settings such as homepage and default search engine are fairly remedial actions and if it were that simple this would not be an issue at all. I've gone so far as to not only use 3rd party removal software, but also manually comb through the registry removing traces of anything associated with Yahoo. Doesn't matter, I've spent hours performing this tasks and at times shut down, start back up, open firefox, enter query in search bar and it will immediately go to Yahoo search engine. This leads me to believe that it's a small malicious script hiding somewhere.....very successfully I might add. So far I have been unable to find one forum, tech support response or FAQ database that has publish a resolution. However; they are all abundant with frustrated users fighting the same issue.

Start your Computer in safe mode with networking.

Starting The Computer In Safe Mode;
Free Online Encyclopedia

Then try the scanners.

Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)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 (re)install 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.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Clean_reinstall

Boot the computer in Windows Safe Mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) to see if that helps.

• http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-start-windows-in-safe-mode/
• http://www.7tutorials.com/4-ways-boot-safe-mode-windows-10