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