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My browser won't stay set to the home and startup pages I want.
I can't get Firefox (v38.0.5 and earlier) to leave my homepage and startup page set to blank: as soon as I shut down & restart it, it comes up with a Yahoo! search page. I've even tried changing it in "about:config", to no avail.
Réiteach roghnaithe
Is your startup option set to "When Firefox starts: Show a blank page"? And it keeps getting change to "When Firefox starts: Show my Home Page" with a page you did not select?
Those settings definitely should not change between the time you exit Firefox and the time you start it up again. The most common reasons they might do so are:
(1) You have an optional user.js file in your settings that Firefox is discovering and using to override your preferences at startup.
Please see the user.js section of our support article "How to fix preferences that won't save." By default, Windows hides the .js extension, so if you see a file named user with a type of JScript, that's most likely the user.js file. Or to make it easier, set Windows to show all file extensions using the steps in this article: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/wi.../show-hide-file-name-extensions.
(2) You have security/privacy/utility software such as Advanced SystemCare that prevents unwanted changes to browser settings (sometimes called home page protection).
Try disabling any such software until you have Firefox working properly. Otherwise, the program will keep undoing your changes.
(3) You have malware or an unwanted add-on that keeps changing your startup setting.
Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons. I know it seems long, but it's not that bad.
(A) 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.
(B) 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 all extensions are optional; none ship 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?
(C) 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.
Success?
Read this answer in context 👍 1All Replies (2)
Réiteach Roghnaithe
Is your startup option set to "When Firefox starts: Show a blank page"? And it keeps getting change to "When Firefox starts: Show my Home Page" with a page you did not select?
Those settings definitely should not change between the time you exit Firefox and the time you start it up again. The most common reasons they might do so are:
(1) You have an optional user.js file in your settings that Firefox is discovering and using to override your preferences at startup.
Please see the user.js section of our support article "How to fix preferences that won't save." By default, Windows hides the .js extension, so if you see a file named user with a type of JScript, that's most likely the user.js file. Or to make it easier, set Windows to show all file extensions using the steps in this article: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/wi.../show-hide-file-name-extensions.
(2) You have security/privacy/utility software such as Advanced SystemCare that prevents unwanted changes to browser settings (sometimes called home page protection).
Try disabling any such software until you have Firefox working properly. Otherwise, the program will keep undoing your changes.
(3) You have malware or an unwanted add-on that keeps changing your startup setting.
Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons. I know it seems long, but it's not that bad.
(A) 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.
(B) 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 all extensions are optional; none ship 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?
(C) 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.
Success?
Athraithe ag jscher2000 - Support Volunteer ar
Thank you, jscher2000; I found it in the user.js file. So far seems to have done the trick!
Thanks, again!