WHY DOES MOZILLA FIREFOX ALLOW ADD-ONS TO INVADE OUR DEVICES?
MY SEARCH ENGINE WAS CHANGED OVERNIGHT TO AMAZON WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. THERE MUST BE A HOLE IN YOUR SERVER WHERE ADWARE CAN GET IN.
All Replies (9)
The search engine setting is easy to change (and it isn't controlled by any Mozilla servers ;)
In fact we ship amazon as one of the default search engines in Firefox (the one you'll usually see are google or yahoo though).
You can switch it to what ever search engine you'd like easily. Use the Search bar in Firefox and manage search engines
Tyler Downer said
The search engine setting is easy to change (and it isn't controlled by any Mozilla servers ;) In fact we ship amazon as one of the default search engines in Firefox (the one you'll usually see are google or yahoo though). You can switch it to what ever search engine you'd like easily. Use the Search bar in Firefox and manage search engines
Tyler Downer said
The search engine setting is easy to change (and it isn't controlled by any Mozilla servers ;) In fact we ship amazon as one of the default search engines in Firefox (the one you'll usually see are google or yahoo though). You can switch it to what ever search engine you'd like easily. Use the Search bar in Firefox and manage search engines
Hello. Yes I know how to switch it back, but that wasn't my question. Another person asked the same question back in 2014 and also didn' t get the answer. My question is -- why does Mozilla Firefox ALLOW adware to get in and changes made to our Mozilla settings without our permission? In your reply you stated ... "we ship amazon as one of the default search engines in Firefox." Okay, so it is Mozilla changing our settings -- right? Does Mozilla also allow adware to come in that pesters us continually? Lucky for me I've a security package, otherwise this would happen all the time.
My question is -- why does Mozilla Firefox ALLOW adware to get in and changes made to our Mozilla settings without our permission?
They (Mozilla) doesn't. A possible reason would be an external or 3rd party software that changed it. Either you installed a new add-on or somehow changed it yourself without realizing it. If Firefox had holes in its code, they're would've been a higher number of users swarming the forum with this same issue. In other words, this issue is user-error.
In your reply you stated ... "we ship amazon as one of the default search engines in Firefox." Okay, so it is Mozilla changing our settings -- right?
No, not right. Amazon is one of the pre-defined search engines available in Firefox. Mozilla provides it along with other search engines so users change choose which they want to use.
moses said
My question is -- why does Mozilla Firefox ALLOW adware to get in and changes made to our Mozilla settings without our permission?They (Mozilla) doesn't. A possible reason would be an external or 3rd party software that changed it. Either you installed a new add-on or somehow changed it yourself without realizing it. If Firefox had holes in its code, they're would've been a higher number of users swarming the forum with this same issue. In other words, this issue is user-error.
In your reply you stated ... "we ship amazon as one of the default search engines in Firefox." Okay, so it is Mozilla changing our settings -- right?No, not right. Amazon is one of the pre-defined search engines available in Firefox. Mozilla provides it along with other search engines so users change choose which they want to use.
No my dear -- sorry -- I NEVER open or download add-ons. I'm a creature of habit and like thing left as they are, and yet adware continually comes into my PC trying to sell me things. Ok, well never mind. I was just wondering. Other than that -- I love Mozilla Firefox and will never use another browser. But I do wish Mozilla had a "news page" like MSN. ">(
If you are having trouble with settings changing without permission on your computer, I'd suggest the following:
Mozilla doesn't change your search settings, with the exception of the big change away from Google as the default search provider when that contract ended last Fall. (In North America the new partner is Yahoo, not Amazon.)
Unfortunately, changes to your settings made by adware are often indistinguishable from changes you can make yourself, such as setting a new home page, changing what appears on a new tab, and changing your default search engine. So those changes are not locked out by default, and it would be impractical to do so.
Firefox does regularly download a block file which can prevent known dangerous add-ons from running, and it uses data from Google's Safe Browsing project to prevent you from visiting (and downloading files from) sites known to be sources of malicious files.
But with the profusion of new adware and malware, Mozilla has to rely on users to a large extent to practice safe computing. That includes exercising caution in downloading and installing new software, and using available security solutions to detect and block installation of malicious and typically unwanted software.
jscher2000 said
Mozilla doesn't change your search settings, with the exception of the big change away from Google as the default search provider when that contract ended last Fall. (In North America the new partner is Yahoo, not Amazon.) Unfortunately, changes to your settings made by adware are often indistinguishable from changes you can make yourself, such as setting a new home page, changing what appears on a new tab, and changing your default search engine. So those changes are not locked out by default, and it would be impractical to do so. Firefox does regularly download a block file which can prevent known dangerous add-ons from running, and it uses data from Google's Safe Browsing project to prevent you from visiting (and downloading files from) sites known to be sources of malicious files. But with the profusion of new adware and malware, Mozilla has to rely on users to a large extent to practice safe computing. That includes exercising caution in downloading and installing new software, and using available security solutions to detect and block installation of malicious and typically unwanted software.
I changed my search engine settings back to Google earlier this afternoon and unclicked Yahoo as the default SE. Yahoo is totally useless (it can't even find a restaurant). Two hours later Yahoo made itself my S.E. again without my permission. Then I came across an article on how Firefox kicked Google to the curb last year and made Yahoo its fave S.E. I knew all along Firefox is doing this. A very irritating move and I ain't havin' it. I've downloaded Google as my home page.
skelly1234 said
I changed my search engine settings back to Google earlier this afternoon and unclicked Yahoo as the default SE. Yahoo is totally useless (it can't even find a restaurant). Two hours later Yahoo made itself my S.E. again without my permission.
I haven't had any problem with Firefox remembering that Google is my default (see attached screen shot of Options dialog, Search panel where you set the default search engine).
Did you exit out of Firefox in between the time it was Google and the time it became Yahoo? There are some situations where changes you make to your settings are lost between sessions. This support article discusses some of them: How to fix preferences that won't save.
Another common reason for that problem is software like Advanced SystemCare that has a feature of rolling back browser settings changes to protect you from unwanted changes. However this software doesn't actually know which changes you want and which you don't, so you may need to disable this feature until Firefox starts up the way you want it.
If you didn't exit Firefox, then I would suspect one of your extensions as the culprit.
skelly1234 said
Then I came across an article on how Firefox kicked Google to the curb last year and made Yahoo its fave S.E. I knew all along Firefox is doing this. A very irritating move and I ain't havin' it. I've downloaded Google as my home page.
Yahoo was made default search engine as of Firefox 34.0 for en-US locale. The Google search engine is still one of the default choices that Firefox comes with.
https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2014/11/19/promoting-choice-and-innovation-on-the-web/
Modified by James