Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

How do I stop Zoo Search from being my new tab popup?

  • 2 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 5 views
  • Last reply by Vryka

more options

I reset my home page to be Google when things were hijacked by Zoo search. Now I get that as the new tab when I open it and I want that to stop. I'd rather have Google.

I reset my home page to be Google when things were hijacked by Zoo search. Now I get that as the new tab when I open it and I want that to stop. I'd rather have Google.

Chosen solution

If you want to return to the default of everything Google, this extension is a quick fix: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/searchreset/

However, in case you need it, here is the more "hands on" way to change your new tab page.

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste newtab and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.newtab.url preference and enter your preferred page:

  • Page thumbnails (default) => about:newtab
  • Blank tab => about:blank
  • Built-in Firefox home page => about:home
  • Any other page => full URL to the page

Press Ctrl+t to open a new tab and verify that it worked. Fixed?

Two gotchas:

  • If Firefox ignores the setting, one of your extensions may be overriding it. You can review, disable, and/or remove extensions on the Add-ons page. Either:
    • Ctrl+Shift+a > click Extensions in the left column
    • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons > click Extensions in the left column
  • If the change works but at the next startup is back to zoo, you might have a user.js file in your personal Firefox settings folder (your Firefox profile folder). This article describes how to track down and remove the file: How to fix preferences that won't save.

Any luck?

Read this answer in context 👍 2

All Replies (2)

more options

Chosen Solution

If you want to return to the default of everything Google, this extension is a quick fix: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/searchreset/

However, in case you need it, here is the more "hands on" way to change your new tab page.

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste newtab and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.newtab.url preference and enter your preferred page:

  • Page thumbnails (default) => about:newtab
  • Blank tab => about:blank
  • Built-in Firefox home page => about:home
  • Any other page => full URL to the page

Press Ctrl+t to open a new tab and verify that it worked. Fixed?

Two gotchas:

  • If Firefox ignores the setting, one of your extensions may be overriding it. You can review, disable, and/or remove extensions on the Add-ons page. Either:
    • Ctrl+Shift+a > click Extensions in the left column
    • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons > click Extensions in the left column
  • If the change works but at the next startup is back to zoo, you might have a user.js file in your personal Firefox settings folder (your Firefox profile folder). This article describes how to track down and remove the file: How to fix preferences that won't save.

Any luck?

more options

Hi there! Problem solved, thank you!