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HOW DO I STOP FIREFOX FROM REROUTING MY SEARCHES TO AMAZON

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When i put search terms in the navigation bar, Firefox reroutes me to Amazon. That's extremely irritating because I do not like Amazon and do not wish to search there. I've done an hour of research, and everyone has ideas to which my Firefox browser is impervious. I don't understand why a nonprofit is rerouting me to Amazon and I'm now looking for an alternative browser.

I've read that this has something to do with my "top 8 sites' -- but that hasn't helped solve the problem. other people tell me to type in about: config and that doesn't help. Others say to remopve Amazon from your search engine list: I have done so and it doesn't not fix the problem.

Is there any easy way to get rid of this rerouting behavior for my navigation bar searches? I've read answers to this question on this forum, and none of them have helped so far.

I don't know why Firefox decided to emulate malware behavior in their browser. If they're going to set up such an extremely irritating feature, they could at least set up a super-obvious way to disengage it -- like "CLICK HERE TO STOP BEING REROUTED TO COMMERCIAL SITES." Instead, I have to search and search -- and even things that "work" only work for certain browser iterations.

When i put search terms in the navigation bar, Firefox reroutes me to Amazon. That's extremely irritating because I do not like Amazon and do not wish to search there. I've done an hour of research, and everyone has ideas to which my Firefox browser is impervious. I don't understand why a nonprofit is rerouting me to Amazon and I'm now looking for an alternative browser. I've read that this has something to do with my "top 8 sites' -- but that hasn't helped solve the problem. other people tell me to type in about: config and that doesn't help. Others say to remopve Amazon from your search engine list: I have done so and it doesn't not fix the problem. Is there any easy way to get rid of this rerouting behavior for my navigation bar searches? I've read answers to this question on this forum, and none of them have helped so far. I don't know why Firefox decided to emulate malware behavior in their browser. If they're going to set up such an extremely irritating feature, they could at least set up a super-obvious way to disengage it -- like "CLICK HERE TO STOP BEING REROUTED TO COMMERCIAL SITES." Instead, I have to search and search -- and even things that "work" only work for certain browser iterations.

All Replies (4)

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b98765 said

people tell me to type in about: config . . .

That's about:config = no space


Type about:preferences#search<enter> in the address bar. You can select any search engine to be your default from here.

You can also remove any engine from here.

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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 “ Amazon “ Anything.

Also remove SafeSearch, SearchAssist Incognito, FileConverter Addon, SearchLock, DiscreteSearch, WebSearch, Findwide Search Engine, securedsearch

Now do the same in the computer’s Programs Folder.

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

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When you click in the address bar, before you type any new text:

The address bar drop-down may show you your Top Sites from the built-in Firefox Home / new tab page. You have a couple options:

(1) Turn off Firefox showing Top Sites here, using a checkbox (now labeled Shortcuts in Firefox 89) on the Settings/Options page. See: Address bar autocomplete suggestions in Firefox.

(2) Remove unwanted Top Sites from the Firefox Home / new tab page. More info on how to do this in: Customize items on your Firefox New Tab page.

As you type in the address bar:

The top row of the drop-down shows what Firefox will do if you press Enter at that moment, such as search with your default search engine or visit a site. If it says search with a site that you do not want to use as your default, you can update your default search engine setting. More info in this article: Change your default search settings in Firefox.

If the top row of the address bar has the correct default search engine but you end up on another page, an add-on hijacking your searches definitely sounds like the next thing to investigate, as mentioned by FredMcD in the above reply.

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Another possibility is that you have a smart bookmark for Amazon and your search terms start with that bookmark's keyword. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar

The solution would be to find that bookmark and remove or change its keyword or to remove the bookmark.