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

When I open firefox, it starts not on my homepage, but on a search page I've never willingly downloaded, and have uninstalled from my computer. Why?

  • 3 replies
  • 3 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by Andramir

more options

Today, I've had quite some trouble with my computer. I think it was attacked by something sneaky, but I managed to stop it and fix everything. Everything but this one thing.

When I open the firefox browser, it does not automatically go to my homepage, despite having followed every instruction for this to happen. Instead, it opens in a search engine called "awesomehp" which I have, previously to this, never heard of, and never installed. WHen I click the "home"-button, it goes to my actual homepage, and everything is ok.

I have tried to uninstall this...."awesomehp" search engine, but it STILL shows up automatically when I open FireFox. Why? And this is even after I've reset FireFox to its default settings once.

Why does this happen, and what can I do to fix it?

Today, I've had quite some trouble with my computer. I think it was attacked by something sneaky, but I managed to stop it and fix everything. Everything but this one thing. When I open the firefox browser, it does not automatically go to my homepage, despite having followed every instruction for this to happen. Instead, it opens in a search engine called "awesomehp" which I have, previously to this, never heard of, and never installed. WHen I click the "home"-button, it goes to my actual homepage, and everything is ok. I have tried to uninstall this...."awesomehp" search engine, but it STILL shows up automatically when I open FireFox. Why? And this is even after I've reset FireFox to its default settings once. Why does this happen, and what can I do to fix it?

Chosen solution

Sounds like you picked up a page hijacker. See this for help getting rid of it:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-awesomehp.com-browser-hijacker

Read this answer in context 👍 2

All Replies (3)

more options

Chosen Solution

Sounds like you picked up a page hijacker. See this for help getting rid of it:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-awesomehp.com-browser-hijacker

more options

Every now and then, you should run these programs

Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.

You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.

Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

more options

Thank you so much for the help! It really worked!!!