Possibly from Oracle's Java updater? I suggest starting here: 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 items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Some of these might have no other purpose than to make sure it's hard to remove Ask. Take out as much trash as possible here. Next, in Firefox, open the '''Add-ons page''' using either: * Ctrl+Shift+a * "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions. 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. That should remove the toolbar, but there might be some other settings you want to restore, such as your preferred search engine. For that, I suggest using the icon on the left end of Firefox's built-in search bar. If you notice your settings changing between sessions -- that is, when you exit and start Firefox up again, it has reverted to unwanted settings -- check for a user.js file as described in this article: [[How to fix preferences that won't save]]. Success?