One possible culprit would be an extension. You can view, disable, and often remove unwanted or unknown extensions on the Add-ons page. Either: * Ctrl+Shift+a (Mac: Command+Shift+a) * "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons * type or paste '''about:addons''' in the address bar and press Enter/Return In the left column of the Add-ons page, click Extensions. Then cast a critical eye over the list on the right side. Any extensions Firefox installs for built-in features are hidden from this page, so everything listed here is your choice (and your responsibility) to manage. Anything that mentions search or information or vines or that you just do not remember installing or why? If in doubt, disable (or remove). Any improvement? ---- These steps also are recommended in case a bad extension arrived as part of a bundle. (1) Open the Windows <strong>Control Panel</strong>, Add or Remove programs <p>After the list loads, click the "Sort by" header and choose Install date to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. <em>Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it.</em></p> <p>Take out as much trash as possible here. If you're not sure, feel free to post program names or a screenshot of the list.</p> (2) You can search for remaining issues with the <strong>scanning/cleaning tools</strong> listed in this support article: [[Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware]]. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case. Hopefully that will flush anything on your system and in your Firefox that could be a problem.