551591 - ASK appeared as a default search engine on Firefox start up page

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox :: Search, defect)

Description

[Merlin Perkins]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2) Gecko/20100115 Firefox/3.6 GTB6 (.NET CLR 2.0.50727)
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2) Gecko/20100115 Firefox/3.6 GTB6 (.NET CLR 2.0.50727)

Suddenly the FireFox search provider changed from Google to ASK. From info on Mozilla support,I tried to change back to Google,by entering "about.config" in the new tab, typing "keyword.url" in the filter text box, double clicking on "keyword.url", selecting change, and typing the default value as: "http://www.google.com/search?q=". The system does not recognize this change, and when I bring up FireFox,"ASK" still comes up as the default search engine. I have checked, and my change still shows in keyword.url.
I have tried ASK, and it really stinks in comparison to Google. It's almost like ASK is a virus that does not allow change. Where did ASK come from? Was it contained in one of your updates?
 

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.Start FireFox
2.ASK comes up as the default search engine
3.
Actual Results:  
As stated in "Details"

Expected Results:  
I expected that the default search engine would change to Google

None

Comment 1

[Ria Klaassen (not reading all bugmail)]

Are you talking about the search engines in the searchbar or about a search from the locationbar? keyword.URL is about the search from the locationbar.

Comment 2

[Kev Needham [:kev]]

Most likely you have Ask.com adware installed on your computer through another piece of software. The behaviour you're describing sounds a lot like you do. Check the installed programs in the Windows Control Panel and the Firefox add-ons manager for Ask software/extensions you did not install, and uninstall or disable them. Ask.com has a lot of partner companies who install the Ask.com software as part of their install package, so if you've installed any new software of late, it may have been installed through that (not a sure thing, but it's very common)

We do not include Ask.com in our default installations or our updates.

Comment 3

[Merlin Perkins]

When I start FireFox, Ask comes up on the main screen, where it used to be Google.
I have tried to delete Ask through Control Panel, add/delete programs, but it won't work, I get the folowing message:

  RUNDLL
        Error loading
           The specified module could not be found
              C:\Progra~1\AskSbar\bar\1.bin\AskSbar.dll

Comment 4

[Henrik Skupin [:whimboo][⌚️UTC+1]]

Can you delete the add-on from within Firefox?

Comment 5

[Merlin Perkins]

I would try to delete ASK from within FireFox if I knew how. I would need step by step instructions.

Comment 6

[Henrik Skupin [:whimboo][⌚️UTC+1]]

Click the drop down in the search bar and select "Manage Search Engines". Then select ASK and hit the Remove button.

Comment 7

[Merlin Perkins]

Henry Skupin, I did as you directed, but ASK is not on the list. The search engines listed are:
Google
Yahoo
Amazon.com
Answers.com
Creative Commons
ebay
Wikepedia

ASK still appears on the main screen when I start up FireFox. It's almost like ASK is a virus that won't allow me to delet or change from the default search engine.
Any other suggestions? Thanks for your help. Merlin Perkins

Comment 8

[Henrik Skupin [:whimboo][⌚️UTC+1]]

Please don't change the summary for each of your comments. Instead please upload a screenshot which shows your problem. I don't get what you mean with 'main screen'. An image should help. Thanks.

Comment 9

[Kev Needham [:kev]]

Deleting the search engine won't help. What's meant by the main screen is the start page, which has been switched from Google to Ask. There's Ask software installed, which usually overrides any user prefs and makes the start page, keyword.URL, and default search plugin sticky. If they're removed/changed, the plugin just puts it right back (usually, I am making a few assumptions here based on similar behaviour we've seen).

For resolution, it may make more sense to hit up support.mozilla.com. What needs to be done is to disable any Ask.com extensions in the add-on manager, and removing the ask software that's been installed (and may be registered as a plugin in the registry).

Comment 10

[Henrik Skupin [:whimboo][⌚️UTC+1]]

Cheng, do we already have a sumo article?

Comment 11

[Merlin Perkins]

From Merlin Perkins, Originator

I finally found the " fix". From the Firefox start page, I clicked on TOOLS, then OPTIONS, GENERAL, and at "HOME PAGE", I found an "address" that included ASK. I selected the "old" address that had GOOGLE in it to replace it, and my Firfox start up page now is back to GOOGLE as the search engine. 
Thanks for you consideration of my problem.
P.S.-I still am not able to delete ASK using Control Panel, Add/Delete. I still get the error warning detailed in my earlier posting.

Comment 12

[Merlin Perkins]

Earlier posting was "Comment # 3" Merlin Perkins

Comment 13

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

(In reply to comment #10)
> Cheng, do we already have a sumo article?

We don't have something specific to this problem. There is <https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/How+to+set+the+home+page>.

Merlin, when you searched support, do you remember which search terms you used? It sounds like the problem was that you referred to your home page as your search engine. If we create an article called "Ask.com has taken over as my home page" and users are searching for "can't change default search engine" then they're likely not going to find the article.

Comment 14

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Merlin?