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 Safety Scanner
• MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware
• TDSSKiller - AntiRootkit Utility

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.

Disable or remove Add-ons

Remove a toolbar that has taken over your Firefox search or home page

Try these also

• http://www.2-spyware.com/remove-whitesmoke-virus.html
• http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-whitesmoke-toolbar/

Uninstall Wildtangent games and Xfinity addon. See if problems with firefox continue. Whitesmoke was distributed with malware at some point, but now freeware/shareware programs are used. Typically, they are loaded with other adware/hijacks as well. Also, make sure everything Whitesmoke related is uninstalled from control panel.

I was once hit by a virus. When I suspected this, and tried to have my anti-virus do a scan. Funny thing happened. As my cursor moved over the icon in the notification area, the icon disappeared. Now I knew something was wrong. I then tried starting the anti-virus directly. The program opened, but closed after one second. I was thinking %$#@@#$%^&*&^$. Then I had an idea. I opened MSCONFIG, went to the startup tab, and turned off everything I could not identify. I then rebooted, and tried anti-virus again. This time there was no problem, but the full scan found nothing. I was sure where the virus came from and contacted the anti-virus people. Several days later, an update came thru, and the virus was found and removed. Hope this helps.

Another good free scanner is AdwCleaner. It can be downloaded from the following site, but beware of banner ads for other products that navigate away from the page, you want the button in the page itself:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

For fredmcd-hotmail: Another great tool for managing startup programs is Autoruns, which Microsoft acquired when it bought SysInternals:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

I cannot thank you enough jscher2000. AdwCleaner completely solved my problem. You have definitely made my day much happier. This is the computer that I do all my homework on, and you helped me in time for my final test. Thank you soooooooo much!!!!