add-ons or extensions crash my machine and come up as malware
Was looking for plug-ins and extensions, and came across Top Arcade Hits add-on, and searchhelper extension by conduit. Since installing these add-ons, and extensions, my machine has been crashing on memory, my homepage was hijacked by the search helper (Search Protect by Conduit)...I immediately disabled the plug-in and extension, and restarted Mozilla, with no change.
I also found Search Protect had installed into my startup folder, so uninstalled that via control panel, also with no change.
After 2 days of fighting with this, I searched for Search Protect by Conduit, and found it is known malware, bho, pup, and a hijacker to boot, which also mines data and sends to 3rd parties, as does Top Hat, which is listed as Adware.Gamevance
CNET recommended I use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to scan and/or remove the infestation, it found 86 entries throughout the memory, registry, program files, etc., 43 of which were actual infestations
Thankfully, after 1 pass, it has removed it from my system. I would be happy to send you the log if it would help, and suggest you remove these items from your add-on list...
The only issue I currently have is that the add-on and extension are still in my Firefox, disabled, but with no way to remove them.
Chosen solution
Because it piggy-backed on the TopHat Arcade, and I had never heard of conduit, it stated that it was from Microsoft, not conduit, or I would have known better, and I trusted Mozilla not to have anything harmful on their site, and I don't care for your tone!! Who do you think you are to talk to someone like that that is simply looking for assistance???
Resetting Firefox is not the only way to solve a problem, nor is it a guarantee that it will. By simply bringing up the settings for clearing cache, and making a few tweaks, I have fixed my own problem and then some, and I did it without jerks like you talking down to me like I am stupid!
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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
- Hitman Pro
- ESET Online Scanner
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!
Able to uninstall TopHat Arcade via control panel, already found the 2 plug-ins via Malwarebytes, and they have been removed (see my original post).
When following the Firefox troubleshooter to remove the add-on (btw, the search helper extension claims to be from Microsoft, when it is actually from Conduit.) I am unable to find the XPI files in the Extensions folder, and Malwarebytes still shows me clean...any further ideas would be appreciated, however, am monitoring my machine for further issues...
Modified by shyviolet
Made sure I ran a FULL scan with Malwarebyte, and found a hiding trojan buried in an obscure folder, but still having problems. I didn't fix the problem with the add-ons, but I tried a few experiments...tried bringing up Firefox in safe mode with no add-ons, came up fine, same amount of memory being used, restarted again with add-ons enabled, used the clear cache settings which were set differently than mine, and it is running like a rabbit right now...keep your fingers crossed...here is the link I used from the mozilla troubleshooting site (thanks guys!)
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-clear-firefox-cache
Set my settings to exactly match these, and what a difference! I clear my cache regularly, especially when I have shut down the internet, but these minor tweaks made a huge difference in the response...
Will keep you posted, and good luck!
Modified by shyviolet
Why would you install anything from conduit? They are total crapware.
If you need further help, reset Firefox Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings
Chosen Solution
Because it piggy-backed on the TopHat Arcade, and I had never heard of conduit, it stated that it was from Microsoft, not conduit, or I would have known better, and I trusted Mozilla not to have anything harmful on their site, and I don't care for your tone!! Who do you think you are to talk to someone like that that is simply looking for assistance???
Resetting Firefox is not the only way to solve a problem, nor is it a guarantee that it will. By simply bringing up the settings for clearing cache, and making a few tweaks, I have fixed my own problem and then some, and I did it without jerks like you talking down to me like I am stupid!
Modified by shyviolet
You said above: "came across Top Arcade Hits add-on, and searchhelper extension by conduit." and that you installed these. Conduit Add-ons are all crapware, and should never be installed. We expressly don't allow Conduit on our add-on site, and have been actively blocking all conduit add-ons we can find.
Resetting Firefox was something I suggested if you have further problems, as it is another way to solve the problem.I'm glad you fixed your problem, but as many other people read this forum I gave the reset option for those users who didn't have success using your method.
Locking this thread.