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I wish to unistall Firefox so I can make a clean install to get rid of all the Yahoo tabs, but Mozilla Firefox does not appear in the list of programs in Window

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  • Last reply by David241

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I have tried the suggestions posted in mozilla support for removing Yahoo from the new tab and the default search, but I have not been successful. So, I thought I would uninstall Firefox from my computer and make a clean install. However Mozilla Firefox does not appear as one of my Currently installed programs in Control Panel\ Add or Remove Programs, and C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe does not open or run. I fear I may have been the victim of some ?Yahoo malware. Any suggestions gratefully received.

I have Firefox 22.0 and my computer runs XP sp3.

I have tried the suggestions posted in mozilla support for removing Yahoo from the new tab and the default search, but I have not been successful. So, I thought I would uninstall Firefox from my computer and make a clean install. However Mozilla Firefox does not appear as one of my Currently installed programs in Control Panel\ Add or Remove Programs, and C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe does not open or run. I fear I may have been the victim of some ?Yahoo malware. Any suggestions gratefully received. I have Firefox 22.0 and my computer runs XP sp3.

Chosen solution

Do you have the Default Tab extension?

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window or otherwise make changes.

Use the SearchReset extension to reset some preferences to the default values.

Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).

If you do not keep changes after a restart or otherwise have problems with preferences, see:

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All Replies (5)

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Chosen Solution

Do you have the Default Tab extension?

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window or otherwise make changes.

Use the SearchReset extension to reset some preferences to the default values.

Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).

If you do not keep changes after a restart or otherwise have problems with preferences, see:

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Cor-el

Many thanks for the suggestions.

Default was the only Appearance Add-on, and Yahoo was still the search engine in Safe Mode.

However, the SearchReset extension got rid of the offending Yahoo search Navigation bar and Yahoo on the new tabs. I am very happy with the default page.

I am still very curious as to why Mozilla Firefox does not appear as one of my Currently installed programs in Control Panel\ Add or Remove Programs, but at the moment I have no wish to remove it.

JulesO

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I have a small hp computer with windows xp. The first item on add/remove programs after the microsoft programs is mozilla firefox, I have to scroll down to see it but it is there on my computer. Sorry my earlier answer did not work for you.

malwarebytes.org has a free download that analizes and corrects malware problems or you can buy lifetime protection for $24.95.  I think I answered someone else with a problem close to yours.

Modified by David241

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Firefox now seems to be working reliably (for the moment at least), with no more Yahoo tabs and Yahoos search in the Navigation bar. Perhaps "Advanced SystemCare" removed the offending program that reset it to Yahoo.

I recently had to re-install XP (which was a major pain). I suspect that this may be the cause of Mozilla not appearing as one of my installed programs. If I ever need to remove it at a later date I think I will delete the program folder and then (attempt to) clean up the registry.

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Hello JulesO,

Glad to hear everything is running well. 
(Link to dubious software  and email removed)

Modified by user633449