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Removing Ask.Com as default search engine for Mozilla 3

#1 aarontuffin

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Posted 04 November 2008 - 05:19 AM

Hi All,

For some reason ask.com has become my "default" search engine for Mozilla.

I have uninstalled the toolbar (didnt even know I had installed!) , removed from add on and removed from search engines listed in mozilla.

I also ran hijackthis and deleted the line containing ask.com

For some reason it is still on my computer!

Any suggestions? I have attached a copy of my hijack this log

Thanks in advance

Aaron :)

Attached File(s)


#2 phillip22

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Posted 05 November 2008 - 04:05 AM

In Firefox, click 'down' arrow in the search bar and choose "Manage Search Engines.

Highlight & remove any you don't want.

In the search bar, click 'down' arrow and select Google.

Google should stay as the default

#3 aarontuffin

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Posted 05 November 2008 - 04:17 AM

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

I have just done this and removed all search engines but Google - but when the browser cannot find a website / page ask.com comes up again providing suggestions? Could this be spyware?

#4 eagleyes

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Posted 07 December 2008 - 11:07 PM

samne problem for me I have removed everything but google and ask.com still does its retarded search. Which to add sucks in a bad way. This would not be bad if it found things related to my search.Ask.com is by far the biggest pile of crap for search engine out to date.

#5 tiwul

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Posted 09 December 2008 - 10:53 AM

Ok here's how to do it. Thanks to the guy who posted this on http://www.paperstre...hp/archives/582 I'm just gonna copy and paste it here.

Firefox

1. Open a new tab or window.
2. Type “about:config” and hit enter, this brings up the all powerful settings of Firefox.
3. Agree to the warning that you could mess things up
4. Find keyword.url, you probably should not change anything else
5. Double click and change keyword.url string to something else like http://www.google.com/search?q=
6. Note that you cannot just put in the web site domain, you must put in the parameters before your search query. So find your favorite search engine, do a search and grab all the text up to your actual search results. So that a search for “test” in Google returns this, http://www.google.com/search?q=test, but all you need to input into the keyword.url field is http://www.google.com/search?q=

Finally, yes I know you can also manage default pages via the default settings under Tools > Options and also Manage Search Engines for the default search area, but those do not remove the default search if something is typed in wrong in the URL line. I mistype a lot or use the URL field to get the No. 1 listing automatically. I believe this is in the only way to stop ask.com and other search engines from becoming your default URL search choice.

#6 Throoper

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Posted 09 December 2008 - 06:39 PM

To get rid of Ask.com as a search engine, delete the Plug-in. :)
If it's installed as a profile option, it's located in the C:\Documents and Settings\User name\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\*****.default\searchplugins. Be sure to delete both the XML and SRC (in the backup folder) files.
If it's installed globally, it's in the C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\searchplugins folder.

#7 balasankar

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Posted 30 August 2009 - 11:53 PM

I had the same problem- Ask.com wont go away ! As this happened immediately after downloading and installing a free Utube to MP3 software, I went back and re-installed it. In that process I found out that the installation wizard had a page to confirm accepting Ask.com as the default search engine which I had accepted without reading it earlier ! After saying 'no' during second installation, the nuisance went away.

It is not clear why the software had that option. I dont see any connection.

#8 kkoko

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Posted 28 September 2009 - 04:49 PM

To remove ask.com as a default search engine follow the above two advises:

*make google default and remove ask.com from the search bar

*go to your documents and delete

You can still find out that after doing this ask.com is still your default browser, so to make firefox or internet explorer etc your default browser, go to tools>Options>Main>Homepage>Restore to default....

And voila!!!!!...u never have to deal with ask.com again!!!!!

#9 Gamling

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Posted 24 November 2009 - 09:44 AM

Tiwul has the one answer that will work no matter what (that is, of yourse if you have Firefox) it is fool proof, quick, and, at least for me, none of the others worked. nice of you guys to keep postin, but, you really can stop now... this solution is best!

#10 ultranova0

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Posted 29 December 2010 - 09:22 PM

View Posttiwul, on 09 December 2008 - 10:53 AM, said:

Ok here's how to do it. Thanks to the guy who posted this on http://www.paperstre...hp/archives/582 I'm just gonna copy and paste it here.

Firefox

1. Open a new tab or window.
2. Type “about:config” and hit enter, this brings up the all powerful settings of Firefox.
3. Agree to the warning that you could mess things up
4. Find keyword.url, you probably should not change anything else
5. Double click and change keyword.url string to something else like http://www.google.com/search?q=
6. Note that you cannot just put in the web site domain, you must put in the parameters before your search query. So find your favorite search engine, do a search and grab all the text up to your actual search results. So that a search for “test” in Google returns this, http://www.google.com/search?q=test, but all you need to input into the keyword.url field is http://www.google.com/search?q=

Finally, yes I know you can also manage default pages via the default settings under Tools > Options and also Manage Search Engines for the default search area, but those do not remove the default search if something is typed in wrong in the URL line. I mistype a lot or use the URL field to get the No. 1 listing automatically. I believe this is in the only way to stop ask.com and other search engines from becoming your default URL search choice.

This was the only one that worked for me , but in Win 7 Ultimate I had to go 1 stage further and look for an additional entry of "Ask.com" in firefox congig only after it was found in "browser.startup.homepage" and replaced with "http://www.google.com/search?q=" did "Ask.com search" finally leave

#11 eelran

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Posted 21 March 2011 - 10:33 AM

I found anther .xlm file in Owner>AppData>Roaming>MozillaFirefox>Profiles>xgqtv1t7.default>searchplugins.

#12 Isenhart444443

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Posted 05 July 2011 - 09:00 PM

Or you can do a simple Restore as I did.

#13 idic5

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Posted 25 July 2011 - 01:51 PM

how do you do a simple restore?

I was not able to find the string URL in the supposedly foolproof solution noted above.

another poster said to "go to your documents and delete"
--where are my documents?

#14 Isenhart444443

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Posted 25 July 2011 - 03:07 PM

Follow these steps for System Restore:

Control Panel
System and Security
Restore your computer to an earlier time
Open System Restore
Next
Pick a date to where you want your computer restored to then click on
Next and follow the remaining prompts.

Since I didn't do anything important to my computer in the preceding week, there was nothing I was concerned about that Restore would delete. It worked for me and I had no problems with "Ask" since I did the Restore.

#15 master joe

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Posted 28 August 2011 - 02:10 PM

:) :popcorn:Remove Ask.com as Default Search in URL Field first GO TO THE OPTIONS ON THE FIRE FOXS TOOLS ON TOP NEXT TO BOOKMARKS OK GO TO TOOLS MAKE SURE TO PICK TOOLS OK CLICK ON TOOLS GO SCROLL DOWN AND PICK OPTIONS OK CLICK ON OPTIONS THEN WHEN THE WINDOW OPENS UP CLICK ON USEBOOKMARKS PICK ANY BOOKMARKS TO BE YOUR HOME PAGE THIS WILL STOP ASK.COM ANY OTHERE TO BE YOUR HOME PAGE NOW YOU GOT THE POWER USE IT...

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