How to Reset Firefox Settings To Default (2022 Guide)

Reset Firefox for Mac to its default settings

To reset Firefox for Mac back to its default settings, follow these steps:

1. Go to the “Help” menu.

   Click on Firefox’s main menu button, represented by three horizontal lines. When the drop-down menu appears, select the option labeled “Help“.
   

2. Click “More troubleshooting information”.

   From the Help menu, click on “More troubleshooting information“.

   If you’re unable to access the “Help” menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting information page.

   

3. Click on “Refresh Firefox”

   Click the “Refresh Firefox” button in the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page.
   

4. Confirm.

   To continue, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
   

5. Click on “Finish”.

   Firefox will close itself and will revert to its default settings. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click on the “Finish“.

   Your old Firefox profile will be placed on your desktop in a folder named “Old Firefox Data“. If the reset didn’t fix your problem you can restore some of the information not saved by copying files to the new profile that was created. If you don’t need this folder any longer, you should delete it as it contains sensitive information.

Remove browser hijackers, adware, and other malware from your Mac

To remove adware, browser hijackers, and other malware from your Mac, follow these steps:

• STEP 1: Remove malicious Profiles from your Mac
• STEP 2: Remove the malicious apps from Mac
• STEP 3: Use Malwarebytes to adware, browser hijackers and other malware
• STEP 4: Remove unwanted browser policies from Firefox for Mac

STEP 1: Remove malicious Profiles from your Mac

Profiles are used by IT admins in businesses to control the behavior of their Macs. These profiles can configure a Mac to do many different things, some of which are not otherwise possible.
When it comes to home users, adware and browser hijacker are using the configuration profile to prevent users from removing malicious programs from the computer. This also prevents the user from changing that behavior in the browser’s settings.
In this first step, we will check your computer to see if any configuration profiles are installed. To do this, follow the below steps:

1. Open “System Preferences”

   From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.

2. Search for “Profiles”

   When the System Preferences window opens, search for the Profiles icon.
   

   If there isn’t a Profiles icon, you don’t have any profiles installed, which is normal and you can continue with the next steps.

3. Remove the malicious profiles

   If there’s a Profile icon, click on it and select any suspicious profile that you want to remove, and then press the – (minus) button. Click Remove to remove the profile.
   

STEP 2: Remove malicious apps from your Mac

In this next step, we will try to identify and remove any malicious apps and files that might be installed on your computer.

1. Open “Finder”

   Click the Finder application on your dock.
   

2. Click on “Applications”

   In the Finder left pane, click on “Applications“.
   

3. Find and remove the malicious app.

   The “Applications” screen will be displayed with a list of all the app installed on your device. Scroll through the list until you find the malicious app, right-click it, and then click “Move to Trash”.

   Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. Here are some known malicious programs: TakeFresh, TopResults, FeedBack, ApplicationEvents, GeneralOpen, PowerLog, MessengerNow, ImagePrime, GeneralNetSearch, Reading Cursors, GlobalTechSearch, PDFOnline-express, See Scenic Elf, MatchKnowledge, Easy Speedtest, or WebDiscover.

   

4. Click “Empty Trash”

   On the dock, right-click on the trash icon and select “Empty Trash”. Doing so deletes the Trash’s contents, including the program that you just sent to the Trash.
   

5. Check and remove for malicious files

   Click the desktop to make sure you’re in the Finder, choose “Go” then click on “Go to Folder“.
   
   Look out for any suspicious files that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. Here are some known malicious files: “com.adobe.fpsaud.plist” “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, or “com.myppes.net-preferences.plist”. When you find a malicious file move it to the Trash.

   • /Library/LaunchAgents
   • ~/Library/LaunchAgents
   • /Library/Application Support
   • /Library/LaunchDaemons

   

STEP 3: Use Malwarebytes for Mac to remove adware, browser hijacker and other malware

In this third step, we will scan the computer with Malwarebytes for Mac to remove adware, browser hijacker and other malware.

Malwarebytes for Mac is an on-demand scanner that is able to destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss without costing you absolutely nothing. When it comes to cleaning up an infected device, Malwarebytes has always been free, and we recommend it as an essential tool in the fight against malware.

1. Download Malwarebytes for Mac.

   You can download Malwarebytes for Mac by clicking the link below.

   MALWAREBYTES FOR MAC DOWNLOAD LINK
   (The above link will open a new page from where you can download Malwarebytes for Mac)

2. Double-click on the Malwarebytes setup file.

   When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the setup file to install Malwarebytes on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.

   

3. Follow the on-screen prompts to install Malwarebytes for Mac.

   When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes for Mac Installer which will guide you through the installation process. Click “Continue“, then keep following the prompts in order to continue with the installation process.

   

   

   

   When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen. Click the “Get started” button.

4. Select “Personal Computer” or “Work Computer”.

   The Malwarebytes Welcome screen will first ask you on what type of computer are you installing this program, click either Personal Computer or Work Computer.
   

5. Select “Use Malwarebytes Free”.

   You’ll be then prompted to select between the Malwarebytes Free and the Premium version. The Malwarebytes Premium edition includes preventative tools like real-time scanning and ransomware protection, however, we will use the Free version to clean up the computer.
   Click on “Use Malwarebytes Free“.
   

6. Click on “Scan”.

   To scan your computer with Malwarebytes, click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes for Mac will automatically update the antivirus database and start scanning your computer for malware.
   

7. Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.

   Malwarebytes will scan your computer for adware and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
   

8. Click on “Quarantine”.

   When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine” button.
   

9. Restart computer.

   Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious files that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
   

   When the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 4: Remove malicious browser policies from Firefox for Mac

In this final step, we will try to manually remove malicious files and browser policies created by malicious programs.

1. Quit Firefox
2. In the Finder, choose Go to Folder from the Go menu
3. Paste the following path into the window that opens, then click Go:/Library/Managed Preferences/

   Look for the following files, where [username] is your username:

   com.google.Firefox.plist
[username]/com.google.Firefox.plist
[username]/complete.plist

   These may be legitimate, so open these files with TextEdit and see if they have links to the troublesome site in them. If they do, delete them and restart Firefox.

Next, we will run some specific commands in the Terminal to remove the unwanted policies created by malware.
You can check if any unwanted policies are loaded into the browser by typing Firefox://policy into the URL bar.
To reset these policies, follow these steps:

1. Close Firefox, then open a Terminal window. To do this, go to Finder > Go > Utilities > Terminal
2. Enter the following commands, pressing enter after each line:
   • defaults write com.google.Firefox HomepageIsNewTabPage -bool false
   • defaults write com.google.Firefox NewTabPageLocation -string “https://www.google.com/”
   • defaults write com.google.Firefox HomepageLocation -string “https://www.google.com/”
   • defaults delete com.google.Firefox DefaultSearchProviderSearchURL
   • defaults delete com.google.Firefox DefaultSearchProviderNewTabURL
   • defaults delete com.google.Firefox DefaultSearchProviderName
   • defaults delete com.google.Firefox ExtensionInstallSources
3. After running these commands, quit Firefox if you haven’t already done so, then launch it again and check Firefox://policy to see if the same keys are still present (you may need to click the “Reload policies” button for changes to show up). If they’re gone, you can reset again your browser settings back to their default as seen above.

Reset Firefox for Android to its default settings

To reset Firefox for Android back to its default settings, follow these steps:

1. Open the “Settings” menu.

   Tap on the “Settings” app from your phone menu or home screen.
   

2. Tap on “Apps”.

   When the “Settings” menu opens, tap on “Apps” (or “App Manager”) to see all the installed applications on your phone.
   

3. Find and tap on Firefox.

   The “Apps” screen will be displayed with a list of all the apps installed on your phone. Scroll through the list until you find the Firefox app, then tap ot it to open the apps details.
   

4. Tap “Storage”.

   When the Firefox’s app info menu is displayed, tap on “Storage“.
   

5. Tap “Manage Space”.

   Under the storage settings, you will get two options — Manage Space and Clear Cache. Tap on “Manage Space“.
   

6. Tap “Clear all data”.

   Tap “Clear all data” to delete all Firefox’s data including accounts, bookmarks and your settings in order to reset the default settings.
   

7. Confirm by tapping “Ok”.

   A confirmation dialog should now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue on with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, tap “Ok“.

Remove browser hijackers, adware, and other malware from Android

• STEP 1: Uninstall the malicious apps from your Android phone
• STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes for Android to remove adware, browser hijackers and other malware

STEP 1: Uninstall the malicious apps from your Android phone

In this first step, we will check if any malicious apps are installed on your phone. Sometimes browser hijackers or adware apps can have usable Uninstall entries that can be used to remove these apps.

1. Open the “Settings” menu.

   Tap on the “Settings” app from your phone menu or home screen.
   

2. Tap on “Apps”.

   When the “Settings” menu opens, tap on “Apps” (or “App Manager”) to see all the installed applications on your phone.
   

3. Find the malicious app.

   The “Apps” screen will be displayed with a list of all the applications that are installed on your phone. Scroll through the list until you find the unknown or malicious app. Look out for any suspicious app that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program.
   Most often, cyber criminals hide malware inside the video or photo editing apps, weather apps, and camera apps.

   Here are some known malicious apps: ES File Explorer, Xender, Amber Weather Widget, GO Weather Forecast & Widgets, Kitty Play, Touchpal, Z Camera.

   

4. Uninstall the malicious app

   When you find a suspicious or malicious app, tap on it to uninstall it. This won’t start the app but will open up the app details screen. If the app is currently running press the “Force stop” button, then tap on “Uninstall”.
   

   A confirmation dialog should be displayed to confirm you want to uninstall the app, tap on “OK” to remove the malicious app from your phone.

   

STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes for Android to remove adware, browser hijackers and other malware

In this next step, we will install Malwarebytes to scan and remove from your phone malicious apps and files.

Malwarebytes for Android searches all files and apps quickly and effectively for malware or potentially unwanted programs such as screen lockers or adware, freeing your Android device from bloatware.

1. Download Malwarebytes for Android.

   You can download Malwarebytes by clicking the link below.

   MALWAREBYTES FORO ANDROID DOWNLOAD LINK
   (The above link open a Google Play Store from where you can download Malwarebytes)

2. Install Malwarebytes for Android on your phone

   In the Google Play Store, tap “Install” to install Malwarebytes on your device.

   

   When the installation process has finished, tap “Open” to begin using Malwarebytes for Android. You can also open Malwarebytes by tapping on its icon in your phone menu or home screen.
   

3. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the setup process

   When the Malwarebytes will open, you will see the Malwarebytes Setup Wizard which will guide you through a series of permissions and other setup options.
   This is the first of two screens which explain the difference between the Premium and Free version. Swipe this screen to continue.
   
   Tap on “Got it” to proceed to the next step.
   
   Malwarebytes for Android will now ask for a set of permissions that are required to scan your device and protect it from malware. Tap on “Give permission” to continue.
   
   Tap on “Allow” to give permission to Malwarebytes to access the files on your phone.
   

4. Update database and run a scan with Malwarebytes

   You will now be prompted to update the Malwarebytes database and run a full system scan.

   

   Click on “Update database” to update the Malwarebytes definitions to the latest version, then click on “Run full scan” to perform a system scan.

   

5. Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.

   Malwarebytes will now start scanning your phone for adware and other malicious apps. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
   

6. Click on “Remove Selected”.

   When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the malicious apps that Malwarebytes has found, tap on the “Remove Selected” button.
   

7. Restart your phone.

   Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious apps that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your device.