How to remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop-ups [Survey Scam]

The “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” is classified as misleading ‘ad’ site. This web-site is created to force you into purchasing products or unwanted services. If you are seeing this annoying web-page then it is possible that an ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) was installed on your personal computer. As a result of the adware infection, your web-browser will be full of advertisements (pop-ups, banners, in-text links, offers to install an undesired applications) and your system will be slower and slower.

The full text of the misleading advertising is:

Dear Mozilla Firefox user,
You are today’s lucky visitor for: 
Please complete this short survey and to say "Thank You" we'll give you a chance to get
an gift cards, coupons and other amazing deals!
OK

What is more, the adware responsible for redirects to “Dear Mozilla Firefox User”, may open ads depend on a web page that you are visiting. That is, it’s clear that this adware, without your permission, steals personal information about you such as: your ip address, what is a website you are viewing now, what you are looking for on the Internet, which links you are clicking, and much, much more. The worst is, the ad supported software may monetize its functionality by gathering user information from your surfing sessions. This privacy data, later, can be easily transferred third party companies. This puts your user data at a security risk.

The ad supported software can modify the settings of the Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, MS Edge and Google Chrome, but often that a malicious software such as this can also infect all types of web-browsers by changing their desktop shortcuts. Thus forcing the user each time start the internet browser to see the unwanted “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” web site.

Therefore it is very important to follow the tutorial below sooner. The few simple steps will help you to remove adware as well as clean your machine from the “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop-ups. What is more, the instructions below will help you delete other malicious applications like unwanted toolbars and browser hijackers, which can be installed onto computer along with the adware.

Remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop-up scam

We suggest opting for automatic “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” ads removal in order to delete all ‘ad supported’ software related entries easily. This solution requires scanning the PC with reputable anti malware, e.g. Zemana Anti Malware, MalwareBytes AntiMalware or HitmanPro. However, if you prefer manual removal steps, you can use the instructions below in this blog post. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to shut down your web-browser or reboot your system.

To remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User”, perform the steps below:

1. Manual “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” advertisements removal
   • Remove questionable applications using MS Windows Control Panel
   • Clean up the web-browsers shortcuts which have been infected by ‘ad supported’ software
   • Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks
   • Remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” redirect from IE
   • Get rid of “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” advertisements from Mozilla Firefox
   • Remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop up ads from Google Chrome
2. Use free malware removal tools to completely get rid of “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” popup ads
   • Remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop-ups with Zemana Anti-malware
   • Remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop up advertisements from web-browsers with Hitman Pro
   • Automatically remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” redirect with Malwarebytes
3. How to stop “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” redirect
4. Where the “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” advertisements comes from
5. Finish words

Manual “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” advertisements removal

Read this “How to remove” section to know how to manually remove adware that causes undesired “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” popup advertisements. Even if the guidance does not work for you, there are several free malicious software removers below that can easily handle such adware that causes multiple unwanted pop up advertisements.

Remove questionable applications using MS Windows Control Panel

Some of potentially unwanted applications, ad-supported software and browser hijackers can be removed using the Add/Remove programs tool that is located in the MS Windows Control Panel. So, if you are using any version of MS Windows and you have noticed an unwanted program, then first try to remove it through Add/Remove programs.

Make sure you have closed all browsers and other apps. Press CTRL, ALT, DEL keys together to open the Windows Task Manager.

Click on the “Processes” tab, look for something suspicious that is the adware that created to reroute your browser to various ad webpages like “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” then right-click it and select “End Task” or “End Process” option. Most often, malicious software masks itself to avoid detection by imitating legitimate MS Windows processes. A process is particularly suspicious: it’s taking up a lot of memory (despite the fact that you closed all of your programs), its name is not familiar to you (if you’re in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for its name in Google, Yahoo or Bing).

Next, delete any unknown and suspicious apps from your Control panel.

Windows 10, 8.1, 8

Now, click the Windows button, type “Control panel” in search and press Enter. Select “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.

Look around the entire list of programs installed on your computer. Most likely, one of them is the adware that causes web-browsers to open unwanted “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” advertisements. Choose the questionable program or the application that name is not familiar to you and uninstall it.

Windows Vista, 7

From the “Start” menu in MS Windows, select “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, select “Uninstall a program”.

Select the suspicious or any unknown software, then press “Uninstall/Change” button to uninstall this unwanted program from your computer.

Windows XP

Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.

Select an unwanted program, then press “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.

Clean up the web-browsers shortcuts which have been infected by ‘ad supported’ software

Important to know, most antimalware apps that are able to remove adware that responsible for browser redirect to the unwanted “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” site, but unable to detect and recover modified shortcuts. So, you need to fix the desktop shortcut files for your Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Chrome and Internet Explorer web-browsers manually.

Right click on the web-browser’s shortcut file, click Properties option. On the Shortcut tab, locate the Target field. Click inside, you will see a vertical line – arrow pointer, move it (using -> arrow key on your keyboard) to the right as possible. You will see a text “http://site.address” which has been added here. Remove everything after .exe. An example, for Google Chrome you should remove everything after chrome.exe.

To save changes, click OK . You need to clean all browser’s shortcut files. So, repeat this step for the Chrome, Internet Explorer, FF and Edge.

Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks

Once installed, the adware can add a task in to the Windows Task Scheduler Library. Due to this, every time when you launch your computer, it will open “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” intrusive page. So, you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and delete all harmful tasks which have been created by ‘ad-supported’ applications.

Press Windows and R keys on the keyboard together. This displays a prompt that titled as Run. In the text field, type “taskschd.msc” (without the quotes) and click OK. Task Scheduler window opens. In the left-hand side, click “Task Scheduler Library”, as shown in the figure below.

In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Please select the first task, its properties will be show just below automatically. Next, click the Actions tab. Pay attention to that it launches on your system. Found something like “explorer.exe http://site.address” or “chrome.exe http://site.address”, then delete this harmful task. If you are not sure that executes the task, check it through a search engine. If it’s a component of the malicious software, then this task also should be removed.

Having defined the task that you want to delete, then press on it with the right mouse button and choose Delete as displayed below.

Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by adware. Once is finished, close the Task Scheduler window.

Remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” redirect from IE

The IE reset is great if your web browser is hijacked or you have unwanted addo-ons or toolbars on your web-browser, which installed by an malware.

First, launch the Internet Explorer. Next, press the button in the form of gear (). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as displayed in the following example.

In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then press the Reset button. The IE will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as displayed on the image below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.

You will now need to restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect.

Get rid of “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” advertisements from Mozilla Firefox

Resetting your FF is good initial troubleshooting step for any issues with your browser program, including the redirect to “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” site.

First, open the Firefox. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will display the drop-down menu. Next, press the Help button ().

In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page click on “Refresh Firefox” button as displayed on the screen below.

Confirm your action, press the “Refresh Firefox”.

Remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop up ads from Google Chrome

Run the Reset browser utility of the Google Chrome to reset all its settings such as startpage, search engine and newtab to original defaults. This is a very useful tool to use, in the case of browser redirects to annoying ad web pages such as “Dear Mozilla Firefox User”.

First run the Google Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal dots ().

It will display the Google Chrome menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.

Open the Google Chrome menu once again. Further, press the option named “Settings”.

The browser will display the settings screen. Another way to show the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the web-browser adress bar and press Enter

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as displayed on the screen below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

The Chrome will show the confirmation prompt as shown below.

You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The browser will launch the process of cleaning. When it is done, the browser’s settings including search provider by default, new tab and home page back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your personal computer.

Use free malware removal tools to completely get rid of “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” popup ads

If you are not expert at computers, then all your attempts to remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop-ups by completing the manual steps above might result in failure. To find and remove all of the adware related files and registry entries that keep this adware on your system, use free anti-malware software like Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM), MalwareBytes Free and HitmanPro from our list below.

Remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop-ups with Zemana Anti-malware

You can delete “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop up advertisements automatically with a help of Zemana Anti-malware. We recommend this malware removal tool because it may easily get rid of hijacker infections, PUPs, adware that reroutes your browser to “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” web-site with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.

Installing the Zemana AntiMalware is simple. First you will need to download Zemana Free on your computer from the link below.

Once the download is finished, close all apps and windows on your personal computer. Double-click the install file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as on the image below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Zemana on your PC system. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is finished successfully, Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed in the following example.

Now click the “Scan” button to start scanning your system for the adware responsible for redirecting your internet browser to “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” web-page. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. During the scan Zemana Anti-Malware will search for threats exist on your PC system.

After the checking is finished, Zemana will display a list of found items. In order to delete all items, simply click “Next” button. The Zemana will remove adware that causes web browsers to open unwanted “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop ups and add items to the Quarantine. Once the cleaning procedure is done, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.

Remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop up advertisements from web-browsers with Hitman Pro

Hitman Pro is a completely free (30 day trial) utility. You do not need expensive solutions to remove ad-supported software that responsible for internet browser redirect to the undesired “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” web site and other misleading applications. HitmanPro will delete all the undesired applications like adware and hijackers at zero cost.

1. Visit the following page to download the latest version of HitmanPro for MS Windows. Save it on your Windows desktop.
   
   

   HitmanPro
   7109 downloads
   Author: Sophos
   Category: Security tools
   Update: June 28, 2018
   
2. After the download is done, double click the Hitman Pro icon. Once this tool is started, click “Next” button . HitmanPro program will scan through the whole system for the ‘ad supported’ software that causes web browsers to show undesired “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” popup ads. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC. While the Hitman Pro is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
3. After HitmanPro completes the scan, HitmanPro will open a screen which contains a list of malware that has been detected. Next, you need to click “Next” button. Now press the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to get rid of all malicious software found.

Automatically remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” redirect with Malwarebytes

Manual “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop-up advertisements removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the adware may be not completely removed. We recommend that use the Malwarebytes Free that are completely free your system of ad supported software. Moreover, the free application will allow you to remove malicious software, potentially unwanted apps, hijackers and toolbars that your PC can be infected too.

Installing the MalwareBytes Free is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) by clicking on the following link.

When the download is done, close all programs and windows on your machine. Double-click the install file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as displayed on the image below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you install MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) on your machine. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is finished successfully, click Finish button. MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown below.

Now press the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes Anti Malware program will scan through the whole computer for the ad-supported software related to “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop-up advertisements. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your computer and the speed of your personal computer. While the MalwareBytes is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.

Once finished, MalwareBytes Free will show a list of found items. Once you have selected what you want to remove from your personal computer click “Quarantine Selected” button. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will get rid of ‘ad supported’ software that causes internet browsers to show unwanted “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” ads and move threats to the program’s quarantine. Once the cleaning procedure is complete, you may be prompted to restart the machine.

We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes Free to get rid of adware, browser hijacker infection and other malware.

How to stop “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” redirect

If you surf the Web, you can’t avoid malicious advertising. But you can protect your browser against it. Download and run an ad-blocking application. AdGuard is an ad blocker which can filter out a large amount of of the malvertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading malicious content.

1. Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard. Save it to your Desktop.
   
   

   Adguard download
   21899 downloads
   Version: 6.4
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 15, 2018
   
2. Once the download is finished, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. After the installation is done, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you run your system, AdGuard will run automatically and stop ads, web pages like “Dear Mozilla Firefox User”, as well as other harmful or misleading web-pages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon called AdGuard, which can be found on your desktop.

Where the “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” advertisements comes from

Most of undesired advertisements such as “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” ads come from internet browser toolbars, browser extensions, BHOs (browser helper objects) and optional software. Most commonly, these items claim itself as apps which improve your experience on the Internet by providing a fast and interactive startpage or a search engine that does not track you. Remember, how to avoid the unwanted software. Be cautious, start only reputable applications which download from reputable sources. NEVER install any unknown and suspicious apps.

Finish words

Now your PC should be free of the ad-supported software that responsible for the appearance of “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” pop up advertisements. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop-up advertisements and intrusive harmful web-pages) and Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) (to periodically scan your system for new ad-supported softwares and other malicious software). Probably you are running an older version of Java or Adobe Flash Player. This can be a security risk, so download and install the latest version right now.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove “Dear Mozilla Firefox User” popups from the Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.

 

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