How do I set Ecosia in Firefox using a GPO?

Group Policy templates allow you to control Firefox's browser settings. This guide explains how to set Ecosia as the default search engine in Firefox across multiple machines.

In order to configure Firefox GPO settings, workstations and devices need to have the Firefox ESR Enterprise version installed and not the normal Firefox (https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/enterprise/). 

STEP 1:

Ensure you have downloaded the latest Firefox ADMX/ADML files.

Copy the admx and adml files to your central store:

• Local: %systemroot%\policyDefinitions (normally C:\Windows\policyDefinitions) 
• Domain: %systemroot%\sysvol\domain\policies\PolicyDefinitions (normally C:\Windows\sysvol\domain\policies\PolicyDefinitions) 

For more information about creating a central store for your GPOs please refer here.

STEP 2:

Login to your domain controller and open the Group Policy administration tool. You can start the group policy editor by typing "gpedit.msc" into the Windows command bar. 

Navigate to the group policy rule that controls your Firefox settings, right click and click on “edit”

STEP 3:

Depending on the target of your policy (LOCAL_MACHINE or CURRENT_USER), expand either Computer Configuration or User Configuration. In this example, we are applying a GPO rule under “User Configuration”. Navigate to the “Search” folder which has all the required settings that need to be changed.

STEP 4:

A few settings here need to be defined (in no particular order)

“Default Search Engine”

Set this option to Enabled and enter the following value – ecosia.org

“Search Engine One”

Set this option to Enabled and enter the following values:

Name – ecosia.org

URL Template - https://www.ecosia.org/search?q={searchTerms}&addon=firefoxgpo

Method – GET

Icon URL - https://ecosia.org/favicon.ico

Description – Ecosia Search Engine

STEP 5:

Ensure that you have the GPO rule linked to your domain and that you have specified the user groups/OU’s that this rule applies to.

In order for the GPO rules to take immediate effect, you may need to open a CMD window and type “gpupdate /force” to apply the settings on the end users devices. Otherwise the new GPO settings will apply after a reboot. 

DISCLAIMER

The Firefox GPO settings provide various configuration options. It is the responsibility of the System Admin or organization to decide how to further configure the GPO rules. This guide assumes that Ecosia will be the only default search engine without the ability to change it.

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