Joomla creating URLs I dont need

[fashezee]

We took control over a site that used Joomla. It creates URLs using domain.com/component + index.php?jiberjaber.
How can I prevent joomla from creating such URLs?

[travelin cat]

Joomla has built in se friendly links that do an ok job of this.

To activate them, go to Global Configuration
Make sure you are in the "Site" area located directly under the Global Configuration header
On the right, locate "SEO Settings"
Make sure "Search Engine Friendly URLs" is set to yes.

If this does not work as you like (and it may not with certain plugins or configurations), you will need an SEO friendly plugin. There are a lot of them listed here: [extensions.joomla.org...]