Any other Firefox users?

[Snakeadelic]

Yeah, I know. Firefox. But it was the best OS of the several already loaded & primed when I was given my computer for free, so I chose it because IE...really??? And Chrome is just too...stalkeriffic...for me. But now Firefox is doing something weird, actually has been for a while, and I wanted to find out if anyone knows anything about this.

It keeps hijacking itself insisting on a "very important" update that it for whatever reason won't auto-download. It does give me a prompt window with a 'cancel' button that works, and all I actually have to do to get it to go away at each instance (can be daily, weekly...it's kinda random but usually not more than once per session) is grab a bookmark for literally any other page.

But if it's such a crucial update, why doesn't it say anything about what the update does? Why are they hijacking their own browser? I know I'm paranoid, but I'll share a little quote I hope I still remember right. Michael Wincott's character in 'Strange Days'. "The question isn't whether you're paranoid, it's whether you're paranoid enough."

Anybody else using FF run across this? Anybody know what the 'update' actually is?

[glatt]

I use firefox and have not seen this update.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I think Digr uses firefox.

[Gravdigr]

I do.

And I have seen this window pop up from time to time. My take is that it's not Firefox doing this. I believe it is an ad at best, and dangerous at any rate. I don't think FF would go about updates in this manner. I get them at about the same rate as before I updated a few weeks ago.

They come up seemingly at random, but, I think I notice them more from Yahoo news articles that redirect to another site.

Sometimes they are accompanied by a new tab opening. I just close that tab.

I just click the little 'x' and go about my bidness, no need for opening a bookmarked page, though.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Snakeadelic

Yeah, I know. Firefox. But it was the best OS of...

Firefox is a web browser, not an operating system.

[Snakeadelic]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Firefox is a web browser, not an operating system.

I think I was tired & out of it on pain meds when I defaulted to "OS" because my brain couldn't remember "browser". Isn't there a German word for 'when you lose a stupidly simple word and have to replace it with something of debatable accuracy'? Seems like the kind of thing there'd be a German word for.

And thankee to everyone! I had a feeling that was a Bad Thing, and so I am always very careful (because my hands do sometimes randomly twitch, clench, or snap open) when I hit Cancel on the download dialog box. I actually accidentally twitch-clicked a popup once and it cost me $90 to get the computer working again--even my dad, an IT professional and total gear geek, could not do much with it from a distance so I had to take it to a shop.

I have noticed an association between the browser hijack and a specific site. I don't think it comes from the site, however; the site in question is popular, entrenched, and not particularly predatory on its own. I think it's sneaking in with somebody's advertising. I got nailed by malware hidden in ads on the Cheezburger sites (now blocked by the browser) and DeviantArt (also blocked by the browser). DA is so bad my neighbor's Mac kept getting attacked before I just gave up despite all the stunning art to be found therein, and just about no one seems to write malware for Macs, at least in the parts of the Net where I hang out.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Snakeadelic

I think I was tired & out of it on pain meds when I defaulted to "OS" because my brain couldn't remember "browser".

I kinda figured there might be a misspeak involved.

And, yes, I bet there is a German word for that thing exact.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Snakeadelic

I have noticed an association between the browser hijack and a specific site. I don't think it comes from the site, however; the site in question is popular, entrenched, and not particularly predatory on its own. I think it's sneaking in with somebody's advertising.

View the number of IP connections made when trying to connect to one site. That one site may cause well over 60 other connections to other sites. Those other connections are why your computer appears to be slow - but is not consuming much CPU time.

Sometimes, those other sites can contain malware. Those popup messages can be problematic to remove.

The message did not say what it does or why. A first indication of a statement best avoided or ignored.

[Flint]

Firefox at my work occasionally hijacks a tab with an "important update!" page. This happens, I think, when I open a bunch of tabs. But not often.

I don't trust it, it looks and acts suspicious, so I close down the whole browser from Task Manager.

No idea what it is.

[sexobon]

Out of curiosity, I Googled it even though I don't use Firefox. Mozilla Support has a thread on it started almost a year ago. They say it's malware and not from Firefox; so, don't run it or save it. They haven't posted a definitive solution. Apparently it's a complex problem because the malware originator adapts it. You can read Mozilla's recommendations here:

https://support.mozilla.org/t5/Probl...ate/ta-p/37696

You can read the entire thread on the subject and contribute to it if you wish here:

https://support.mozilla.org/t5/Firef...30940#M1014901

[Januar]

I prefer to use firefox on PC. But the mobile version is not really good. Mostly the updates of firefox are to strengthen the security against malicious programs such as keyloggers, malware, spyware, etc.

[Snakeadelic]

Well, I don't have to worry about the mobile version Ppl keep telling me I need a smartphone...yeah. Right. That'll go GREAT with the "easily startled person with anxiety disorder and a cardiac arrhythmia"...even on vibrate it'd scare the hell outta me every time it went off. So, being the troglodyte I am, I don't own a mobile device, though I've been eyeing my sweetie's tablet. My mom LIVES on hers, so maybe this summer's visit to her place I'll put in some time doing more than "you play card games and I'll distract the dog to see if he'll put up with being in the same room." My parents have a huge dog that, despite every method of training known to a mom who's been a dog person for well over 50 years, is a biter. The encounter with both dog and tablet went well.

I fear for my desktop, but then again the noises it makes on startup could have to do with the fact that it desperately needs a blow-out with canned air, which I'll take care of on a day when it's less likely rain will come whipping into my balcony. It's 4 years old and wasn't new when I got it, but it was a gift and so I try the best I can.

The hijacking seems to have stopped, right about the time I got a big fat No Longer Supported information screen on a legit update. The last couple of virus scans I ran came up the same way they always do: a couple of trojans hiding in Adobe updates. And this is why I haven't updated OpenOffice--I use that A LOT and if something got in there and screwed up my writing files I'd cry. I have hundreds of pages in there; the bit I'm working on now is at 9 or 10 short chapters and just over 22,000 words.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Back that shit up!

[Gravdigr]

"easily startled person with anxiety disorder and a cardiac arrhythmia"

So, we have no phone, cell or other wise? If you're that concerned about being startled by a ringing/vibrating phone, how in the hell can you watch a movie? Of any kind, much less those creature features you talk about watching. Last movie I watched had lots of scary, loud, sudden sounds in it. Much scarier than a cell phone.

[Snakeadelic]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

"easily startled person with anxiety disorder and a cardiac arrhythmia"

So, we have no phone, cell or other wise? If you're that concerned about being startled by a ringing/vibrating phone, how in the hell can you watch a movie? Of any kind, much less those creature features you talk about watching. Last movie I watched had lots of scary, loud, sudden sounds in it. Much scarier than a cell phone.

My household is currently in the minority, one land line, no cell lines. Our home phone is on the other side of a closed door, seldom rings more than twice a week, and is still capable of startling me quite badly.

As for movies, I watch most of them at home, where I often keep the volume low. A high re-viewing tolerance also helps, because after about the 3rd time overall even the jump-scares are predictable and I only have to pay attention to my favorite parts. For theater jaunts, I take tranquilizers first as is standard for me going to just about any social gathering including about half the times I actually make it to the gem club meetings.

To bring tech back into this, I'm thinking of going to a tablet when my desktop kicks off. Pretty sure modern full-size tablets are perfectly capable of running a terabyte or two on an external drive (where everything I write and photograph is currently backed up), and I plan to bug both of my tablet-addicted parents for details when I see them in July .