There are very few profiles on my PC. My question is, what is that message from Firefox *supposed* to indicate? ... and I mentioned some possible interpretations.

Bottom line, that message is vague, at best, and, "What we have here is a failure to communicate."

In earlier releases, there was no ambiguity; an instance is a process.

I am noticing, particularly with 63+, a boatload of processes for a single (if I'm interpreting accurately) instance.

BillM said

I am noticing, particularly with 63+, a boatload of processes for a single (if I'm interpreting accurately) instance.

Firefox starting 5-7 processes is common after Firefox 54. To reduce the number of content processes, see: Firefox's performance settings.

Anyway, I don't think that is relevant to the message you got, but if your research shows otherwise, I'll be interested to hear about it.

Not statistically likely. Two profiles on this laptop, but only one in use at any time

But that's not my question anyway: What is the *mechanism* used to deliver these updates to currently-active users? Is there a "control point" somewhere that notifies all running firefox processes?

My experience was receiving a message *within my current session* on my single-user PC, to the effect that I was receiving an update (WHETHER OR NOT I wanted it, which is a large part of the issue).

Who and/or what sent that "your instance of Firefox is being updated" message while I was, potentially, browsing my bank's website?

BillM said

What is the *mechanism* used to deliver these updates to currently-active users? Is there a "control point" somewhere that notifies all running firefox processes?

While it's running, Firefox checks for updates at regular intervals; on mine it seems to be set for 12 hours (app.update.interval). The Firefox program files are in a single folder, so if any instance of Firefox installs an update, all will be affected.

There is a separate process that was added to Firefox to deal with the annoying User Account Control (UAC) features added to Windows way back in the day. This is enabled by default on the Options page where you see "Use a background service to install updates". I've never tried disabling it to see what happens (or doesn't happen).

My experience was receiving a message *within my current session* on my single-user PC, to the effect that I was receiving an update (WHETHER OR NOT I wanted it, which is a large part of the issue). Who and/or what sent that "your instance of Firefox is being updated" message while I was, potentially, browsing my bank's website?

I think if you were using Firefox, most likely Firefox informed you that it was installing an update. However, because I have my Firefox set to ask me before updating, I've never seen a message that Firefox was updating itself unexpectedly. It's always when I approve it.

Only have 2 profiles; one gets 90%+ of activity. Will report correlations between new (UNREQUESTED, UNAUTHORIZED) updates and the profile in use.

I am also set for "ask me before updating" (at least that's the intent, but there've been cases where it didn't work, in the v60-61 era IIRC). That's *why* I asked, "what does the phrase, 'is being updated' really mean?" ... and never saw a convincing answer to confirm that the multiple processes, sessions, and versions really are managed and synchronized as necessary to work in complex environments.

(The comparatively-good news is that there are a few cases (not dozens) indicating that they DON'T work well; most recently, the yellow-bar, "a web page is slowing down your browser," with no advice on what to do about it, or which page is the culprit (or the victim)... what with multiple pages, sessions and processes open simultaneously).

Guess again; NOT likely. I very-nearly-NEVER have two active Firefox sessions active with -different- profiles on my laptop. (Maybe once a year.)

So we STILL have no clarity about *what* is pushing new releases WITHOUT PERMISSION... and no explanation about how they're *supposed* to work (from the user's perspective... OR even what, precisely, "is being updated by another instance" MEANS. An example of a valid "update by another instance" (and WHY??) might be helpful. It sure *sounds* like browser process A is changing process B's context.

If you didn't know (?!) It's generally recognized as BAD FORM for one running instance of a browser to be affected by another instance!! (Oh, you don't mind if the browser changes your bank balance, do you?)

This has been a bad month for Firefox; I'm THIS ><

close to abandoning Mozilla after a decade.  

Product behavior clearly indicates the released code is EXPLICITLY BIASED AGAINST slower CPUs; things that used-to-work straightforwardly, no longer do. Prominent example: "painting" a window SUCKS CPU with POINTLESS animated dots. Animation should NEVER be part of the core product configuration - that's ABSURD. (Need I mention that I *only* see these in Firefox?)

Literally *all* of my consulting clients have moved away from Firefox in the past year. Firefox has long been mostly well-engineered, but recent releases have made it evident that Firefox is only for CPU-rich people.

BillM said

Product behavior clearly indicates the released code is EXPLICITLY BIASED AGAINST slower CPUs... recent releases have made it evident that Firefox is only for CPU-rich people.

Updated Info: (Bill, you provided the info in DxDiag, but I'd like the Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives info, also. See further down.)

I do see in Task Manager, Physical Memory Usage over time creeps up the graph, eventually nearing my 8GB my computer has. So, depending how many Tabs/Sites I visit, when the Graph Line nears the top, I hear my disk drive go into 'crunch' mode. This must be FF Caching Data. This can happen within several days or 4 or 5 days later, depending on my FF use.

However, once it reaches this point, the browser performance takes a nasty hit. The only way to regain better performance for me, is to Exit (Quit) FF and restart it.

Recommended Hardware for FF 65:

• Pentium 4 or newer processor that supports SSE2
• 512MB of RAM / 2GB of RAM for the 64-bit version
• 200MB of hard drive space
  

Please do this:

Click on the Windows icon 'Start' (bottom-left) and in the right column, bottom, click on Run. Enter in:

...Wait until the green bar loads and disappears, then click "Save All Information".
Post back here in the Forum, just these information parts, under these three Headers:

     System Information   (Already Provided)
 
     Display Devices   (Already Provided)
  
    Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
 

Make sure your computer is not too 'LOW' on disk-remaining space. This will be a major performance problem if your remaining disk space is TOO LOW!
Example: At the moment, I have 37% space free. If you're way under 25%, then you're probably running into performance / Memory issues.
Windows-7 and Programs like to have plenty of free-disk 'breathing' room. I recently cleared over 75 Gigs worth to get me to about 37% of free disk space.

Perhaps you may wish to setup a ReadyBoost Flash Drive.
If you have a lot of Windows and Tabs and your FireFox Browser is set to Restore Session when you start-up FF, the following will help with conserving some Memory:

Go to Options. Edit or Insert in the URL Box About:Config and go there. Set the following Values:

browser.newtabpage.enabled; false

browser.newtabpage.enhanced; false

browser.sessionstore.restore_pinned_tabs_on_demand; true

Additionally, you could try this also. Have FF reset how much Disk Cache it will use for your system by changing the following to true:

browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run - false

It will change back to false after FF is Exited and runs next time, setting-up your Disk Cache value. Maybe this doesn't need to run again, but I did it a while back and 'appeared' to help me.

Finally, I did the following FireFox adjustments for my old 2010 computer with the Performance settings in Options as shown in the image attachment:

~Pj

jscher2000 said

The "never check for updates" setting will be removed from Firefox in the near future. You can use the option to have Firefox notify you when an update is available so you can choose when to install it. That has always worked for me.

DID NOT WORK FOR ME. 65 WAS FORCED ON ME THIS MORNING WITH NO - ZERO - ADVANCED NOTICE.

NOW I MUST DEAL WITH DOZENS OF EQUALLY-SURPRISED CLIENTS..

• • • NOT ACCEPTABLE.***

WHERE IS THIS ALLEGED 'NOTIFY ME' OPTION? I DO NOT SEE IT. PLATFORM = WINDOWS 7

Post above says "never check for updates" will be removed in the near future.

That does NOT mean the same thing as **ALWAYS FORCE UPDATES** which is what you gave us today... REGARDLESS OF RESOURCES.

I have 45% free disk. Below are the dxdiag data.

System Information

Time of this report: 1/30/2019, 16:21:10

      Machine name: BILL-M
  Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_ldr_escrow.181228-0954)
          Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard

      System Model: HP G56 Notebook PC                
              BIOS: Default System BIOS
         Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU          900  @ 2.20GHz, ~2.2GHz
            Memory: 3072MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 3002MB RAM

         Page File: 3401MB used, 2566MB available
       Windows Dir: C:\Windows
   DirectX Version: DirectX 11

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

  User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
   DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
    DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

DxDiag Notes

     Display Tab 1: No problems found.
       Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
         Input Tab: No problems found.

DirectX Debug Levels

Direct3D: 0/4 (retail) DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail) DirectInput: 0/5 (retail) DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail) DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail) DirectSound: 0/5 (retail) DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

Display Devices

         Card name: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
      Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
         Chip type: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
          DAC type: Internal
        Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2A42&SUBSYS_1605103C&REV_07
    Display Memory: 1309 MB
  Dedicated Memory: 64 MB
     Shared Memory: 1245 MB
      Current Mode: 1366 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
      Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
     Monitor Model: unknown
        Monitor Id: SEC3051
       Native Mode: 1366 x 768(p) (60.031Hz)
       Output Type: Internal
       Driver Name: igdumd64.dll,igd10umd64.dll,igdumdx32,igd10umd32

Driver File Version: 8.15.0010.2302 (English)

    Driver Version: 8.15.10.2302
       DDI Version: 10
      Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
 Driver Attributes: Final Retail
  Driver Date/Size: 2/11/2011 18:16:38, 6549504 bytes
       WHQL Logo'd: Yes
   WHQL Date Stamp: 
 Device Identifier: {D7B78E66-6902-11CF-727B-0F36A7C2C535}
         Vendor ID: 0x8086
         Device ID: 0x2A42
         SubSys ID: 0x1605103C
       Revision ID: 0x0007
Driver Strong Name: oem12.inf:Intel.Mfg.NTamd64:iCNT0:8.15.10.2302:pci\ven_8086&dev_2a42
    Rank Of Driver: 00E62001
       Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_C ModeVC1_B ModeVC1_C 
  Deinterlace Caps: {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering 
                    {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                    {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend 
                    {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering 
                    {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                    {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend 
                    {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering 
                    {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                    {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend 
                    {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering 
                    {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                    {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend 
                    {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering 
                    {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                    {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend 
                    {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering 
                    {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                    {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend 
                    {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering 
                    {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                    {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend 
                    {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering 
                    {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                    {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend 
      D3D9 Overlay: Supported
           DXVA-HD: Supported
      DDraw Status: Enabled
        D3D Status: Enabled
        AGP Status: Enabled

Note the key point: Firefox UPDATED WITHOUT WARNING.

I don't have a typeface large enough to represent my ANGER. And my phone's ringing off the hook from clients with similar experiences.

On this machine I currently have 65.0 with two profiles (one with admin privs).

65.0 PUSHED ITSELF TO ME WITHOUT PERMISSION despite my 'ask first' setting.

And the CONTENT-FREE* 'yellow bar' warnings are WORSE - DOZENS of them DAILY.

Moving to Chrome as the only reliable "no surprises" browser, and alerting my clients to consider likewise... although I have a strong distaste for Googlecode.

Very disappointed with the de-evolution of Firefox in the past six months (+/-).

• • Content-free meaning... they communicate NOTHING to the user that can be *acted upon* to stop them.

Let me know when you FIX these long-standing issues and I'll gladly come back to the fold.

BillM said

I have 45% free disk. Below are the dxdiag data....

I have updated my Previous Reply with added/corrected info. Re-read it, please. (Please provide Disk Drive info.)

I see your computer is only 3GB. You're nearer the bottom-end of computer power and performance. (And I have 8GB and it's a bit of a struggle with FF and today's Websites.) (Sigh)

Your Paging File seems low at 3GB. How is your Paging Setup? Auto?

By the time your computer is booted-up and running with FF and whatever else is setup to run, what does the Task Manager Graph say (in GBs) you have with Physical Memory Usage?

Does FF run better without any Extensions? The more Extensions, the more Memory is used, the more chances of conflicts, the more 'hang-ups' or 'freezes', etc.

Your Extensions:

DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials 2018.10.4
HTTPS Everywhere 2018.9.19 
NoScript 10.1.9.8
Smart HTTPS 0.2.5  (Inactive)

IMO, that's a bad mix of Extensions you have there. (Anyone else agree/disagree?) The first 3 I used to have and I got rid of them!)

(I strongly suggest you get rid of it in favor of other ones which are a little more Memory-Friendly, such as uBlock Origin (which has Script-blocking features, like turning off JavaScript per site).

~Pj

My experience was that Ublock was a resource hog. Tried it for a month and dumped it. (Was also unimpressed by the UI)

My phys memory shows 1.4GB (56%) available, 693MB free, and single-digit CPU% in use... all healthy.