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Why can't I download a clean copy of Mozilla Firefox.

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  • Last reply by festo

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Why do I get all the tabs that appear when downloading M/F. This never used to happen and now no matter where I go to download M/F I get Personna, Flash Player,and several others when this, happens my system slows down substantially. I have Firefox on my lap top without all the extra tabs.

Why do I get all the tabs that appear when downloading M/F. This never used to happen and now no matter where I go to download M/F I get Personna, Flash Player,and several others when this, happens my system slows down substantially. I have Firefox on my lap top without all the extra tabs.

Chosen solution

I see unfortunately you didn't get a response to your earlier similar question:

After I down load Firefox (which I have done several times) The tool bar will load with multiple tabs that I did not prompt to get, I believe these are flash players, Flash, You tube etc or something, then I am unable to view videos on Facebook. I prefer Firefox as my default browser but I am getting totally frustrated by continually refreshing Firefox to fix this.
I am using the same Firefox 47 on another computer and everything is fine,

https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1126906

So it sounds as though you can get rid of the extras by using Refresh, but they come back at some point. Can you spot the pattern -- do they return:

  • the next time you restart Firefox
  • the next day, or at some other interval
  • the next time you restart Windows?

Something is triggering the addition of, my guess is, a toolbar displayed by an extension, and that might be something which runs at Windows startup, or a "scheduled task" that runs at other intervals, such as daily.

To get a better idea of what it is, it would be helpful to grab its name or other identifying information the next time it appears. The easiest place to learn that is the support information page (where you might be going now to do the Refresh). It would be in the Extensions list. To load that page, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

Until then, you might check for malware as follows:

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help surface undisclosed/unnoticed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it. Take out as much trash as possible here.

(2) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

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Chosen Solution

I see unfortunately you didn't get a response to your earlier similar question:

After I down load Firefox (which I have done several times) The tool bar will load with multiple tabs that I did not prompt to get, I believe these are flash players, Flash, You tube etc or something, then I am unable to view videos on Facebook. I prefer Firefox as my default browser but I am getting totally frustrated by continually refreshing Firefox to fix this.
I am using the same Firefox 47 on another computer and everything is fine,

https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1126906

So it sounds as though you can get rid of the extras by using Refresh, but they come back at some point. Can you spot the pattern -- do they return:

  • the next time you restart Firefox
  • the next day, or at some other interval
  • the next time you restart Windows?

Something is triggering the addition of, my guess is, a toolbar displayed by an extension, and that might be something which runs at Windows startup, or a "scheduled task" that runs at other intervals, such as daily.

To get a better idea of what it is, it would be helpful to grab its name or other identifying information the next time it appears. The easiest place to learn that is the support information page (where you might be going now to do the Refresh). It would be in the Extensions list. To load that page, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

Until then, you might check for malware as follows:

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help surface undisclosed/unnoticed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it. Take out as much trash as possible here.

(2) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

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jscher your article was very helpful and I was able to download a clean copy without all the tabs by disabling all my extensions on Firefox.