Just to sort this out, did the Refresh cure any problems, or do you still have freeze-ups when visiting your bank site or other sites?

Logged into Bank: Firefox maintains a running session history file so that if you crash, you can resume where you left off (excluding private windows). If you had logged out of your bank site before Firefox froze, then that shouldn't be possible.

I assume you haven't save the login using the Password Manager (which I definitely do not recommend for such a site).

Flash Protected Mode: One reason for possible unresponsive script errors and stalls is the protected mode feature of the Flash player plugin. That feature has security benefits, but seems to have serious compatibility issues on some systems. You can disable it using the Add-ons page. Either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Plugins. On the right side, find "Shockwave Flash" and click the More link. Then uncheck the box for "Enable Adobe Flash protected mode" and try that for a day to see whether it helps.

Hi, thanks for your very prompt response. The problems continued after I did the Refresh. Unfortunately I inadvertently saved the password with the Password Manager when I first opened my account after installing Firefox and haven't found out how to undo that yet. Fortunately there are further security checks before I can access my details. I've now disabled Adobe Flash protected mode and will see how I get on.

To remove a saved login, you can use the Security panel of the Options page:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Security > "Saved Passwords"

Start your Computer in safe mode with networking. Then start Firefox. Try Safe web sites. Is the problem still there?

Starting The Computer In Safe Mode;
Free Online Encyclopedia

jscher2000 said

Just to sort this out, did the Refresh cure any problems, or do you still have freeze-ups when visiting your bank site or other sites? Logged into Bank: Firefox maintains a running session history file so that if you crash, you can resume where you left off (excluding private windows). If you had logged out of your bank site before Firefox froze, then that shouldn't be possible. I assume you haven't save the login using the Password Manager (which I definitely do not recommend for such a site). Flash Protected Mode: One reason for possible unresponsive script errors and stalls is the protected mode feature of the Flash player plugin. That feature has security benefits, but seems to have serious compatibility issues on some systems. You can disable it using the Add-ons page. Either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Plugins. On the right side, find "Shockwave Flash" and click the More link. Then uncheck the box for "Enable Adobe Flash protected mode" and try that for a day to see whether it helps.

Hi, I unchecked the "Enable Adobe Flash protected mode" a few days ago now and the issue persists unfortunately. I started up in Safe Mode with Networking as suggested by FredMcD and was able to use the internet without any problems. However when I restarted in Normal mode the problem came back on the first web page I opened!? The issue it is very intermittent but is guaranteed to come along at some point...

Did you make sure that your security software isn't causing issues?

Avast is known to cause issues with secure connections (HTTPS scanning) and possibly also other issues.

Hi cor-el, I've had Avast for a while now and the internet issues seem to occur after I installed Firefox. The seizing up applies to all sites not just the secure sites. It could be a Windows update that may be causing it for all I know. However I'm not sure how I go about finding out how unspecified issues from other resources might be affecting my internet browsing using Firefox.

Clear the cache and remove cookies only from websites that cause problems.

"Clear the Cache":

• Firefox/Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"

"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:

• Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > "Use custom settings for history" > Cookies: "Show Cookies"

If clearing cookies didn't help then it is possible that the cookies.sqlite file that stores the cookies got corrupted.

• Rename (or delete) cookies.sqlite (cookies.sqlite.old) and if present delete cookies.sqlite-shm and cookies.sqlite-wal in the Firefox profile folder in case cookies.sqlite got corrupted.

You can use this button to go to the current Firefox profile folder:

• Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Show Folder (Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder)
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox

jimjs59 said

I started up in Safe Mode with Networking . . . . and was able to use the internet without any problems. However when I restarted in Normal mode the problem came back

It could be the work of one of your add-ons. Type about:addons<enter> in the address bar to open your Add-ons Manager. Hot key; <Control>(Mac:<Command>)<Shift> A)

In the Add-ons Manager, on the left, select Extensions. Disable a few add-ons, then Restart Firefox.

Some added toolbar and anti-virus add-ons are known to cause Firefox issues. Disable All of them.

If the problem continues, disable some more (restarting FF). Continue until the problem is gone. After, you know what group is causing the issue. Re-enable the last group ONE AT A TIME (restarting FF) until the problem returns.

Once you think you found the problem, disable that and re-enable all the others, then restart again. Let us know who the suspect is detective.

I never used Safe Mode with Networking myself, and when I look at Microsoft's basic article, it's very general about what it does:

Safe mode starts Windows with a limited set of files and drivers. Startup programs do not run in safe mode, and only the basic drivers needed to start Windows are installed.

Source: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-computer-safe-mode#start-computer-safe-mode=windows-vista

Windows tends to have dozens of processes running at startup, so tracking down a particular bad one could take a lot of persistence. Microsoft does have a tool to review your startup settings and disable nonessential ones, which would be one way to get started:

Autoruns for Windows https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx