Crashes are often not all that easy to sort out.

Re-installing firefox often does not help with crashes. Two or the commonest causes at present are

1. IDvault (often supplied by Comcast) there is a known problem with this and the software developers WhiteSky are working on it and have apparently released one fix with others due any time now
   • do you have that software
   • exactly which version do you use
   • try updating it, if that fails consider temporarily disabling or uninstalling it
2. Malware
   • one particular Trojan is known to crash Firefox 6, and also affect other browsers including IE, but may not crash them.
   • do a full system scan with uptodate software or tools, say what you used and what version of the software or tool was used

Have you seen

• firefox crashes
• and for advice if firefox crashes whilst looking for crash IDs:
  kb.mozillazine.org/Breakpad#Location_of_crash_reports

Thanks John99.

I seem to have recovered, at least to a degree.

• No outstanding viruses/malware
• Completely removed Firefox and deleted profiles and rebooted with no luck.

I finally removed Firefox 6, rebooted and installed Firefox 5 . That seems to work so far.

The only thing I can think of, and have no proof of course, is that a recent Windows Patch did something. That's really the only system change I can think of.

Hi Grey2oo0,

Unfortunately there is a rather blacker prospect: that is that you have a particular trojan, that crashed firefox 6 but now that you have downgraded to Firefox 5 no longer crashes.

The problems then are

• you have not destroyed the malware it is still active !
• malware takes greater advantage and causes more problems if you have an operational browser, rather than one that crashes.

Potentially you have moved from a situation where malware crashes your browser to a situation where malware uses your browser, and creates even more problems, that conceivably includes taking over your computer entirely.

(Things may happen without your knowledge, large botnets do exist and I can think of better links but a basic current search is http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=botnets )

I strongly suggest that you reconsider using firefox 5 and I suggest that you use a currently supported version such as firefox 6 or next week firefox 7 thatt will be available from

Well that's true, but I currently can't find any kind of 3rd party SW on my system. Still I've seen some articles here refering to a Sefnit trojan and Firefox 6 crashes. That at least gives me a specific target to go after. I'll go digging and see if that's the underlying cause.

I would suggest two courses of action

1. try scans of your system with multiple site tools or software
2. if you have a true crash try to get the crach ID

See the posts above.

Well after a day of multiple virus/malware/spyware scans I went to Microsoft and used their security scanner. 2 hrs later it found a Sefnit.O trojan. It was removed and Firefox 6 re-installed and the crash/reboot loop is gone.

So for those at home playing along.

• Firefox 6 cycling through a crash/reboot loop
• Crash ID: bp-23a7a447-c79f-4304-9c29-f8d202110922

Try multiple tool suites and/or search for the Sefnit trojan. Remove it and try again.

Many thanks to John99 for not letting me take the easy way out.

Glad you fixed the problem. That particular Trojan is a well known problem. Malware will always be a problem, there is an everlasting dual between malware and security countermeasures

If you mark this problem as solved whilst logged in it may help others find the solution.