Firefox freezes when using Audiogon

Hi Bombaywalla,

I’d feel pretty certain that the out-of-date Adobe Reader is unrelated to the problem. And in fact I’m still using Adobe Reader XI, because when I briefly updated to DC some time ago I didn’t care for it (I don’t remember why).

Also, I’ve never bothered to "research" the plug-ins FF reports as unknown.

What I’d suggest that you do at this point is some combination of the following:

1)Under Tools/Add-ons/Plug-ins, change the setting for Flash from "always activate" to "ask to activate." Then only give it permission to activate when it is necessary to view something you want to see.

2)Under "Options," right next to the "ask to activate" setting for Flash, disable protected mode. See this writeup. (Although I have been running with protected mode in its default state of enabled, with no problems).

3)Try what DJohnson54 and I said about running in safe mode. As indicated in the link DJ provided, to start in safe mode just hold down the shift key while starting Firefox. As I indicated, if FF runs smoothly in safe mode it most likely means that a plug-in or extension is causing the trouble. Which particular plug-in or extension can be identified by selectively disabling them while running in normal mode.

Best regards,
-- Al

Thanks very much Almarg. I'm going to try these 3 suggestions tonight.
after reading the write-up of Flash Protected mode it seems that i'm suffering from exactly the symptoms stated in that article. I;m running Win7 Pro 32-b (& i'm sure many others are as well) & I wonder why some of us are more adversely affected than others??

I'm running Win7 Pro 32-b (& i'm sure many others are as well) & I wonder why some of us are more adversely affected than others??

Yes, it’s strange. I’m running W7 Pro and Ultimate on my various computers, in both cases the 64 bit version.

As I mentioned earlier, though, within the past couple of years I used to have the same or very similar problems. Not at Audiogon, but at some newspaper and other sites that have a lot of Flash content. But those problems disappeared for me when I changed the Flash setting to "ask to activate," and/or as a result of updates to Flash, Firefox, and perhaps even Windows.

Best regards,
-- Al

Almarg,
you reminded me of another thing i need to check - i’ve not done a Win7 update in a while. That could be another potential reason....
Also, last night when i turned on the monitor i was "welcomed" by a popup form that said a security update to FF 44.0.2 is available & that it’s highly encourage. So, i installed it ASAP. Well, I can tell you that FF was working better WITHOUT that security update! I was glad that i had updated to 44.0.2 as many of my streaming woes had disappeared but after last night’s security update they’re b-a-c-k!! :(
Deactivating Flash protected mode scares me a little bit (I’ve been down for 1 month in 2013/2014 when ransom-ware infected my computer. I can thank the children for downloading their games & every free toolbar that came with it!! I realize that Flash protected mode will not save me when I've installed free toolbars or installed free games. Even then once bitten, twice shy...) but i’m definitely going setup Flash to be active when needed + try the safe mode to debug which plugin might be the root cause. also thinking of installing uBlock & Disconnect extensions like some other members have. I was on the ublock.org website & saw that they have a download for FF.
thanks.

Hmm.... I just checked for available updates (under FF’s Help menu) on two different computers, and it says that version 44.0.2 which I’m running is up to date. Also, at Mozilla.org the latest version that is available for download, at least in non-beta form, is 44.0.2.

I’m wondering if the popup you saw was not from Mozilla.org (from whence Firefox comes), but might have been from some semi-legitimate or illegitimate third party, for the purpose of installing adware or spyware.

It may be a good idea to take a look at the plug-ins and extensions that are now listed as being installed in Firefox, and see if any of them are new. In which case you can select for them to never activate.

It may also be a good idea to take a look at the list of programs that are installed on your computer, under Start/Control Panel/Uninstall a Program, and see if there is anything that looks unfamiliar or suspicious, in which case you can uninstall it. Google its name in cases of doubt.

Also, performing a "system restore" to an earlier date **might** allow you to get rid of the update. (Type "system restore" into the search box that appears near the start button, when you click that button). That won’t affect any of your data files or email files, but you would probably have to reinstall any programs or Windows updates that were installed subsequent to the date at which the restore point was created.

Finally, if necessary you could uninstall Firefox, and then download 44.0.2 from Mozilla.org and reinstall it. I’m not 100% certain, but I believe doing that would not affect your existing bookmarks, Firefox settings, cookies, stored passwords, etc, which are stored in a profile folder that is separate from the program folder.

Best regards,
-- Al