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Firefox barely works on news sites

  • 5 replies
  • 3 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by cor-el

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I have a PC Window 7, with up to date firefox and flash. Decent internet speed.

Going to news sites (i.e. CBS or Fox) barely works, often jams up the PC until it stops responding, and sends the hard drive fan into overdrive using all the cpu. It can take a couple minutes for the site to fully load. I assume it has something to do with flash and the other ads and popups that clutter up a site like that. But that is the reality these days.

Firefox really ought to be able to handle that. But it doesn't, and has reached the level of not-usable.

Should I switch back to IE after all these years?

I have a PC Window 7, with up to date firefox and flash. Decent internet speed. Going to news sites (i.e. CBS or Fox) barely works, often jams up the PC until it stops responding, and sends the hard drive fan into overdrive using all the cpu. It can take a couple minutes for the site to fully load. I assume it has something to do with flash and the other ads and popups that clutter up a site like that. But that is the reality these days. Firefox really ought to be able to handle that. But it doesn't, and has reached the level of not-usable. Should I switch back to IE after all these years?

All Replies (5)

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That is not normal.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web Link} by holding down the <Shift>
(Mac Options)
key, and then starting Firefox. Is the problem still there?


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

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FredMcD said

That is not normal. Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web Link} by holding down the <Shift>
(Mac Options)
key, and then starting Firefox. Is the problem still there?

This did not seem to help. News web page still was very slow to load. Some sort of script still stared to run that caused fan to work extra hard, and eventually only stopped once I restarted the PC.

Problem seems linked to ads, esp flash animation ads that run videos on sites like news sites and other ad-heavy sites like entertainment sites (CBS, Fox, Huff Post, TBS, etc). The click-bait type of sites are often nearly unusable. as they seem to leave scripts running even after I have navigated away.

If I restart, I can see a process hanging up sometimes. If I unplug the network connection and close firefox, then sometimes the problem stops after a minute or two.

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This is not a cure, but should let the web page load without crashing.

Flash block {web link} Never be annoyed by a Flash animation again! Blocks Flash so it won't get in your way, but if you want to see it, just click on it


Adblock Plus {web link} Blocks annoying video ads on YouTube, Facebook ads, banners and much more. Adblock Plus blocks all annoying ads, and supports websites by not blocking unobtrusive ads by default (configurable).

Adblock Plus Pop-up Addon {web link} Adblock Plus Pop-up Addon extends the blocking functionality of Adblock Plus to those annoying pop-up windows that open on mouse clicks and other user actions.

Forum; Adblock Plus Homepage {web link}

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FredMcD said

This is not a cure, but should let the web page load without crashing. Flash block {web link} Never be annoyed by a Flash animation again! Blocks Flash so it won't get in your way, but if you want to see it, just click on it

Thanks. I have tried disabling flash in firefox, it doesn't seem to help much. And ultimately, I am often going to the site to obtain the featured embedded video. So i need to allow flash anyway to see it.

Maybe one of these add-ons will make that easier.

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You can check for problems with current Shockwave Flash plugin versions and try this:

See also: