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Unsolicited by me, a new tab will open saying I need a new video player or PC cleaner. Why? And how do I stop that?

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Sometimes, when Firefox has been open on my laptop for a few minutes but I've not been active on it, a new tab will automatically open up with a message saying, for example, that I should download a new video player or some PC cleaner software. I know it must be some kind of spam or malware, and I normally just close the tab, but I'm curious as to why this happens and how I can stop it from happening again.

Sometimes, when Firefox has been open on my laptop for a few minutes but I've not been active on it, a new tab will automatically open up with a message saying, for example, that I should download a new video player or some PC cleaner software. I know it must be some kind of spam or malware, and I normally just close the tab, but I'm curious as to why this happens and how I can stop it from happening again.

All Replies (4)

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This could be walware. If you want to see if your programs are up to date, go to the site that owns the program. For example; to check Firefox, go to Mozilla.com. Check your computer for viruses and malware. I have come across FF ad-ons that turned out to be malware. And always should you find a problem with FF, post it in the forum.

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I have run several malware and virus programs and still doing this, it just started with the newest firefox update

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That says a plugin needs updating. Open Firefox > Add-ons > Plugins. Above the first plugin is a link that will check your plugins. Please use it.

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Thank you. worked great, just updated them a few weeks ago so just naturally thought it was ok, thanks again  :)