Clear the cache and the cookies from sites that cause problems. "Clear the Cache": *Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now" "Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems: *Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies" Start Firefox in <u>[[Safe Mode|Safe Mode]]</u> to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance). *Do not click the Reset button on the Safe mode start window or otherwise make changes. *https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode See also: *https://support.mozilla.org/kb/fix-login-issues-on-websites-require-passwords ---- Do a malware check with some malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.<br /> You need to scan with all programs because each program detects different malware.<br /> Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan. *http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php - Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware *http://www.superantispyware.com/ - SuperAntispyware *http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx - Microsoft Safety Scanner *http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx - Windows Defender: Home Page *http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html - Spybot Search & Destroy You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller. *http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/solutions?qid=208280684 See also: *"Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked

Many thanks for a very thorough answer.