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additional tabs keep opening with advertising/ads when clicking on a link

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  • Last reply by FredMcD

dmrviper
dmrviper
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I have ad block plus and pop up block plus add on"s in Mozilla. After being upgraded to windows 8, and installing Mozilla, I now have these additional tabs that will open with ads randomly when I click on links. It does this even though I have the Mozilla ad on"s.

I have ad block plus and pop up block plus add on"s in Mozilla. After being upgraded to windows 8, and installing Mozilla, I now have these additional tabs that will open with ads randomly when I click on links. It does this even though I have the Mozilla ad on"s.

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Is this problem limited to a particular site or does it seem to strike at random? Problems on multiple sites can indicate a malware infection, with the vector often being one of your add-ons.

Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons and other hijackers. I know it seems long, but it's really not that bad.

(For Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10; XP is somewhat different)

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it. Take out as much trash as possible here.

(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
  • in the Windows "Run" dialog, type or paste
    firefox.exe "about:addons"

In the left column, click Plugins. Set nonessential and unrecognized plugins to "Never Activate".

In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions. All extensions are optional; none come with Firefox.

Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.

Any improvement?

(3) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

FredMcD
FredMcD
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Make sure the blockers are online, and up to date.

Forum; Adblock Plus Homepage {web link}