Why does firefox load unrequested, random pages--often one from some work-at-home scam, but other random pages as well? Is it a virus?
Firefox randomly loads unrequested pages. The pages are loaded in a new tab. A page advertising some work-at-home scam-seeming bullsh*t is most common, but other completely random pages are loaded as well. It really--seriously--just happens at random, and is utterly infuriating. Is it a virus?
Firefox randomly loads unrequested pages. The pages are loaded in a new tab. A page advertising some work-at-home scam-seeming bullsh*t is most common, but other completely random pages are loaded as well. It really--seriously--just happens at random, and is utterly infuriating. Is it a virus?
All Replies (2)
Do a malware check with a few malware scan programs.
You need to use all programs because each detects different malware.
Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of the database before doing a scan.
- http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php - Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
- http://www.superantispyware.com/ - SuperAntispyware
- http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html - Spybot Search & Destroy
- http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php - Ad-Aware Free
- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx - Windows Defender: Home Page
See also "Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked and What to do when searches take you to the wrong search website
You have out-of-date plugins with known security issues; you should update them.
- Adobe Shockwave for Director Netscape plug-in, version 11.0
- Java Plug-in 1.4.2 for Netscape Navigator (DLL Helper)
- Very old version installed 1.4.2; current version 1.6.0.21
- Unless you have a use for the old version, you should uninstall it and get a clean start before installing the current version.
- To remove old versions, see the link below.
- Check your plugin versions: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/plugincheck/
- Note: plugin check page does not have information on all plugin versions
- Update Shockwave for Director
- NOTE: this is not the same as Shockwave Flash; this installs the Shockwave Player.
- Use Firefox to download and SAVE the installer to your hard drive from the link in the article below (Desktop is a good place so you can find it).
- When the download is complete, exit Firefox (File > Exit)
- locate and double-click in the installer you just downloaded, let the install complete.
- Restart Firefox and check your plugins again.
- Download link and more information: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using+the+Shockwave+plugin+with+Firefox
- Update Java:
- Download and update instructions: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using+the+Java+plugin+with+Firefox
- Removing old versions: http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/remove_olderversions.xml
- After the installation, start Firefox and check your version again.