I don't see what the fuss over the new Firefox web browser is. For one thing, it's simply not true that Firefox prevents popups.
When I've used IE with Zone Alarm Pro (a firewall), I got no popups.
But when I use Firefox, I'm innundated with popups, regardless of whether I used Zone Alarm Pro with it or not. It makes me wonder if Zone Alarm's firewall is also worthless when I'm using Firefox.
To add insult to injury, Firefox always informs me along the top: "Firefox has just blocked one popup." Even as I'm staring at the popup before me.
Another problem: when I save images on Firefox, the browser seems to choke, taking a longer time that IE to save it. And Firefox will eventually freeze if I save too many images, unlike IE.
Does anyone know why I may have these Firefox problems or how to correct them?
I'd also appreciate it it anyone can recommend good programs to fix Windows XP Pro (such as WinDoctor, which seems not to work so well with XP), or something to uninstall programs.
For some reason, I only partially uninstalled AdAware 6, so that it no long accepts updates. And it won't let me install AdAware 7 over it.
Article comments
1 - garvin
wish I could help you with your problem Thomas. Have been running Firefox for almost a year now with ZAlarm Pro for the trial period and the rest of the time with the free ZAlarm and NEVER have a pop-up and saving images is never a problem.
am using XP Pro. have you checked out all the extensions(plug ins) on Firefox?
2 - Thomas M. Sipos
I downloaded Firefox a few months ago, but no plug-ins or extensions. I'll try that, thanks.
3 - Natalie Davis
The plugins have worked really well for me. I haven't had popup problems, though I have experienced the image-saving problem. I tried Netscape 8, which is kind of an ü Firefox (both from Mozilla) and that's been OK. But now, I sing arias: Opera-a-a-a-a....
Of course, I have all three, plus IE. If I have problems with one browser, I switch to another.
4 - Lono
Firefix is a revolution. I hardly have to bother with my adaware now. With Explorer I had to run Adaware weekly, now I only do it about once a month (and there is neven anything to catch/ quarantine).
going from Explorer to Firefox was like going from dial up to broadband. I'll never go back to either.
5 - NYkrinDC
It sounds like the problem is not Firefox but rather your computer, which might be infected with some type of Spyware. Try uninstalling Firefox, then uninstalling Ad-Aware and installing Webroot spysweeper. Make sure that you have the most recent updates for windows XP SP2. Once you do, run spysweeper and remove any Spyware or trojans it finds. Try running Error Checking and then defrag to ensure proper system function. Once your computer is clean, I would buy and install Norton's Internet Security and then reinstall Firefox. I've used it for over a year now and I must say that it is the best, and most user friendly, browser. The tabs are great, and while not completely flaw proof it is far superior to IE. If you need additional help, I would also recommend that you check out mozilla's firefox support forum. Post your problems as detailed as possible and the community will try to help you as quickly as possible. The site is http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=38
I've also posted your description of the problem above under my name. I hope this helps. Here is the link to my post on the Mozilla Forum.
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=273183
6 - francisco68
Firefox on Mac/OSX10.3.9 (Firefox 1.0.4) works great and does block popups. But then it isnt Windows. Double check all your Preferences and go easy on the extensions some of which add to the browser (I only use two) and others have terrible conflicts.
It is my default browser (ahead of Camino and Safari) and I trashed IE as a waste.
7 - Nanobot
Web developers are especially promoting Firefox, for obvious reasons. Internet Explorer hasn't even touched their rendering engine in five years, while Firefox and Opera continue to add new standards support all the time.
Take a look at these comparison tables of mine. Firefox and Opera currently support 81% and 80% of the standards, respectively, while Internet Explorer only supports 63%. As time goes on, more and more websites will start to use the cutting-edge technology to boost the website's performance, and Internet Explorer users will be left behind.
8 - Ed
I run Firefox 1.0.4 with 32 extensions, 2 themes and 12 plugins. It is on XpPro, sp2 and it works great. The only time I have problems is when a new version comes out but I am getting the hang of how to avoid CREATING my own problems. I wish you luck and don't give up on Firefox as it won't give up on you.
9 - Limulus
Wow, that's weird... My experience with Firefox is that popups are pretty much non-existent, both on my machine running Windows XP (Home) with the free version of ZoneAlarm and on my other machine running ubuntu linux.
See this thread on the Firefox Help forums:
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=240548
I wouldn't be surprised if you have some sort of residual Malware that's causing these problems since the behavior you're describing is very atypical for Firefox; see steps D and E in the first post as well as all of the second post on the page.
10 - mike hollihan
I've been running various iterations of Firefox for roughly three years and I never see popups I don't want. Not at all sure what your problem is. Out of the box, Firefox comes with high security settings. Did you change something, maybe? I hope you can fix it. You couldn't pay me money to run IE under any circumstance.
11 - gonzo marx
Firefox is the only browser i use anymore
i have been thru every Browser since Lynx was the only one on the market
nuff said?
Excelsior!
12 - Gids
There is a known issue of sites using Flash to get around the Firefox pop-up blocker. Have a look at the Pop Ups Must Die extension at http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/asa/archives/007860.html
13 - JoeSchmoe
Yeah, your PC is messed up.
PS If you are still getting popups, then YOU HAVE SPYWARE on your PC!
Firefox blocks 99% of the popups out there, without any help from other apps.
I would un-install adaware, and zone-alarm, and any anti-virus you are running then start over clean (after a reboot)
Install AVG Anti-Virus (free, best) then Spybot Search & Destroy (free, best) then Zone Alarm (free or paid ver).
You won't get any popups, and you will wonder why you ever used IE.
14 - Denis
Your PC has adware or worse running. Ask your friend Windows guru to clean it up for you, and if you stick with Firefox afterwards, you won't get this kind of problems anymore... Cheers
15 - aysiu
When the "Firefox has prevented a pop-up" line appears at the top, you should also see something that says, "Click here for more options." One of the options is "don't display this message again" or something like that.
If Firefox thinks it's blocked a pop-up, and you're still seeing one, that's an Internet Explorer pop-up, not a Firefox one, and it's coming from adware that Internet Explorer probably allowed to be put on your computer.
Internet Explorer doesn't have to be open in order to run--it's integrated into Windows.
16 - Thomas M. Sipos
>>If Firefox thinks it's blocked a pop-up, and you're still seeing one, that's an Internet Explorer pop-up, not a Firefox one, and it's coming from adware that Internet Explorer probably allowed to be put on your computer.<<
But I never get popups when running IE with Zone Alarm Pro.
17 - Limulus
Thomas, please confirm a few things:
First, go into the Firefox Preferences, click the "Web Features" icon and check if the "Block Popup Windows" button is checked; if so, click on the "Allowed Sites" button and see if any sites are listed.
Second, do you get popups from well-known sites like cnn.com? If so, what is the URL of those popups? (right-click the page and select "View Page Info") Can you give some examples of sites that cause popups so that we can check them? Do any of the popups have the word "Aurora" or "Messenger Service" in their title?
Lastly, have you tried Microsoft Anti-spyware ( http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx ) to see if there is spyware on your system?
18 - aysiu
"But I never get popups when running IE with Zone Alarm Pro."
And I never get pop-ups when running Firefox without Zone Alarm Pro. Why do you even need Zone Alarm Pro?
I think you're the exception. Everyone I know with IE gets pop-ups. Everyone I know with Firefox doesn't get pop-ups.
Is it possible that Zone Alarm is not compatible with Firefox? Don't blame Firefox for that.
19 - NYkriNDC
If you are still having problems with Firefox pop ups you might want to install the Adblock extension. It definitely sounds like you have Spyware on your computer and that Zone Alarm is set to protect IE as deaulft (hence you get no pop ups with it). You might want to try to use Spysweeper or CounterSpy to get rid of whatever spyware you have. Also make sure that the Firefox you installed came from the mozilla.org website. After you install Adblock you can manually block the ads and the sites from where they originate.