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Trying to stop flashads. Instructions for about:config.xpinstall.enabled not useful as those options are nowhere to be found.

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  • Last reply by israelnow

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I am trying to eliminate the flash ads appearing at the top of the screen. I Googled the question of how to do that in Firefox as I was already running it. The first response was to go to tools install Flashblock. The first response to go to Tools and install Flashblock. The stated selections were not in the Tools menu. Then the info said if that did not work to use the long way. It says to type about:config in the URL bar. Did that. Then for filter type XPInstall and double click that. That option does not appear anywhere I can find. If I had gotten there I was then to click on XPInstall.enabled and toggle to atrue. Then toggle XPinstall.whitelist.required to flase. Then install Flashblock from the web. Then toggle all these settings back to original settings abter installing Flashblock. Tried using the entire thing: about:config.xpinstall.xpenabled.true. Got nowhere. So how about checking to see if the options are actually in a menu before just telling someone to go to the menu and choose them. Help! The stuopid ads are very distracting and I do not want them. Firefox is slow enough without them!

I am trying to eliminate the flash ads appearing at the top of the screen. I Googled the question of how to do that in Firefox as I was already running it. The first response was to go to tools install Flashblock. The first response to go to Tools and install Flashblock. The stated selections were not in the Tools menu. Then the info said if that did not work to use the long way. It says to type about:config in the URL bar. Did that. Then for filter type XPInstall and double click that. That option does not appear anywhere I can find. If I had gotten there I was then to click on XPInstall.enabled and toggle to atrue. Then toggle XPinstall.whitelist.required to flase. Then install Flashblock from the web. Then toggle all these settings back to original settings abter installing Flashblock. Tried using the entire thing: about:config.xpinstall.xpenabled.true. Got nowhere. So how about checking to see if the options are actually in a menu before just telling someone to go to the menu and choose them. Help! The stuopid ads are very distracting and I do not want them. Firefox is slow enough without them!

All Replies (4)

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There is an add-on named Flashblock. If you install it from the Mozilla Add-ons site, you shouldn't need to change anything in about:config.

Flashblock :: Add-ons for Firefox

Any luck?

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That is what I was trying to get to initially. The instructions above were for that purpose. Obviously it did not work. Never reached the point were I could determine if I had Flashblock or could add it. Adblock no longer seems to work well when it is working at all which led me to look for Flashblock.

Thank you for responding.

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The pref xpinstall.enabled is currently a hidden pref that doesn't exist by default, only if you create it yourself. If it isn't there then it defaults to true. But event if the pref is false then you still get a pop-up asking for permission to install extensions and confirming that will toggle the pref to true.

You can look at Adblock Plus:

You need to subscribe to a Filter list (e.g. the EasyList).

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Thank all of you for your help. I did get the Flashads blocked. However, now the computer takes several minutes to load the internet. Once loaded it eventually speeds up a bit in going from site to site but is not at all satisfactory. My computer was reworked some time back. A disk much larger that the original was put in and while I have many files on the computer, I have roughly 90% of the disk available. I feel the processor is really not fast enough for the much larger disk so it is not the fastest computer around. I began using Firefox when IE became so slow it was tedious to use the computer at all. I prefer to use the tower computer so I continue to use this one. I also have a Dell Notebook so eventually I may give up on this one and use that one full time under protest.

Thanks for the help.