Sudden cpu activity when browsing websites
Original FF user here so not a newbie. Run all FF updates on a regular basis. Currently on a MacBk Air circa 2020 running Sonoma 14.7.7 I browse twitter on a regular basis. I run various ad blockers: ABP, Adblocker Ultimate & Privacy Badger. Last month or so I've needed to make some adjustments as maybe the X platform has instituted workarounds or something but suddenly I was seeing ads that looked like someone's post, very deceptive. At one point it was necessary to disable Privacy Badger on twitter/X as there was an interference w what I was seeing. That wasn't that long ago, maybe 2-3 wks? Consequently if I saw an ad I needed to do a "block element" thru Adblocker Ultimate & while it was a bit of a bother that was all fine and good no problem. Again, this was all recent. Tonite was different. An ad appeared and somewhere something got entangled and I had to disable the Adblocker Ultimate. I sent them an email to see what's up. Then I had to disable that on twitter so ads appeared. Next I tried to enable ABP again on twitter to see if maybe since I'd disabled it a couple of wks prior maybe it had been updated and would work ok. This is when things really started to go downhill. It worked but too well - was disabling images from news reports and/or someone's posted video. THEN I noticed my cpu was running a bit loud. I tried to disable/test the ad blockers but my cpu was getting louder so I shut down the twitter website altogether.
That didn't help. I checked the Utility monitor and saw my activity monitor climbing as I heard the fan running louder. SO bizarre! I shut down FF altogether and this calmed down the CPU. Next I opened just a general news site - Al Jazeera - to see what would happen. Within about 2-3 mins the CPU started speeding up again. I closed AlJazeera, and just sat there for a few moments and my cpu calmed down. Opened it again same thing. Began speeding up. That's when I came here to file a report//ask qs because this just doesn't ever happen - literally ever. It is not unusual for me to have both a browser page open w 2-3 windows along w a private window open - maybe mltiple windows there - and NO cpu noise going on. Once more I shut down FF completely before reopening a new window. IF I start browsing a news site - like Al Jazeera, it begins running hot again. Twitter, same thing and now my ad blockers seem to be messed up//not working as well. Right now as I type this I have ABP & AdBlocker Ultimate both highlighted as active; Privacy Badger is showing enabled but no activity, Twitter Video Downloader is just sitting there as is typical unless I need it (it's to download videos off of Twitter, works very well too.) That's all I have for add-ons. Right now in just this window everything is calm and quiet. IF I open a news site tho, or social media, anything w a bit of activity on it everything starts humming louder and louder. I just opened FB for a few moments to see if that creates issues and yes it does w/i maybe 2-3 mins of activity. Also: FF Privacy & Security Settings are on Standard. Not sure what else I can provide but please feel free to ask. I may have left something out. I'm hearing the cpu heat up again so getting ready to just shut things down for the night. Thanks to all who helped build FF - really - and thanks to whoever can help resolve whatever's going on now.
Всички отговори (7)
To block ads use only uBlock Origin. And do NOT use similar-purposed blocker(s) along with uBlock Origin: this will cripple uBO's ability to defuse anti-blocker mechanisms and its ability to minimize likelihood of site breakage.
And if you restart into Troubleshoot Mode (from Help menu) are the issues gone even on video/media sites?
Hi & thanks for this response - I'm not familiar w troubleshooting mode - please explain further - is this a FF tool?
How do I access this ? Sounds like something I need to do - thanks!
Hi Linda, the description for it is here: Use Troubleshoot Mode in Firefox with further documents based on the outcomes linked from its steps to guide you next.
Thanks for this I will most definitely check it out -
I just found the issue - it's the extension Ad Blocker Ultimate - been using it for YEARS literally - but for whatever reason suddenly it's overloading my system - I just reported it a few moments ago - Thanks again for your response I appreciate it 1000%!!!
Cheers - !
As with any component, the addons update over time on their own — with their actual content blocking definitions being pulled from their creators even daily perhaps, so the stability over years doesn't necessarily eliminate potential issues today or going forwards.
It was mentioned earlier, but you should be fine just with one of the addons, instead of their activity potentially disrupting each other's effectiveness. Pick one, and you're all set.
Thanks for reporting the issue to the extension author, much appreciated! —J.
JBR -
I'm not sure where you got the idea only 1 adblocker can be adequate as I've seen websites where a particular adblocker wasn't even active while another one was blocking ads. I've been using blockers for many yrs - not sure when I started but probably not long after they were first developed. Same thing happened the past couple of days - ads were slipping thru so I was checking to see what was going on when my cpu started heating up. I do see the number of ad blocking extension users has increased significantly since last time I added one on which is great news for all of us who fight these constant monetization schemes. In any case I appreciate your comment as well as all the others. It's amazing how much FF has evolved over time - in a good way - and IMHO has stayed true to its original purpose even as it continues to improve. Thanks to all!
You must log in to your account to reply to posts. Please start a new question, if you do not have an account yet.