Strange Firefox behaviour with weird version 3.6.3
I have an odd problem I can't solve so this is my first post because I have no idea!!
I'm running Windows 10 with all updates etc, and Firefox 59.0.2 64 bit which as of writing is also up to date. Over the last couple of weeks, and it's random when it happens and only on reboot or starting the computer, I get a Firefox window which is version 3.6.3.
Sometimes, these pages are innocuous explaining it's Gort the robot killer. At other times it loads a porn site. I never look at porn and my wife and I had a severe argument when it first occurred.
I've used various virus scanners including Comodo, Avast, Bitdefender, Windows Defender, and Malwarebytes and I get absolutely no errors or PUPs.
I've followed all the advice I can find on the internet including virus and malware scans, clearing cookies and private information, reinstalling Firefox, and rerunning everything. I just can't seem to get rid of this problem and it's highly embarassing. I think Firefox is awesome but unless I can't solve this it looks like I have to uninstall it.
I have installed the following extensions:
1-Click YouTube Video Downloader DecentralEyes Free Download Manager extension Notebook web clipper uBlock Origin Windscribe VPN Zoho Vault
The issue does not occur with MS Edge, Chrome, or IE.
Any suggestions other than that stated to try so I can eliminate this issue?
My first post. I've tried to conform to the rules!
All Replies (15)
Have you checked in the Programs and Features dialog in the Control panel to see if you have multiple Firefox versions installed?
That's a good point and I omitted to say that no, there are no other Firefox versions. I appreciate you pointing that out.
Microsoft has a program that is similar to the built-in Windows Task Manager, but shows when a program is running as a child task of another program. If you have something installed that is using an old version of Firefox, this might help in discovering the relationship.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer
Hmm the image says Firefox 3.6.3 (three point six point three) yet the useragent shows as Firefox 36.0 (thirty-six point zero).
Firefox 3.6.3 was released April 1st, 2010 and 36.0 was released February 24, 2015.
Maybe something like a extension is changing the useragent however that does not really explain the Firefox 3.6.3 version. It is almost as if you are using Firefox 3.6.3 but have a modified UA of Firefox 36.0
I mean you could try reseting the useragent and see. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-reset-default-user-agent-firefox
Have you made sure you do not have any portable Firefox versions like Firefox 3.6.3?
jscher2000 said
Microsoft has a program that is similar to the built-in Windows Task Manager, but shows when a program is running as a child task of another program. If you have something installed that is using an old version of Firefox, this might help in discovering the relationship. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer
That's quite a useful tool! Isn't showing anything up yet but will certainly keep an eye on it. The issue doesn't happen on every reboot unfortunately. Thanks for the info!!
James said
Hmm the image says Firefox 3.6.3 (three point six point three) yet the useragent shows as Firefox 36.0 (thirty-six point zero). Firefox 3.6.3 was released April 1st, 2010 and 36.0 was released February 24, 2015. Maybe something like a extension is changing the useragent however that does not really explain the Firefox 3.6.3 version. It is almost as if you are using Firefox 3.6.3 but have a modified UA of Firefox 36.0 I mean you could try reseting the useragent and see. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-reset-default-user-agent-firefox Have you made sure you do not have any portable Firefox versions like Firefox 3.6.3?
There are no portable versions and I'll certainly try the useragent tonight.
As for extensions, they haven't changed and seem to be from reputable sources.
If it persists, I'll do a clean re-install. I'll leave this thread open and let you all know how I go.
Thanks for the support all. It's appreciated :)
HI, have you gone to the pros to seek help ? https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/9573-im-infected-what-do-i-do-now/
Also have you tried creating a new Profile and run with that for awhile ? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
Gone through your registry at all after uninstalling ?
Still working on this. I had deleted the useragent and I had no popups for a day or so, then I did a Firefox refresh but it kept happening. I then uninstalled and re-ran all the scans then reinstalled, same issue. I've added another popup about robots in case others stumble across this thread seeking a solution and will continue to post my experiences for the collective.
chriswillisau said
I've added another popup about robots in case others stumble across this thread seeking a solution and will continue to post my experiences for the collective.
Reminds me of this :
Murphy, no, that's not the same thing at all.
Chriswillisau, that about:robots page is just a fun Easter egg in Firefox.
Tyler Downer said
Murphy, no, that's not the same thing at all.
I said it reminds me of it ......
(a bit late for Easter eggs ..... )
'Found this :
Hey Murphy/Tyler, interesting stuff you posted!
I'll continue to post things that happen for others in case they have the same issue.
I ran a NOD32 online scan yesterday including PUPs and it detected nothing. Turned computer on today and I got pop up after popup from Comodo. The first detection was ../Mozilla Firefox/Browser/omni.ja as a PUP. I ran Malwarebytes then the in-built Windows scanner but it came back clean. After removing from quarantine I was hit with 5-10 different popups similar to that attached (malware detection malware@6vzg1d7vahxl (extensions? The amount of popups may have been the same number of extensions I have installed). Later on, I had another inappropriate adult advert hit me in version 3 Firefox that I don't have installed (the same browser version reporting the about:robots).
I installed Comodo IceDragon (built on Firefox) and using that instead of Mozilla Firefox for now, have no issues yet. It will allow me to modify settings in Moz Firefox so it's not deleting data, then I can do what pkshadow suggested https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/9573-im-infected-what-do-i-do-now/
Athraithe ag chriswillisau ar
That is not malware. The extensions in the features folder are special builtin extensions that add some features to Firefox.
You can see them listed on the about:support page.
- Help -> Troubleshooting Information -> Firefox Features
- bug 417302 - about:robots
(please do not comment in bug reports
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/page.cgi?id=etiquette.html)
I noticed an oddity today in process explorer that jscher2000 provided in a post above (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer) called update.exe which had the Firefox icon, but the colour was as little lighter than the other Firefox icons. It was available in Windows task explorer as well. I haven't noticed it before.
I went into properties to determine the directory and update.exe was the v3.6.3 browser.
There were no uninstall options and I deleted the directory. I don't know how it got there. I'll keep an eye on the system to see if the issue repeats.
The directory is (replace xxx with your username):
C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Roaming\SvObj
I'll leave it a few days again and mark as solved if there are no further issues as it doesn't appear on every boot.
Nice work, that makes sense (first hit when searching for "Roaming\SvObj").