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Cuireadh an snáithe seo sa chartlann. Cuir ceist nua má tá cabhair uait.

Adblock Plus won't work any more on Firefox.

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I've been using Adblock Plus with Firefox for some years now without any problems. Just recently; every time I open Firefox, I get a message saying that Adblock has been reset, which means all my filter apart from 2 default ones, have been removed.

This means I have the tiresome task of reinstalling them each time I open Firefox.

I first thought the problem was with Adblock, but after contacting them and uninstalling and reinstalling Adblock, it didn't fix the problem.

I then tried it on Chrome and other browsers and it is fine.

So that has led me to the conclusion that the problem is with Firefox.

Any thoughts?

I've been using Adblock Plus with Firefox for some years now without any problems. Just recently; every time I open Firefox, I get a message saying that Adblock has been reset, which means all my filter apart from 2 default ones, have been removed. This means I have the tiresome task of reinstalling them each time I open Firefox. I first thought the problem was with Adblock, but after contacting them and uninstalling and reinstalling Adblock, it didn't fix the problem. I then tried it on Chrome and other browsers and it is fine. So that has led me to the conclusion that the problem is with Firefox. Any thoughts?

All Replies (14)

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I don't know what causes an extension (or this specific extension) to be reset. I assume a regular update doesn't cause that. Must be something unusual... but what?

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I would assume that this data in stored in the browser-extension-data folder in the profile folder.

Are you using any external cleanup software that might clear data in this folder?

You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:preferences page.

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Firefox disabled Adblock plus and other programs and I'm wondering if there is a plan to fix this or not. I'm pretty sure lots of people see this problem. I've read some posts about how to fix it but still can't get Firefox to allow download and install of adblock plus.

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Hi macciofe, have you already installed the Firefox 66.0.4 update or the Firefox 60.6.2esr (Extended Support Release) update?

If not, what version of Firefox do you run?

If so, but it didn't re-enable using and installing extensions, could you check the master password issue described in this post: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1258672#answer-1220502

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jscher2000, This is an old machine running Win xp and firefox 52.9.0 (32-bit) Everything was fine until a couple of days ago when firefox said some certificates has expired. I noticed that adblock plus was disabled on my Win 10 box too. This is frustrating.

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See these threads about to add the certificate manually:

There is a legacy system add-on planned for older Firefox versions that do not support the hotfix.

  • Bug 1549604 - ship legacy system add-ons to remediate armagadd-on 2.0
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I'm not entirely clear on what I'm reading here. I have Firefox 68.0.1 "Quantum."

Every time I boot up Firefox for the past week---and not before---I get this from Adblock Plus, an extension I installed quite some time ago:

“It seems that an issue caused all filters to be removed and we were unable to restore a backup. Therefore we had to reset your filters and Acceptable Ads settings. Please check your filter lists and Acceptable Ads settings in the Adblock Plus options.”

This requires me to redo settings each time. I emailed Adblock Plus about this. Here is their reply:

“Thanks for reaching out to us. We are aware of this Firefox bug and have reached out to Mozilla.

“Currently we're waiting for them to implement a fix.

“We know that this isn't a solution for you and would like to offer you some potential workarounds in the meantime:

“- Uninstall and reinstall Adblock Plus: https://help.eyeo.com/en/adblockplus/uninstall-adblock-plus

“- Create a new Firefox Profile: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-remove-switch-firefox-profiles

“If none of the above work, you can (should you wish to) try to uninstall Firefox completely as well.

“Please let us know if this works, we'll be looking forward to your reply!”

Is this really a Firefox problem, as they allege here? If so, is it about to be remedied? If not, is there an alternative to Adblock Plus? I am not anxious to deal with an outfit that sloughs off blame to someone else for its own issues.

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Hi Arvidd, the main issue affecting filter list databases, which affected numerous users in Firefox 67, is that an abnormal shutdown can corrupt the database and force the extension to start clean. Is your Firefox not shutting down normally, either because of a severe system crash or some other crash-like event?

Otherwise, extension databases should carry over from session to session normally.

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I have had no crashes in a very long time, and the only abnormal shutdowns occur occasionally---the last one was weeks ago, well before all of this began---due to errant AT&T internet service. Because I have a good APC battery backup, I don't experience abnormal shutdowns due to power failure.

You said that with Firefox 67, an abnormal shutdown can corrupt the database and force the extension to start clean. I don't know when Firefox upgraded my system from the last version of 67, but even if Firefox interpreted a shutdown as being abnormal, the next boot should start Adblock Plus clean, as you said, and it should then function normally absent another abnormal shutdown. As I said, I have had no abnormal shutdowns, so I can't imagine what the issue is.

I never had a problem like this before with any Firefox extension.

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Hi Arvidd, unfortunately I don't follow news on Adblock Plus. This thread on their forum goes back to Firefox 66:

https://adblockplus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65798

Not sure whether any of the suggestions there will be helpful.

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Thank you. I guess I must assume, from what I have read, that in this case it is not a Firefox problem, which must mean that the "Firefox bug" the Adblock Plus email to me referred to was something of a reflexive sloughing of the problem (we "have reached out to Mozilla" is a nice touch, too). That's too bad. It does not enhance credibility nor inspire confidence when an outfit does that.

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Hi Arvidd, I can't rule out a Firefox bug, but if they can't provide more detailed information, then it's a bit of a dead end.

I do see Bug 1564593 "Enabling first party isolation breaks WebExtension IndexedDB storage." This refers to the privacy.firstparty.isolate preference that is false by default in about:config. Do you recall changing that to true recently?

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We all have our areas of expertise, and this one most definitely is not mine. I certainly am glad to have the benefit of your expertise. Sadly, I'm not sure what that second paragraph means, except that I have not done anything more technical in Adblock Plus than to check or uncheck boxes that purport to control what will or will not be allowed. I'm not clear on where "about: config" is anyway, and I certainly have not modified it.

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about:config is an internal page that lets you modify settings in a very direct way. It is best used when you have clear instructions; it's not well suited to random tinkering. :-) More info: Configuration Editor for Firefox.