Clean Reinstalling Firefox has repeatedly failed on me - auto-updates cause problems with slow grinding FF + unresponsive websites
I suppose this is a kind of support question, of sorts, but in my opinion this also has to be treated as a complaint, in a sense.
About one and a half months ago, Firefox became unresponsive, that is, it became awfully slow. I experienced just about every issue with the browser that was mentioned in the following support pages and support issues (posted by others) and I read all of those :
Websites don't load - troubleshoot and fix error messages
firefox is extremely slow or fails to load sites
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1550371
Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-extensions-themes-to-fix-problems
Secure connection and security warning error pages in Firefox https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/secure-connection-failed-firefox-did-not-connect
An oddball situation had occurred in which I couldn't for the likes of me go to my librarything.com homepage at each restart of the previous Firefox session, which also causes lagging when the session wants to connect to the other (normally unproblematic) website session tabs, and I also get multiple connection errors + insecure connection notifications for some of these websites. (sometimes refreshing a page does not help, sometimes it does)
I got bored reading all those support pages and trying out the solutions, because nothing seemed to help. In the long run, I decided to de-install the whole browser after backing up bookmarks, speeddial settings, passwords and the whole profile. Simultaneously, I also tested the connectivity to these websites in another browser (Brave) and this did not present me with any problem.
So I did the following :
1) deleted the whole cache and closed the browser 2) uninstalled FF with Revo Uninstaller (which has an option to remove all remnant files / folders/ registry items on the Hard Drive) 3) made sure to remove all cached leftovers from HD by using multiple cleanup tools in succession : 1) Wise Disk Cleaner followed by 2) Bleachbit followed by 3) CCleaner
Went to the mozilla website, downloaded and installed the last version of FF. Next, imported bookmarks, speeddial settings and passwords. Next, reinstalled the Firefox extensions I used before (without any lag until one and a half months ago). I also did NOT copy the stored profile but decided on starting afresh with a new profile.
Everything worked lightning fast and efficiently until a few days ago, when I received an automatic update of Firefox - 151.0.3 - and all of a sudden, the same problems are reoccurring. And again, I can't connect to an unproblematic website like librarything.com, whereas before the update I was able to without any problem !!!
What the hell is going on with these auto-updates ???
All Replies (6)
That sounds like connection reliability — do you use a VPN or can turn off any antivirus or malware protection for a bit to see if anything changes?
As for performance, that might depend on your addons — you've seen the debugging steps before so the quickest check is to restart into the Troubleshooting Mode to see how stable and reliable it feels with all additions and customizations disabled.
I am getting the impression that this has something to do with a specific website. Yesterday, my homepage at librarything.com in the session showed up completely blank, while the shield icon tells me that the connection is secure.
Today, I am getting a link in the address bar that says
with a totally blank page. The animated dot in the tab header keeps moving from left to right.
Next up, after waiting, I get a link in the address bar
and a page that says the website is performing a security check, while the shield icon says connection Secure - Firefox is on guard - Enhanced Tracking Protection is on with "clear cookies and site data" greyed out and the address bar next gets stuck on
with a blank page and the animated dot in the tab header keeps moving from left to right
What does this all mean ? I haven't seen this behavior before.
In troubleshoot mode, I get libraything.com in the adress bar and a page that says
www.librarything.com Performing security verification
This website uses a security service to protect against malicious bots. This page is displayed while the website verifies you are not a bot.
Why is this verification taking longer?
This verification can take longer due to an older computer or a slow internet connection.
What to do next:
Wait briefly. Refreshing the page will restart the security verification and may take longer. If the verification still does not complete, refresh this page. If you are still stuck on this page after a page refresh, refer to Cloudflare’s troubleshooting documentation for more help.
I am effectively stuck on this page, and it seems to affect the loading time of all the other in-session websites in Normal Mode, but not in Troubleshoot Mode. In Troubleshoot Mode, the "wait" icon keeps cycling , while the shield icon says connection Secure - Firefox is on guard - Enhanced Tracking Protection is on with "clear cookies and site data" greyed out.
Browser Privacy has always been set to Standard Block pop-ups and third-party redirects is checked Show warning when websites try to install extensions is checked
Deceptive content and dangerous software protection Block dangerous and deceptive content is checked Warn you about unwanted and uncommon software is checked Allow Firefox to automatically trust third-party root certificates you install is checked
HTTPS-Only Mode Don’t enable HTTPS-Only Mode is checked DNS over HTTPS : Status Off Enable DNS over HTTPS using: Default Protection
I am not using VPN
I have never modified these settings in the past. Plus, I have absolutely no clue how to turn off Norton 360.
Connection Settings
Use System proxy settings Proxy DNS when using SOVKS v5 (absolutely no clue what this is supposed to mean)
Again : I have never modified these settings before
Yes, when I tested the URL you use as homepage I was surprised how heavily it's protected. It takes ages to verify, and I wouldn't use it as home and/or want to wait for it to load each time.
It seemed to use some form of Cloudflare protection services, or even multiple ones — and sometimes the loads are exceptionally slow. I'd just suggest using something else as a home page, and just have a bookmark/icon for this site if you use it regularly — but don't load it up all the time if you don't need it. They seem to be fighting automated use patterns.
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