hello, could you go to the firefox menu ≡ > help ? > troubleshooting information, copy the contents of that page and paste them here into a reply on the forum? this might give us a clue what is going on...

Try to rename the cert8.db file (cert8.db.old) and delete the cert_override.txt file in the Firefox profile folder to remove intermediate certificates and exceptions that Firefox has stored.

If that has helped to solve the problem then you can remove the renamed cert8.db.old file. Otherwise you can rename (or copy) the cert8.db.old file to cert8.db to restore the previously stored intermediate certificates. Firefox will automatically store intermediate certificates when you visit websites that send such a certificate.

You can use this button to go to the currently used Firefox profile folder:

• Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Show Folder (Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder)

Windows hides some file extensions by default. Among them are .html and .ini and .js and .txt and .db, so you may only see file name without file extension. You can see the real file type (file extension) in the properties of the file via the right-click context menu in Windows Explorer.

Do a malware check with several malware scanning programs on the Windows computer. Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware. All these programs have free versions.

Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:
  http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
• AdwCleaner:
  http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/
  http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Removal-Tools/AdwCleaner.shtml
• SuperAntispyware:
  http://www.superantispyware.com/
• Microsoft Safety Scanner:
  http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx
• Windows Defender:
  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/using-defender
• Spybot Search & Destroy:
  http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
• Kasperky Free Security Scan:
  http://www.kaspersky.com/security-scan

You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.

• Anti-rootkit utility TDSSKiller:
  http://support.kaspersky.com/5350?el=88446

See also:

• "Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/troubleshoot-firefox-issues-caused-malware

I copied all of this. BTW I need something very basic as I am not tech savvy at all. Thank you. Application Basics Name Firefox Version 33.1 Update History User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:33.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/33.0 Profile Folder Enabled Plugins about:plugins Build Configuration about:buildconfig Memory Use about:memory Multiprocess Windows 0/4 Crash Reports for the Last 3 Days Report ID Submitted

All Crash Reports (including 1 pending crash in the given time range) Extensions Name Version Enabled ID Avast Online Security 10.0.2502.149 false wrc@avast.com McAfee Security Scan Plus 1.0 false {e4f94d1e-2f53-401e-8885-681602c0ddd8} McAfee SiteAdvisor 3.7.1 false {4ED1F68A-5463-4931-9384-8FFF5ED91D92} Graphics Adapter Description Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator HD Adapter Drivers igdumd64 igd10umd64 igdumdx32 igd10umd32 Adapter RAM Unknown Device ID 0x0046 Direct2D Enabled Blocked for your graphics driver version. Try updating your graphics driver to version 8.1500.1000.2202 or newer. DirectWrite Enabled false (6.2.9200.16571) Driver Date 1-25-2010 Driver Version 8.15.10.2057 GPU #2 Active false GPU Accelerated Windows 4/4 Direct3D 11 (OMTC) Vendor ID 0x8086 WebGL Renderer Google Inc. -- ANGLE (Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator HD Direct3D9Ex vs_3_0 ps_3_0) windowLayerManagerRemote true AzureCanvasBackend skia AzureContentBackend cairo AzureFallbackCanvasBackend cairo AzureSkiaAccelerated 0 Important Modified Preferences Name Value accessibility.typeaheadfind.flashBar 0 browser.cache.disk.capacity 358400 browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run false browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max false browser.cache.frecency_experiment 3 browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion 7 browser.sessionstore.upgradeBackup.latestBuildID 20141106120505 browser.startup.homepage https://www.yahoo.com/# browser.startup.homepage_override.buildID 20141106120505 browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone 33.1 dom.mozApps.used true extensions.lastAppVersion 33.1 font.internaluseonly.changed false font.minimum-size.x-western 13 media.gmp-gmpopenh264.lastUpdate 1414111943 media.gmp-gmpopenh264.version 1.1 media.gmp-manager.lastCheck 1417289586 network.cookie.prefsMigrated true places.database.lastMaintenance 1417289587 places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages 73519 plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types application/pdf plugin.importedState true print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_bgcolor false print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_bgimages false print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_colorspace print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_command print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_downloadfonts false print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_duplex 1515870810 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_edge_bottom 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_edge_left 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_edge_right 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_edge_top 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_evenpages true print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_footercenter print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_footerleft &PT print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_footerright &D print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_headercenter print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_headerleft &T print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_headerright &U print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_in_color true print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_margin_bottom 0.5 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_margin_left 0.5 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_margin_right 0.5 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_margin_top 0.5 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_oddpages true print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_orientation 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_page_delay 50 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_paper_data 1 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_paper_height 11.00 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_paper_name print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_paper_size_type 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_paper_size_unit 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_paper_width 8.50 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_plex_name print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_resolution 1515870810 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_resolution_name print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_reversed false print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_scaling 1.00 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_shrink_to_fit true print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_to_file false print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_unwriteable_margin_bottom 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_unwriteable_margin_left 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_unwriteable_margin_right 0 print.printer_HP_Deskjet_F4500_series.print_unwriteable_margin_top 0 privacy.sanitize.migrateFx3Prefs true privacy.sanitize.timeSpan 0 storage.vacuum.last.index 1 storage.vacuum.last.places.sqlite 1416776213 Important Locked Preferences Name Value JavaScript Incremental GC true Accessibility Activated false Prevent Accessibility 0 Library Versions Expected minimum version Version in use NSPR 4.10.7 4.10.7 NSS 3.17.2 Basic ECC 3.17.2 Basic ECC NSSSMIME 3.17.2 Basic ECC 3.17.2 Basic ECC NSSSSL 3.17.2 Basic ECC 3.17.2 Basic ECC NSSUTIL 3.17.2 3.17.2 Experimental Features

You can remove all data stored in Firefox from a specific domain via "Forget About This Site" in the right-click context menu of an history entry ("History > Show All History" or "View > Sidebar > History") or via the about:permissions page.

Using "Forget About This Site" will remove all data stored in Firefox from that domain like bookmarks, cookies, passwords, cache, history, and exceptions, so be cautious and if you have a password or other data from that domain that you do not want to lose then make sure to backup this data or make a note.

You can't recover from this 'forget' unless you have a backup of the involved files.

It doesn't have any lasting effect, so if you revisit such a 'forgotten' website then data from that website will be saved once again.

Is there any way to do this so I don't lose my bookmarks?

You can backup the bookmarks to a JSON backup and restore that backup.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Backing_up_and_restoring_bookmarks_-_Firefox
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/restore-bookmarks-from-backup-or-move-them

Note that restoring a JSON backup will replace all the bookmarks.

• Bookmarks > Show All Bookmarks > Import & Backup > Backup
• Bookmarks > Show All Bookmarks > Import & Backup > Restore > Choose File

Sorry, but I'm not that tech savvy. I can't take the chance of losing all of this info. I also receive Yahoo email alerts in my regular email account. I am able to click on a link from Yahoo http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0SO8xxFbntUz.0AVT5XNyoA?p=Julianne+Hough&_tsrc=mktg_dym_tts_001&pn=yahoo_mktg_dym_tts_001_us_web&ei=UTF-8&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Aw%2Cm%3Atn%2Cct%3Aall%2Cpg%3A1%2Cstl%3Acrsl&fr=mktg_dym_tts_001 -- and open Yahoo web site. I just cannot get their home page. I can click on any Yahoo article that is posted on Yahoo. These do not redirect me to a different web site. I just cannot open their home page. For some weird reason, Firefox does not want me to use Yahoo as my home page. I will circumvent Firefox for a few more days. If they won't accept Yahoo as a reliable site, then I will switch to Safari or a different browser. It just has to be SIMPLE for me to do. I don't understand why Yahoo was okay for many years and now it's not, especially since I can access it through a link in an email, but not directly.

Just tried something else. I entered: searchyahoo.com and it brings up Yahoo, the abbreviated version and not the true home page. Why would it allow me to open the interior of the web site, but not the home page?

Hi Buster348, did you already try Firefox's Reset button? I'm not sure whether that was one of the troubleshooting steps you tried before posting.

Regarding the link that worked, two differences from your home page:

(1) It uses HTTP instead of HTTPS, so Firefox isn't even going to check whether there is a valid security certificate (unless Yahoo redirects from HTTP to HTTPS when you visit the page)

(2) It goes to search.yahoo.com instead of www.yahoo.com and this site has a different security certificate (issued in April vs. issued in September)

I apologize that this isn't simpler, but you have an unusual situation and the volunteers are still trying to get our arms around it ourselves. That's why you're getting the "20 questions."

I apologize for being old and not tech savvy. I am just concerned about messing up my computer. I don't want to have to take my computer to a repair shop because I went into uncharted territory and lost valuable data. I don't have money to spend on that. Where is the Firefox reset button and what exactly does it do? I don't want to lose my bookmarks. I appreciate all the help I am getting. Unfortunately, most of it is over my head. Sorry.

Just went to www.news.yahoo.com and can read and access everything that is on Yahoo's home page. Even have link to my Yahoo email account. That would be a huge problem if I couldn't access my Yahoo email. In a pinch I can always use my Safari browser which has no problem with Yahoo's certificate.

Hi Buster348, this article has a lengthy description of the Reset feature: Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings.

Your bookmarks should survive the Reset; that is how it is designed. However, you may want to make an extra backup just in case. The steps for creating a backup of your bookmarks are described in this article: Restore bookmarks from backup or move them to another computer. When Firefox prompts you for a location to save the backup file, I suggest either your Desktop or your Documents folder so it's easy to find if needed.

Hope that helps.

Hi Buster348, thanks for the update about the news site. Were you able to use the secure (HTTPS) version?

https://news.yahoo.com/

That certificate was issued in October, so it's the newest one I've seen today for the various Yahoo sites. I'm not sure why they have so many...

Yes, I could open that version. I could enter it manually and it did open. I also clicked on the link you provided and it opened as well.

Forgot that I have Carbonite so my bookmarks should automatically be backed up without my doing anything manually, shouldn't they?

Hi Buster348, I looked up Carbonite's support articles and found this information:

"Carbonite backs up your Mozilla Firefox bookmarks by default if you originally selected the recommended option during the installation." Source: Backing up your Firefox bookmarks

So that sounds pretty promising, but I'm not sure how you can easily confirm it.

Maybe I should contact Carbonite directly?

Just contacted Carbonite through a chat. They said I definitely have backup for bookmarks as I signed up for that during installation. They took over my computer to look this up. I didn't do it myself. So I think I'm going to be okay. So where is this Firefox reset button?

So here's my latest update. I specifically went to Firefox this morning. It shows that Yahoo has formed a partnership with Firefox/Mozilla. Yet it still won't accept Yahoo's certificate as mentioned in my original question. So I finally went to troubleshooting and did the Firefox reset. Nothing happened. Yahoo's certificate still isn't accepted as being good. I contacted Yahoo support about this issue and apparently they don't recognize or respect the new partnership with Firefox/Mozilla as I never got an answer. Now what do I do? BTW I still have all of my bookmarks. I did not lose them.

Hi Buster348, it seems odd and somewhat suspicious that only the www site is not working correctly when everything else is. Could you try running the supplemental security scanners listed in cor-el's post: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1033563#answer-658904 Note: these programs are free and take a considerable time to run. If they seem to finish quickly and require a payment for cleaning, that could be a sign of a deeper infection.

I ran all of those security scanners as you suggested. The only one that required payment of $60 was Kapersky. I am a senior on a fixed income and cannot afford to pay $60 for that. As far as "renaming certificates," that verbiage may as well have been in Chinese because I have no idea what they are talking about. Way too far advanced for me. I only know basic, simple stuff and still struggle.