Posted on 06/14/2011 6:25:11 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
When I started Firefox tonight I got a Windows message saying that Firefox wanted to update from the Internet. I allowed it, and right away I started getting incredibly annoying audio advertisements and a popup that said "GetIt" whenever I tried to click on anything.
I rolled it back to a restore point and got rid of it, but whatever it is, it is so blatantly annoying that I don't know what they think they are accomplishing.
I restarted FF and didn’t get the message.
Thanks for the heads-up!
I’ll keep my eye open for a similar event...
Do you have a virus protection software on your computer? If so, which one, if you don’t mind saying?
A couple of great and free anti-malware pieces of software are
Malwarebytes’ Anti-Maleware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
and
Super Anti-Spyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/
Download them, update them, and run them. It’ll get rid of them very easily.
Which version of FF are you running?
Those programs are really great. Buy them both.
Perhaps attempting to drive traffic to another browser?
FF gave me such fits I finally switched to google chrome.
I know, i know i’m in league with soros, the chi-coms and the bilderburgers now ....
;o)
Sounds like you got hooked by some malware masquerading as Firefox or Windows. Firefox automatically updates within the program, it doesn’t use any Windows notifications.
This isn't a virus. It's an application. Security Essentials warned me that Firefox wanted to make an exception on the firewall, and I allowed it. It was my fault. I have never seen a browser application ask to breach the firewall. I should have known better. It will never happen again.
Restore points are fabulous.
I had a lot of trouble with any version of FF higher than 3.15 running on Linux; video freeze-ups and at-random crashes, mainly. Turned out I had some bad RAM and the later (larger) versions of FF were accessing those addresses, where the earlier one wasn't. If Chrome irritates you enough (and I expect it will, the human engineering is terrible), try new RAM and FF4.
What version of Firefox are you running. (To find out click “Help” then “About Mozilla Firefox”).
I’m running v. 3.6.17 but it wants me to download v. 4.0.1. I’m resisting because some of my useful add-ons are always disabled when I upgrade versions so probably will stay with what I have until they stop issuing security updates.
Sounds like you got spoofed by something pretending to be FireFox. You should get and run an anti-virus program. Microsoft Security Essentials is not nearly enough.
Often, your ISP will provide one for you to download, like McAfee or Symantec. If not, a halfway decent free one can be had here:
http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-free-antivirus
I am using Microsoft Security Essentials.
This isn't a virus. It's an application. Security Essentials warned me that Firefox wanted to make an exception on the firewall, and I allowed it. It was my fault. I have never seen a browser application ask to breach the firewall. I should have known better. It will never happen again.
This isn't a virus. It's an application. Security Essentials warned me that Firefox wanted to make an exception on the firewall, and I allowed it. It was my fault. I have never seen a browser application ask to breach the firewall. I should have known better. It will never happen again.
Malwarebytes ROCKS! I just used it the other day to get that nasty bogus ‘MS Security Update 2012’ off my wife’s machine.
I could be mistaken, but on my machines, Microsoft Security Essentials provides a firewall and some mal-ware detection, but it is not a replacement for an antivirus program.
McAfee, Symantec, and AVG all run fine with Micrsoft Security Essentials.
I have used AVG and Avast. I like Avast a little better. I will try it. I am pretty sure you can’t do it. I got error messages when I tried.
I’ve also recently updated a couple machines to FireFox 4.01.
Neither needed nor requested any firewall updates. Microsoft Security Essentials didn’t make a peep about it on either system. It seems to me that you were very likely installing an infected or corrupted copy, or that another virus was already on your system, just waiting for the chance to change your firewall settings...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.