Posted on 08/30/2013 2:18:29 AM PDT by lafroste
Help! I am being driven bats by a problem and have run out of ideas. I have the latest version of Firefox and the latest version of Adobe reader. I cannot open .pdf files in my browser. I just get a blank screen. I cannot download the .pdf files either. I have checked the default program settings and Adobe is not even listed as an option. I have no trouble opening .pdf files that already on my computer. I have tried the Firefox>tools>applications and it shows Acrobat as the default program (in Firefox - and all other .pdf files) but it won't open. What am I doing wrong??
Firefox’s quality isn’t going downhill, their security is getting tighter.
Do you know that web security is far and away the biggest threat to your average user? Browser exploits happen on a 0-day basis, meaning as soon as they’re discovered “in the wild,” there’s someone somewhere writing a bot or malware to exploit it. This is a big reason why most major corporations employ what’s known as a DMZ on their network to keep “wild” web servers out of the internal environment.
When you work as a systems admin, the biggest threat isn’t from the outside, it’s from within. Users who browse the web on insecure and outdated browsers on the corporate network are responsible for more virus outbreaks in the world than any single home user. Firefox is often termed as “buggy,” because they use a separate kernel from Windows. When Firefox starts up, you are literally starting an operating system on your machine with its own configuration, settings, cookie cache, certificate store, and script environment. The reason people see FF as “going downhill” is not due to a lack of quality but an increase in security.
What you deem “functional” in a browser like Opera, Safari, IE, and even Chrome, is actually walking a grey line on security. Firefox assumes you want to be safe. There are ways to turn off those safeguards if you wish. I personally prefer safety over usability.
I see a lot of people have recommended Foxit. That’s a good add-on but if you update your FF it now has a built in PDF reader. I think everything after version 20 has this.
Be that as it may, it’s still better than firefox and their bloatware. Firefox and flash is a marriage made in heaven. A pox on both their houses.
“When Firefox starts up, you are literally starting an operating system on your machine with its own configuration, settings, cookie cache, certificate store, and script environment. The reason people see FF as going downhill is not due to a lack of quality but an increase in security.”
No wonder Firefox is a resource pig and an excellent vector for malware + virus infections. Cleaning out yet anothe piece of crapware from FF this morning.
There’s always two vectors that continually get exploited. Java and FF.
Firefox’s Rapid Release is rapidly killing what used to be a good browser.
From around v12 Firefox has fought Adobe. If it wasn’t the Flash player, it was Acrobat (for PDF files). On my Desktop I am at v15 because later editions of FF or Adobe create additional problems.
I just installed a new HD in my laptop and the latest versions do seem to be working — Flash and FF23portable. I haven’t tried the PDF yet, but I did install Foxit.
I have found that the PortableApps ‘portable’ version of FF seems to have fewer conflicts with external programs.
I cringe every time I see a ‘update or upgrade is available’. They tend to create as many problems as they fix.
As for Firefox....I had just such a malfunction earlier this year and I tracked it down to a crappy update of Flash Player.
To tell FF what you want to do go to Tools/Options/Applications and scroll down until you see "pdf file" or Portable Document Format (PDF). Go to the Action box next to it and tell FF what you want it to do when it encounters a PDF file. You will have to pick "Use Other" if you don't want to use FF's previewer and that should display a list of programs on your computer that will open PDF files, at which point you can choose which one to use. You might see entries for both pdf file and Portable Document Format (PDF) in the content type column. If so, change them both. I liked the FF PDF addon better than the now-available options, but can live with them until, hopefully, the PDF addon is upgraded for FF 22.
An excellent vector for malware? What do you consider your level of technical knowledge? Do you understand that by keeping your web browsing in a separate kernel process, you’re actually insulating your operating system from infection? Firefox itself may crash or corrupt, but your operating system isn’t affected.
Firefox is designed to crash if an extension or addon corrupts to prevent your system from going on its knees due to resource overruns. If Firefox is continuously crashing, you’ve likely got a corrupt extension or addon.
You ever had an IE extension crash? What happened? Oh yeah, your ENTIRE OPERATING SYSTEM LOCKED UP! Firefox is designed by the GNU community and is leaps and bounds more secure and stable than most other commercial browsers out there unless you’re using Lynx, Mosaic, or some browser with absolutely zero extensions.
Understand that a MAJORITY of issues don’t come from the browsers but from addons like Java, Javascript, Flash, Shockwave, etc.
Are you trolling me? Is this a joke? Firefox is an open source browser. Flash is made by Adobe and is centrally cited as the largest purveyor of malware on the Internet or tied for first with Java. If you're not using a script or ad blocker in your browser, you're asking for trouble.
Which explains why the number one vector for infections on my system is Java and FF. I don’t get many but it’s always those two. Flash has been taking down my browser so I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with Flash.
I don't run any anti-virus or anti-malware programs at all.
I never get a virus/malware. Ever.
Your number one vector is not the applications you run, but the OS you use.
“What do you consider your level of technical knowledge?”
Good enough. I maintain my computers and a few others. The big issue is cleaning off other people’s FF if it’s not well maintained. It’s an enormous pain. Last time I had to do it, it was a day - but I finally broke it and repaired the massively corrupt installation.
Java took down the last computer I had fail on me. I’m trying to nip this one in the bud so that I won’t see similar problems.
“Do you understand that by keeping your web browsing in a separate kernel process, youre actually insulating your operating system from infection? Firefox itself may crash or corrupt, but your operating system isnt affected.”
By tailoring scripts for FF - it’s easy enough to infect the actual FF and use it as a means to infect other parts of the computer. You’d be better off with a low level browser, not another operating system.
“Firefox is designed to crash if an extension or addon corrupts to prevent your system from going on its knees due to resource overruns. If Firefox is continuously crashing, youve likely got a corrupt extension or addon.”
It’s gotten as bad as blue screens on some I’ve fixed. Not a fan of FF.
“Firefox is designed by the GNU community and is leaps and bounds more secure and stable than most other commercial browsers out there unless youre using Lynx, Mosaic, or some browser with absolutely zero extensions.”
FF and Java are the last time I’ve seen a BSOD and that was back in 2011. 2012 is the first year I’ve never had a BSOD.
“Due to some other requirements, I am required to have both Java and Adobe on my computer. I use Firefox exclusively.
I don’t run any anti-virus or anti-malware programs at all.”
Unfortunatly I’m required to have Java, Adobe and FF.
“Your number one vector is not the applications you run, but the OS you use.”
Which is why all the infections are associated with Java and FF. Sorry, not buying it. They are called infection vectors for a reason. Control them, you control your likelihood of infection.
Umm... it's Flash... I think that's a good place to start.
Suit yourself. But we both run the same software on different operating systems. The difference is I don't have any problems.
Listen, I’d meet you in the middle if you’d said you were at least using Chrome, but the fact that you stood up for IE tells me that you’re not intensely tuned to the security aspects of system management. Internet Explorer has never been considered a secure browser due to the number of native hooks that exist in the kernel of the OS itself.
You appear to be looking at this from a “functionality” perspective where you take the tack that “If it doesn’t crash, it must be working.” Anyone working in IT long enough knows that if something is crashing consistently, there’s likely something ELSE going on.
“I like XP because it crashes less than Windows 7” said no one, ever.
7 is very secure. Maybe 5 years ago your criticisms were accurate. Chrome is good, but drops stuff on your system to track you.
How secure is your system if you aren’t targetted?
“Suit yourself. But we both run the same software on different operating systems. The difference is I don’t have any problems.”
The difference is that other people actually use my OS.
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