Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

for about 1 month now FF seems to have contracted a virus. I keep getting an advertisment that opens up in a new tab.

  • 7 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by John99

more options

for about 1 month now FF seems to have contracted a virus. I keep getting an advertisement that opens up in a new tab. I have scanned my PC with several anti virus software, such as Avir, malware bytes & also Spybot. But they show nothing and it keeps happening. It also doesn't appear to have any regularity and appears just randomly .

I was waiting to try get you a screen shot but the FF crashed. I sent you the FF crash report so hopefully that may include info.

for about 1 month now FF seems to have contracted a virus. I keep getting an advertisement that opens up in a new tab. I have scanned my PC with several anti virus software, such as Avir, malware bytes & also Spybot. But they show nothing and it keeps happening. It also doesn't appear to have any regularity and appears just randomly . I was waiting to try get you a screen shot but the FF crashed. I sent you the FF crash report so hopefully that may include info.

All Replies (7)

more options

I will include the standard reply regarding malware, please try as many scan types as possible, with fully updated software. Try especially the AdwCleaner one.

Also we need the crash ID (starts with bp-) obtainable from about:crashes please paste that in to your next post. The forum software convert it to a link; after the preview; when the pist is displayed on the forum


Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.

You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.

Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!


We're sorry to hear that Firefox is crashing. In order to assist you better, please follow the steps below to provide us crash IDs to help us learn more about your crash.

  1. Enter about:crashes in the Firefox address bar and press Enter. A Submitted Crash Reports list will appear, similar to the one shown below.
  2. Copy the 5 most recent Report IDs that start with bp- and then go back to your forum question and paste that into the "Post a Reply" box. (Please don't take a screenshot of your crashes, just copy and paste the ID's. The below image is just an example of what your Firefox screen should look like)
aboutcrashesFx29

Thank you for your help!

More information and further troubleshooting steps can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly) article.

more options

Report ID Date Submitted bp-4f44b77c-75fd-408e-bdce-f9f892150102 02/01/2015 18:48 bp-2ad8c74b-cfa4-4a83-b4f9-47e0d2141227 28/12/2014 03:20 bp-9eb053f7-736f-4b64-b31e-f03752141224 24/12/2014 17:39 bp-38584034-fd18-4dd5-b539-58e9a2141223 23/12/2014 23:07 bp-e684f3e3-88be-4548-ad9f-d30372141219 20/12/2014 00:11 bp-84c07c44-140a-4eaf-9422-5e2312141206 07/12/2014 03:26

Modified by cor-el

more options

As you can see its been going on for quite some time now. But the ad has only just started in the last couple of months


(old crash report removed - c)

Modified by cor-el

more options

You are obviously having a lot of problems with Firefox.

For future reference note you should report problems on the forum as well as submitting crash reports. The crash reports are essential for the engineers and developers, but they are not going to try to provide you with individual help or workarounds.

Sorry I do not have time to look into this further today. Please post again after the weekend if I have not got back to you.

You do have a lot of crash reports and some of the may well relate to a Firefox fault. However I have only so far had a cursory look, and even if it is a Firefox fault affecting thousands it will there may well be workarounds as it only affects a very small proportion of users, that is one reason I suggest you try safe mode and a new profile.

(One apparently related bug is Bug 1081769 - crash in js::gc::IsAboutToBeFinalized<js::types::TypeObject> )

more options

You can try to disable OMTC and leave hardware acceleration in Firefox enabled.

  • about:config page: layers.offmainthreadcomposition.enabled = false

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I'll be careful" to continue.


Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.

  • Switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance
  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window

You can try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox.

  • Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"

You need to close and restart Firefox after toggling this setting.

more options

Stigmeister said

for about 1 month now FF seems to have contracted a virus. I keep getting an advertisement that opens up in a new tab. I have scanned my PC with several anti virus software, such as Avir, malware bytes & also Spybot. But they show nothing and it keeps happening. It also doesn't appear to have any regularity and appears just randomly . I was waiting to try get you a screen shot but the FF crashed. I sent you the FF crash report so hopefully that may include info.

I have the same problem but FF does not crash. I just keep getting these random tabs/screens with these frustrating advertisements. I have blocked: http://mf.sitescout.com SO MANY TIMES and it matters not at all! It continues to open tabs with various and sundry unwanted advertisements.

Here is the most recent one: http://mf.sitescout.com/disp?pid=3FEA402303&rnd=815432854&sid=1347

How do I make it stop!????

more options

Hi crrice6640, I replied to your original question /questions/1029200#answer-696295