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Message says update invalid.

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  • 3 have this problem
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  • Last reply by cor-el

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A message appeared for no apparent reason, saying "Update Failed. Something is trying to trick Firefox into accepting an insecure update. Please contact your network provider and seek help."

This is the second time I got this message. The first time, I tried deleting the Firefox extensions directory. Obviously that didn't work.

About Firefox says there is no update.

A message appeared for no apparent reason, saying "Update Failed. Something is trying to trick Firefox into accepting an insecure update. Please contact your network provider and seek help." This is the second time I got this message. The first time, I tried deleting the Firefox extensions directory. Obviously that didn't work. About Firefox says there is no update.

All Replies (2)

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Firefox may display this message when the security certificate for an attempted automated update (or update check) does not match what is expected. This could occur if you are behind a proxy server, for example, in a business or via your security software.

Past threads with more discussion:

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You can check for problems with preferences and try to rename or delete the prefs.js file and possible numbered prefs-##.js files and a possible user.js file to reset all prefs to the default values.


Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before reinstalling a fresh copy of Firefox.

Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.

Uninstall your current Firefox version, if possible, to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

  • Do NOT remove personal data when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because all profile folders will be removed and you will also lose your personal data like bookmarks and passwords from profiles of other Firefox versions.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

Your bookmarks and other profile data are stored in the Firefox Profile Folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.

If you keep having problems then also create a new profile.