Hi Seymour, your reply concerns me because getting an online message about a program being out of date is one of the ways that sites trick you into installing malware. Also, the Java plugin is not used for playing media on any modern sites, so it's especially strange.

This overlaps cor-el's advice, but there might be something extra on my "clean-up" list:

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program.

After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it.

Take out as much trash as possible here. If you're not sure, feel free to post program names or a screenshot of the list.

(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a (Mac: Command+Shift+a)
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
• in the Windows "Run" dialog, type or paste
  firefox.exe "about:addons"

In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions. All extensions are optional; the troublemaker might not be obvious from its name.

Any improvement?

(3) You can check for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in this support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

Hopefully that will flush anything questionable that page was distributing.

Hi jscher2000, In the interest of doing everything right, please find attached 6 Control Panel Screenshots & Extensions Screenshot, – for your perusal. Which scanning/cleaning tools would you recommend that I should use? Thanking you again, Seymour.

Hi Seymour, I don't know what happened on December 9th, but you have so many software installations or updates at once that it is difficult to guess what might have been happening before that date. Of the most recent installations, only the IOBit products have been previously mentioned as causing problems for Firefox users.

Regarding the Flash-HTML5 extension, I believe you can remove that. Since YouTube no longer offers Flash as an option, an add-on to switch between formats doesn't have much purpose any more.

The cleaners I see most commonly recommended are Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, which is a 30-day trial of the paid product that drops the paid features after that time, and AdwCleaner.

Hi jscher2000, I ran “Malwarebytes” & “AdwCleaner”. - Screenshots 28 & 29 show the results from “Malwarebytes”, which I cleaned. Do you see anything anything suspicious in these results? - Screenshots 30,31,32,33,& 34 show the results from “AdwCleaner”, which I cleaned. Do you see anything anything suspicious in these results? I am also getting a persistent message to update “Dashlane” to the latest version, but nothing happens when I action the “Install now” button. – Screenshot 35 shows this. All of the media players, apart from Channel 4, are not playing. Thanking you again for your help. Seymour.

Do you find any of these programs useful? If not, you could remove them:

https://support.cdn.mozilla.net/media/uploads/images/2018-01-03-08-09-48-129c18.png

I'm not sure what the "Legacy" category refers to in the AdwCleaner list, and many of the results are too wide to read fully. However CoinisRevShare sounds bad.

The support article lists forums specialized in cleaning up malware, so you may want to post there. Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware.

Hi jscher2000, A number of days ago I updated the “Quantum” operating system from 32-bit to 64-bit, - the same as my “Toshiba” laptop system, & all of the media players are functioning satisfactorily. I would welcome your comments.

Seymour said

A number of days ago I updated the “Quantum” operating system from 32-bit to 64-bit, - the same as my “Toshiba” laptop system, & all of the media players are functioning satisfactorily. I would welcome your comments.

Do you mean using steps like those set out here: How to switch from 32-bit to 64-bit Firefox?

It's good to hear that it's working!

Hi jscher2000, Unfortunately, "64-bit" fix, like "Java" fix did not last for more that a few days, & on the suggestion of one of your contributors, I have been corresponding with the Microsoft Community Support Forum, & after a number of replies, one of their contributors has advised me of the following today:-

“Based on all the information you provided, it's a browser issue. Since the issue still persists even after installing the update, we highly suggest contacting Mozilla support to report the issue and get technical assistance in resolving the browser issue.”

The update was:- KB4051613.

Can you please provide me with technical assistance to get the browser issue resolved? Thanking you in anticipation, Seymour.

Seymour said

The update was:- KB4051613.

It looks like that was a Flash player update: https://www.ghacks.net/2017/11/02/kb4051613-adobe-flash-player-windows-update/

When I look back over this thread, there actually isn't a lot of discussion to narrow down the scope of the problem.

• You posted a screenshot from BBC showing an issue with their player have a loading image in front of where the video should be playing. Were you getting audio on that player?

• Can you play videos on YouTube? If not, what symptoms appear?

• Can you play videos on Vimeo? If not, what symptoms appear?

Could you repeat the Safe Mode test? The previous results were:

Seymour said

In "Safe Mode" all player channels are functioning normally, - apart from Channel 4 player, which is requiring Adobe Flash Player, but Channel 4 player is functioning alright in "Normal Mode".

Thanks.

Thanks jscher2000, I will check all of that out, & report back to you ASAP. Seymour.

Hi jscher2000, There was no audio. When I tried the BBC Iplayer I right clicked the keyboard mouse & got the message on the first screenshot displayed:-

I cannot play any videos on YouTube.

I cannot play any videos on Vimeo.

In Safe Mode, BBC Iplayer, ITV player, Channel 4 player, Channel 5 player, - are not playing. YouTube is playing, but without any audio. - Audio does not appear to be available in Safe Mode.

Please find attached herewith screenshots of the affected channels for your perusal.

Thanking you in anticipation, Seymour.

Hi jscher2000, I noticed yesterday that the 14 page Articles screen within the home screen of MSN in the Mozilla Firefox Quantum browser, was not fully displaying some of the articles. 2 of the screens were blank & 2 other screens were 50% blank. – Please see attached screenshots. I also have 2 other browsers, – Google Chrome & Microsoft Edge, & the 14 page Articles screens are operating normally in both of these. Today the 14 page MSN Articles screens are functioning normally in Mozilla Firefox Quantum. Could these "blank" screens be a factor in the ongoing issue? Thanks again, Seymour.

Hi jscher2000, Have you managed to make any progress with the issue? I am somewhat surprised that Mozilla have not provided a fix for this issue. All videos are playing alright on the Microsoft Edge system. Thanks in anticipation of a successful outcome. Seymour.

Hi Seymour, looking back at your screenshots:

• Feb. 16: Firefox's Tracking Protection feature is affecting some of these pages. Note its "Shield" icon toward the left end of the address bar. More info: What happened to Tracking Protection?.

• Feb. 14: Some of the pages requires you to activate Flash. Click the light gray icon in the address bar with the blue dot on it (looks a bit like a Lego block). After giving the site permission to use Flash, you might need to reload the page.

• YouTube: what results do you get on their test page: https://www.youtube.com/html5 (usually at least the first five boxes are blue). Did you disable or remove all extensions that could try to change the site player from HTML5 to Flash? YouTube discontinued support for Flash.

Any improvement?

Hi jscher2000, I do not see a light grey icon with a blue dot on it in the address bar. I have attached screenshots of the YouTube test page, the “Add ons” screens, & the YouTube screens in Flash Player mode & HTML5 mode. In Flash Player mode & HTML5 mode, YouTube just keeps on loading indefinitely. Thanking you, Seymour.

Hi Seymour, you won't see a Flash activation icon on YouTube because YouTube no longer offers Flash media.

Please remove the Flash-HTML5 extension.

Then check these settings:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful or accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste webm and pause while the list is filtered

(3) If any of these preferences are bolded and "modified", double-click them to restore the default value

Then try the YouTube test page again. The third box should turn blue. any improvement with playing videos.?

Hi jscher2000, I removed the Flash-HTML5 extension. When I changed the third item down on the “webm” page the status changed to “modified”, & the value to “true”, & YouTube played with no problem. – Should status have changed to “default”? However, BBC Iplayer, ITV player, Channel 4 player, & Channel 5 player just keep on loading indefinitely. I have attached some screenshots for your perusal. All of the media sites are playing alright in "Microsoft Edge." Thanking you again for your help. Seymour.

Hi jscher2000, After I sent my earlier correspondence to you, I later thought that I should also send you a screenshot of the final state of the “webm” page. However, when I opened the page I discovered that the top item status had changed to “modified” & the value to “false. I changed it over to “default” & “true”. – All of the boxes on the YouTube test page are now ticked. Before & after screenshots of the “webm” page, & a screenshot of the Youtube test page, are attached for your perusal. Kind regards, Seymour.

Thanks for checking that.

I notice in the a lot of the screenshots that the shield icon appears at the left end of the address bar indicating that Tracking Protection is blocking some content in the page. Can you click the shield and allow the blocked content temporarily to see whether that helps? For example, it might be a pre-roll ad that needs to play before the real content. More info on that feature: What happened to Tracking Protection?.

Hi jscher2000, I temporarily allowed the blocked content on the 4 websites in question, & all of the sites just kept on loading indefinitely. “YouTube” has also reverted back to an indefinitely loading condition. Do you want me to send you screenshots of some, or all of the items in the “about:config” programme? Kind regards, Seymour.