You can only go back in the tab the previous site was opened in. If you only go to one site in a single tab, but in a second or subsequent tab, surf to more sites, the back function will be available in those particular tabs. You can click the arrow to the right of it to select from the history. The latest version by the way is Firefox 4.0 which you can update to via '''Help '''| '''Check For Updates''' Also, I can see quite a few security issues in your system specs. You appear to have many outdated Java consoles going back to 1.6.0_7 enabled still. Also, Java is out of date. The latest version is 1.6.0_24 To update, go to Windows Control Panel | Java | Update and then click the Update Now button. To remove the old version, go to Tools | Add-ons | Plugins and remove the old versions. In addition, Flash and Shockwave For director are out of date and a security risk. Update via http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/ I'd advise you to install Secunia's Personal Security Inspector which makes weekly scans and shows you which apps need updating. It also provides direct links to sites where updates are available. You can get it from here: http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/ There are two versions available. The first one automatically enables Windows Automatic Updates. If you're like me and prefer to decide for yourself what updates you want to install, download the bottom one of the two i.e. where it says "Older version of the Secunia PSI can be downloaded at.." Both are free.