adblock

[patricialacey]

has anyone else lost adblock? I've been using it for years (not here as these ads aren't too intrusive) but the ads on youtube and imagefap are a real pain
I use firefox and have no idea if any other browsers are affected

[Betty]

I use uBlock origins instead of adblock. It blocks the same as adblock, but you have better whitelist & blacklist control, where you can click on ublock, & select anything on the page to block... like annoying blinky animimated things, autoplay video running on the side that you don't want, or huge title, menu, or "subscribe" banners taking up a significant amount of the top or bottom of your screen.

Anyway, within the past hour suddenly my Ublock & all my other extensions/add-ons in Firefox suddenly disabled themselves... Even in the Firefox ESR version (now my preferred FF version).

The extensions still work in my other Firefox-based browsers like Pale Moon, & Waterfox. I only use Firefox for Facebook. I use Pale Moon for most everything else. I use Waterfox for cool tricks, dowloading un-downloadable media, & for hacking.

I just found out Firefox screwed up our extensions/add-ons, & are working to fix it. I had my Firefox set to not update itself so it shouldn't have happened to me. I just discovered FF auto updates were turned back on, so it killed my extensions after an update. The last manual update I did must have changed my update settings back to auto.

Whenever you update your browser, OS, or antivirus, check your preferred settings. Their updates may reset or change your settings. This is why I set mine for manual updates only. I can't have any surprises, & get things disabled or broken right when I'm in the middle of doing something. How dare then change my update settings anyway.

Here's more info on their current extensions update goof:
https://www.engadget.com/2019/05/03/firefox-extension-add-on-cert/

If they change my update settings one more time or keep killing my add-ons, I'm pulling FF off all my machines except my android phone & tablet. Pale Moon & Waterfox work fine. I only like FF for Facebook & for android these days with my custom settings & extensions/add-ons. If they're gonna screw with them, I don't need FF.

UPDATE: I just found out the Firefox ESR version may take a long time to get a fix for their broken add-ons/extensions... if they ever do.

To fix it yourself for now if you're handy, you have to put about:config in your FF address bar, & change the FF file, "xpinstall.signatures.required" (near the bottom of the list) to false by double-clicking on it.

[Robyn Jodie]

If you are using Firefox, they are having a problem with an expired certificate -- *NO* Firefox add-ons are working at the moment.  It happened early Saturday morning and they have been promising a fix "real soon." So far (5/05 12:00 PDT) nothing.

[Betty]

I stopped using regular Firefox about a year ago. I'm using FF ESR 60.5 (Extended Support Release) version. Since I'm disabled, a lot of my work I need to survive is done through computers online. I don't have the time, patience, or can deal with the loss of potential work because of broken browsers, OS's, & bugs. Don't want to wait for a fix.

So I did the manual fix myself. At first the fix didn't work. I downgraded to FF ESR 52 & got the my manual fix to work. Late Sun. night FF ESR 52 started having jittery scrolling issues, memory leaks, & high CPU usage at Facebook. So I tried to upgrade back up to FF ESR 60.5. It kept my manual fix & is still working fine now.

I've read they won't roll out complete or permanent fixes for everybody until Monday.

Pale Moon, & Waterfox browsers, which are Firefox derivatives, built on FF ESR were not affected, so were still working fine. But they have some memory leaks, & unusual CPU usage on Facebook. I also have a hard time paying my internet & phone bills online with them. So I prefer FF for those. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be using Firefox anymore. FF ESR is more stable, runs smoother, & faster on Facebook with less RAM usage than regular Firefox. ESR also runs more of my favorite extensions/add-ons than regular FF too.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/mozilla-releases-firefox-66-0-4-with-fix-disabled-add-ons-issue/

Firefox ESR (requires manual extension/add-ons fix until Mon. or Tue.)
(I like it for long Facebook sessions-- less RAM & CPU usage on FB, & on some websites that a quirky or may not work well)
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/

Pale Moon (for almost all my regular surfing -- supports some older/legacy extensions, but may not support all newest ones).
https://www.palemoon.org/

Waterfox (this is the one I load a lot of extensions/add-ons to, to do cool tricks with -- supports more older/legacy extensions, but may not support all the newest ones)
https://www.waterfox.net/

Yes, you can have more than 1 browser open/running at a time as easily as you can have more than one window open at the same time.

[Robyn Jodie]

The official Firefox release upgrade has been rolled out this morning.  Add-ons are again working.  But this incident has introduced me to Waterfox (a bit slower -- feels clunkier), but I'm keeping it around just in case...

[Betty]

Try Firefox ESR (Extended Support/stable Release). It's a bit faster, snappier, reliable/stable than regular Firefox & Waterfox. Waterfox is built on FF ESR. Pale Moon is also built on some of FF ESR, but also built on more of it's own elements.

When you install ESR you still get to keep your original FF settings, forms, bookmarks, & passwords automatically. You also have a choice of a few more legacy or older add-ons. You can switch back to regular FF if you don't like it just by installing it again, without loosing any of your bookmarks, passwords, or settings.

It doesn't change your profile folder. The profile folder for all four of the browsers are compatible with each other, & pretty much almost the same... with the exception of compatibility with some add-ons between browsers. Your browser profile folder contains all your bookmarks, forms, cookies, settings, & passwords.

You can also copy your FF profile folder to an external or thumb drive, then copy the contents in that file into your profile folder at Pale Moon or Waterfox. That will transfer all your bookmarks, settings, & passwords to Pale Moon or Waterfox (or vice versa... the profile folder contents are compatible with each other).

Your browser profiles will be found on your OS hard drive in users/username/AppData/roaming/ in the folder for that particular browser.

Do not copy profiles to & from folders on the same drive. It will move the profile to one, & empty the profile from the other. You want to copy profiles to another drive or thumb drive so it leaves the original file it its original spot intact. Then copy the contents of the profile folder from the external drive to the profile folder in any other FF, Waterfox, or Pale Moon browser.

That's a good way of backing up all your bookmarks & passwords too. Not only are they saved in the extra profile folder, but also saved in another browser... even on another computer.

[patricialacey]

please don't laugh but I'm still running XP !
I cant find an adblocker anywhere

[Betty]

I'm not aware of any browser supporting XP anymore. Which browser & browser version are you using?

Golly, is there even any recent antivirus & other protection that will still run on it?

You might consider just installing a lightweight Linux OS alongside XP on the same machine or just install Linux right over XP.

I like Lunix Xubuntu for older or slower machines. Just burn the ISO image onto an ISO DVD or thumb drive, & you can install it right along side XP. Boot in XP for your favorite old apps. Boot into Linux to surf safely on a modern OS & browser.

Old licensed Windows 7 discs are going cheap or sometimes free these days. They work better than XP on any old XP machine. It's the best Windows OS ever.

You can even find nice Windows 7 machines used that look & run like new for around $100 of less from Walmart, NewEgg, Amazon, & refurbishers.

I got my used quad core super computer in perfect working order (even looked new) off ebay for $79. I liked it so much, when I found a second one just like it for $89, I bought it. They both came with Windows 7. Browsers, antivirus, & other protection will support it at least until 2023. But if you're worried about security, remember the most important security rule -- NEVER EVER surf the web with Explorer or Edge browsers. Most other browsers are safer & more secure.

[patricialacey]

I have just installed opera, seems fine so far, adblock works fine & it appears to have vpn built in

[Betty]

I knew Opera was the last good browser to still support XP & install on it, but I didn't know they were still supporting it. I read last year they were going to cut off support for XP.