Firefox and Adblock plus

[sg31]

I've used Adblock plus on Explorer anf Firefox for some time. I'm now using Firefox more and have noticed that more and more ads are appearing. I've ignored this for some time but the ads are getting irritating.

My first thought was that I'd picked up something that was maliciously introiducing the ads so I ran Malwarebytes which came up clean. I tried to download Adblock+ again but Firefox rejected it. Delving into Firefox it appears ABP is now a legacy extension and not allowed. OK, so I tried downloading a couple of alternatives but they won't download either.

Whay's going on? Can anyone tell me which adblocker will work on Firefox or what might be stopping me blocking ads?

[SalvorHardin]

The problem is caused by an expired security certificate. This has effectively disabled the vast majority of Firefox add-ons (someone forgot to renew it!)

A fix has been tested and it's in the process of being applied. Don't delete your addons or try to reinstall them - it won't work until the certificate fix has been applied.

The Mozilla addons twitter feed talks about this.

https://twitter.com/mozamo

https://twitter.com/mozamo/status/1124627930301255680

Update discussion

https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/certifi ... all/39047/

https://discourse.mozilla.org/c/add-ons

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/s ... rtificate/

With NoScript and AdBlock being disabled the internet looks quite a bit different. I'm surprised by the sheer volume of adverts on some of the American websites that I regularly visit. Reminds me of the 1990s

[Infrasonic]

I use uBlock Origin across three browsers, FF, Chrome and Edge. Lightweight, fast, tweakable.

In FF do a search in the extensions and add ons.

Edit: I've just noticed FF (66.0.3) has now disabled all my extensions too so it seems to be a general issue as per the post above from SH.

[sg31]

Thanks for the replies. At least it's not just my system. I'll wait for it to resolve.

[Breelander]

Thanks for the replies. At least it's not just my system. I'll wait for it to resolve.

I'm so glad I don't use add-ons to block ads in any of my browsers, instead I use a HOSTS file. As this works outside the browser none of the issues above apply, plus it protects all browsers at once. While you are waiting for a resolution you could try it...

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

[Infrasonic]

https://www.tenforums.com/browsers-emai ... -them.html

A temporary solution: Go to Options / Privacy & Secutity => Firefox Data Collection and Use and check "Allow Firefox to install and run studies". It'll be fixed in 1-2 minutes, bringing back all addons.
After fixing, above options can be disabled again, keeping addons working as always.

Just tried it, seems to be working now.

[Slarti]

I've just turned my PC on and it all appears to be OK, at the moment, so perhaps they put another bob in the meter

Slarti

[robbelg]

Firefox 66.03 and ABP no problems no adverts.

Rob

[CliffEdge]

Firefox 66.03 still not working, UBlock Origin fails to down load.

[UncleEbenezer]

Googling the error message finds various pages that not merely explain it (as someone does above), but offer workarounds.

An expired certificate can bring a whole infrastructure down. The hysterical press would have a field day if it were Huawei. In the case of Firefox, fixing it is complicated by the problem of rolling it out to its users.

[CliffEdge]

Seems to be a problem with downloading add ons from their website of signed add ons.
Hopefully they will sort it out eventually, otherwise I'll have to switch to Chrome.

[kyu66]

Seems to be a problem with downloading add ons from their website of signed add ons.
Hopefully they will sort it out eventually, otherwise I'll have to switch to Chrome.

The fix linked above by Infrasonic worked for me after a restart of FF. I turned the logging off immediately after the add-ons were enabled. No way I could browse the 'net without NoScript and uBlock et al.

[sg31]

Thanks for all the replies. I've not actually done anything and things seem to be back to normal.

[Breelander]

The fix linked above by Infrasonic worked for me after a restart of FF.

I've used the fix successfully too. It is described by Mozilla as a Hotfix, it is said to be a permanent fix, that you can turn off 'Studies' as soon as it has been applied, and (more importantly) that you should NOT try deleting and reinstalling add-ons as it may lead to data loss.

For full details of this Hotfix and the latest news on the bug see this Mozilla Blog.

https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2019/05 ... n-firefox/

[Wozzitworthit]

I also have done nothing yet Adblocker and Ghostery and Anti Virus has now returned to normal

Woz

[Infrasonic]

There's a general update 66.0.4 available now with the fix.

[Infrasonic]

Another update 66.0.5 is now available.

[Slarti]

Another update 66.0.5 is now available.

I never got offered .4 but have jumped directly to .5

Perhaps they withdrew .4?

Slarti

[Breelander]

I never got offered .4 but have jumped directly to .5

Perhaps they withdrew .4?

Not exactly withdrawn, just updated to address an additional bug. The release notes for 66.0.5 make it clear that the 66.0.4 fix was found not to work in all cases.

This is fixed with Firefox 66.0.5. This section applies only if you have 66.0.4....
If you have a master password that has not been used for a while, the fix in 66.0.4 might not take effect...

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ad ... r-password