Firefox suddenly closing down on its own... (in Off-topic)

.SInce this morning I've been experiencing some strange things with FireFox.

It closes itself down when I access the following website:
http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Main_Page

It just closes, no error warnings or whatever... just closes...
Anyone have an idea what could be the problem?

i clicked on that link and it took me to the Guild Wars wiki page, no problems whatsoever.

and yes, it was in Firefox; the wiki page opened in the main CB frame.

For me however, after it has opened the GuildWiki homepage, it closes itself completely...

maybe there's some conflict with Greasemonkey scripts [or other scripts] that you have installed in firefox. while i have Greasemonkey installed, i don't have any java so no Verifex scripts or other Firefox scripts.

Works fine for me (either within the frame or on another tab). Do you have the latest Firefox version? Mine is 2.0.0.9.

Firefox kicked me out a couple times just now for clicking a link...

what OS? What version of ff?

I use windows XP professional edition.
The version of FF is 2.0.0.9.
I don't use Grease monkey..

plenty things to try: update to latest firefox version if you're not, reinstall it, clear cookies/tempfiles. I'd also do a spyware scan, as I've known some that crash IE (and maybe firefox?)

Sounds like Chuck is right and there is some kind of conflict between something you've installed (most probably a Firefox add-on or extension) and something one that site.

If you can, try disabling/uninstalling all of them (or better yet, do a clean install of FF), and then enabling/reinstalling the add-ons one by one and visit the site every time. If it crashes before enabling anything I don't know what the problem is, but if it crashes after installing one of the add-ons you'll know what is causing the problem.

Well the point is, that I haven't changed my installation in like 3 months at least...

Perhaps it is some spyware, though I already have run a Hitman Pro sweep...

Hmmm, think I will try to re-install my Firefox, if that doesn't help... bah...

new firefox 2.0.0.10, go make it update itself from the Help menu.

Hehe done that before I even read your advice drudge...


but alas, to no avail... still exits Firefox.. :(

Internet Explorer also closes down on that website without a warning, don't think it's a browser issue then...

i went there and it did not shut down at all for me....maybe you got a firewall or spyware filter or some program that might be stopping you from visting it?

I don't have a firewall active (or certainly not activated it to remove access to that website, after all it's a trusted website imo)

I also don't have a spyware filter active, FireFox doesn't need it imo...

And I don't have any programs, that I know of, which could possibly disallow access to a single website...

try going to www.anonymouse.org and use that as a temporary proxy to see if you can view the site without it closing.

Hmmm, this worked. The website didn't close...

But I also removed 3 trojans from my PC, perhaps that could have been the problem instead...


[Update: removing the trojans didn't help. I still cannot access the website without that anonymouse...].

If you had three trojans it might be best to reinstall windows.

Reinstall Windows !? Doh - that should surely be a last resort, no?

I've always found these guys to be great whenever I have any problems. I've used them a couple of times and always point friends or colleagues to the site as a first port of call when it comes to something outside my limited knowledge.

Follow the instructions for posting and you'll get an answer within 24hrs and that starts the dialogue through to resolution of your issue.

These trojans weren't the cause of this and it basicly was only 1 Trojan which had 3 temporary files left, no harm had been done to my PC or Windows...

Tried something else, and most likely it worked...

I'm not completely sure if it remains to work but so far, I haven't had any close downs anymore...

what did you do?

I checked for programs which were installed on my PC. (basicly software part within configuration screen)

There I saw some ad programs which were already uninstalled but still registered...
I removed them and it worked. There no longer remained a link between some toolbar and FF / IE.

Beee: a machine that has had any serious malware isn't trustworthy. Reinstalling windows is the only sure way to know that your machine isn't being monitored or used as a spam zombie.

"programs which were already uninstalled but still registered"

My father has a problem with software that has been "uninstalled" but can't be reinstalled because it "already exists".

Comments?

I mostly agree with you novice however in my experience, (which I acknowledge is less than most) any nasties that have found there way onto either my friends or my own PC can be cleaned very effectively without a complete wipe/re-install of the OS.

Most malware isn't really that complicated once you know it's there. Your point is valid though - how can you be sure the PC is clean..?
Unless you're efficient in your PC file management a re-install of the OS is a very onerous task. At least for someone as disorganised as myself...

I'm highly organised, so a reinstall shouldn't take more than 4 hours of work total... will keep it in mind :)

Using software to create an image of your system after installation, and possibly another image once everything is installed is a wonderful way to accomplish reinstalls. (Bart PE + Selfimage or Drive Image XML [new and untested by myself])

The reality is that windows is designed so that only a executable checksum based solution really makes it worthy of trust, and even then you have to accept that Microsoft is going to be altering executables at will unless you turn off updates.

qbast, depending on his OS and what the situation is. if the program appears installed in the Add/Remove Programs he could get that removed easy. if the programs folder deleted then you'd need a registry analyzer/cleaner to remove those expired enteries. after that he could try to re-install and see what it does.