Change back to Firefox V 3.6.......

[TZ350]

Somehow Ff have " upgraded " me from V 3.6.26 to V13 and NOTHING works anymore; I can't access my regular sites and use the Google toolbar and it's features or Google Translate.It's a total fustercluck .

I have sourced a download site for Ff 3.6.26. I've tried using the Google toolbar with IE 7 but it is a disaster, am out of patience and knowledge. I have the following questions ;

How should I save the bookmarks before uninstalling Ff V 13 ? Copy/paste to an email account or ...?

Any potential problems uninstalling Ff ? Should I use Final Uninstaller to check for gremlins after unstalling ?

And any other problems that a IT retard could unwittingly create ?

All suggestions much appreciated.

[Milo Minderbinder]

I think you'll find its not Firefox that is the problem, but the Google Toolbar

That has all kinds of stability issues - and I expect that the version you have is out of date. You're better off without it - remember the only reason it exists is to make it easier for Google to hijack your data. As a general rule, you are better off without toolbars. If you really want it, go to the Google website and download a newer version

To the specific question regarding uninstalling / reinstalling Firefox- just uninstall in the usual way from add/rem programs, or programs & settings depending on version. If you try using Final Uninstaller you'll probably find the Firefix profile will be lost and any Firefox favourites will be lost. Having said that, my personal view is that Final Uninstaller breaks more than it resolves: the only one of the brute force uninstallers I've found that I'm happy with has been Revo Uninstaller Pro (use the 30 day trial as/when needed)

Regarding the question re the shortcuts - are these the Firefox shortcuts, or the Google shortcuts?
As to Firefox V3.6 -thats inherently insecure and the newest Java / Flash and other plugins probably won't work in it

[probes]

the 'change back' caught my eye, as the updates and new versions are really annoying sometimes. At first they ask if you want a new one, and if you don't, then just change everything quietly after some time (for worse in my mind in case of gmail and b_l_ogspot-blogger). What's wrong with liking some old things, I wonder?!

[Loose rivets]

That's what I say to my wife.

[probes]

That's why I prefer the 'open marriage' - me here, he in his home, SO nice to meet on me grounds

[green granite]

Agree with Milo, dump Google tool-bar, it's totally unnecessary. I've run FF v13 trough it's alpha and beta testing stages and there are no issues with it that I've found. If you want a translate function use the 'Fox Lingo' add-on it's an excellent tool as it puts an icon on the navigation bar and if you need to translate you click on the icon and it adds the translate tool bar, click on it again and it hides the tool bar which means a less clustered tool bar area.

[Superpilot]

I went through the same pain not too long ago. Gave up IE after v9 came out because it had the annoying problem of clearing all cookies and history every time the OS crashed! I went to FF and discovered Google no longer developed a toolbar but then I quickly learned there are loads of add-ons that will help re-establish your reliance on Google. In FireFox, at least you can place toolbars and buttons in a way that suits you. Just search through the add-ons market place and you will soon be satisfied. Chrome has the sophistication of a Tablet browser....needs to grow up a bit more before I switch!

[Milo Minderbinder]

Well spotted Superpilot - something I'd missed

from https://www.google.com/intl/en/toolbar/ff/

"Google Toolbar for Firefox has been discontinued

For details, see the announcement. There will be no further updates or security fixes to Google Toolbar for Firefox. For this reason we strongly recommend discontinuing the use of the toolbar. Also see our Help Center for suggestions on add-ons and built-in browser features that provide functionality similar to the toolbar.

We’d like to thank everybody who used Google Toolbar for Firefox and helped us make it a compelling product"

[TZ350]

Many thanks to all who have replied. I will give the Fox Lingo a try , as the translation problems are the biggest PITA. With Ff V 13 I'm using the On line Translator 1 . 5. 0. 17 add on

The Ff V 3.6. with the Google toolbar was so quickand easy, a real pleasure to use, I had cut, copy , paste, spellcheck, Google Translate all as one " clickable " operations .

[TZ350]

Well, I gave up and reverted to the old system, all those other translate systems ( I tried 4 .....) seem to log you out of any forum and then you are denied access , even after logging back in .... and took up about 1" - 2" of screen ............

I didn't use Final Uninstaller as Milo advised and the reinstalled V 3.6.26 had the original toolbar settings/icons, all the bookmarks and everything works 100 % ! And it is faster, I notice this as my connection speed is only 236 kb / sec .

And it only took 10 mins to change/revert .Now I can get back to normality ! Thanks.

[le Pingouin]

I do hope you don't use your computer for anything like Internet banking or have important data on it. Using an unsupported browser with unsupported add-ons is leaving yourself wide open to the possibility of exploitation.

[TZ350]

" I do hope you don't use your computer for anything like Internet banking or have important data on it. Using an unsupported browser with unsupported add-ons is leaving yourself wide open to the possibility of exploitation. "

What is an " unsupported browser with unsupported add-ons " ? sorry, I am a IT retard I use MS Security Essentials and are religious about never opening an unknown email ( OK, my hotmail was hacked.... ) and have no bankink or important data stored. My laptop is useless with any other browser configuration for me. Is the only alternative to have a second computer for things like internet banking that uses FF V13 or similar and all the AV/anti malware systems ?

Thanks.

[le Pingouin]

An example of an "unsupported browser with unsupported add-ons" is Firefox 3.6 running Google Toolbar. "Unsupported" means the software writers are no longer providing any updates to fix security flaws that are discovered.

The biggest risk is picking something up from browsing a website that serves up malicious code that your browser is vulnerable to. Don't think this is limited to the seedier side of the net as hacked advertising servers are a prime source - a lot of websites source advertising from third parties so have no control over the content.

The simple act of visiting a website can be enough. The only way to minimise the risk is to use the latest browser version.

Anti-virus software provides no guarantee against browser exploits.

FF3.6 currently has no known exploits that haven't been fixed but it's only a matter of time before it happens. Once an exploit is know it will be used maliciously and you'll be vulnerable.

[TZ350]

Thank you for that. So it looks as if I should upgrade my old computer to FF V13 for any " secure " usage .

[green granite]

There's no reason why you cant run both versions on you pc, but not together. you will need to create a separate profile for V13 though.

[Milo Minderbinder]

really, for ANY useage. A part of the problem is that by sticking with an out of date browser, you will become stuck with out of date plugins such as flash, java, toolbars........which collectively are more targetted than windows.
So you have multiple vulnerabilities - which are not getting patched

Whats at risk? The machine could be rootkitted and / or zombied, used as part of botnet run by criminals for spam spewing / DDOS attacks / hiding kiddy porn / banking fraud (of you and others)....... I could go on.
The simple fact is that if you are vulnerable you WILL get hacked. You may notice if the machine grinds to a halt, but thereagain you may not

[Milo Minderbinder]

maybe this will help you understand the scope of the problem

Google Data Shows Attack and Phishing Sites Increasing Rapidly | threatpost

[le Pingouin]

I'm with Milo, the only safe way to use unsupported software is to not take it on-line.

Any website is a potential risk. Doesn't matter if they're a multinational company with security coming out the wazoo they aren't infallible and neither is the web serving software they use.

Hands up who is still using WinXP? Only 21 months left to decide what to replace it with!

[tubby linton]

The google lite toolbar still works on FFv13

[TZ350]

You gentlemen have convinced me, but I think I'll have to go the route suggested by green granite ;

[quote]
"There's no reason why you cant run both versions on you pc, but not together. you will need to create a separate profile for V13 though."

as the Google Lite toolbar doesn't have the Translate facility and their Translate function seems to be the only usable option for me.

I have the Windows 7, 64 bit OS, with Internet Explorer. I tried using the IE with the Google toolbar, but the Translate doesn't work properly with it and I seem to remember reading that IE is not a secure system either.
How do I create a separate profile ?

Thanks .