Firefox update??

G Strout · Post by **G Strout** » 21 Nov 2017 6:08 pm

So.... the other night I left my computer on, hooked to the internet and drifted off to sleep. Woke up the next morning to find that Mozilla took this opportunity to "update" my fire Firefox to absolutely the worst version that I have ever used. Slow, cumbersome, and hard to negotiate. Basically.... it sucks!
Now, I am not a techie guy. 65 y/o and no interest in learning to fly the space shuttle....so to speak. (I can handle a Cessna though.)
Can anyone steer me in the direction of another browser ( not Chrome) or how to get the older Firefox back on my machine? I would appreciate any information and or guidance, link etc.
Thanks
Gary

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 21 Nov 2017 6:32 pm

You might like Pale Moon:

http://www.palemoon.org/

It's based on Firefox and looks quite similar on your screen. You wouldn't have any trouble navigating it.

Although derived from Firefox, it is NOT dependent on Mozilla at all.

It's under active development and has decent forums, although I've never had any reason to use them.

Updated several times per year. I have mine set to NOT update automatically, so I am never surprised like you were with Firefox.

I am on the newest version: 27.6.1, 64-bit.

Been using it for 4 or 5 years with no issues. The developer is pretty sharp.

If you want to stay with Firefox, you might be able to go back to your old version via Windows System Restore---if you use it.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 21 Nov 2017 6:48 pm

It is possible for mere users to download and install Firefox ESR. The current version is 52. It looks and works like the previous version before 57. It also runs the standard Add-Ons, which are blocked in FX 57, which uses the new "WebExtensions API" technology, also used in Chrome and Edge browsers.

Using ESR will give you a little more time to use the old interface and rendering engine. Eventually, that version will go away.

G Strout · Post by **G Strout** » 21 Nov 2017 7:48 pm

Thank you Gentlemen! I will give your advice a try. I am not a "computer guy." Definitely appreciate your help. I was hoping that I would get some understandable advice here .... and was evidently correct. lol The computer forums are full of people that know much more than I want to know and they don't seem able to put it in layman terms.
Thanks again,
Gary

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 21 Nov 2017 10:04 pm

I installed the new version 57 on my Mac after reading the technical buzz about it. It seems a faster and more stable to me, on this Mid 2010 Mac Mini with a nearly full hard disc. The old version was locking up a lot.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 22 Nov 2017 3:24 am

I upgraded to 57 a couple of days ago. Works OK for me with Win 10, but I have very few add-ons and the Ad blocking ad on still works.

Dave Potter · Post by **Dave Potter** » 22 Nov 2017 7:33 am

Jack Stoner wrote:I upgraded to 57 a couple of days ago. Works OK for me with Win 10, but I have very few add-ons and the Ad blocking ad on still works.

Same here. I'm using FF v57.0 without issue, and it seems better than ever to me. The latest updates did break some of my add-ons, as noted earlier, but not all of them. And the developers mostly aren't letting any grass grow up around their feet - they're updating those that used the old code, for the most part.

IMO, if the OP experienced FF going wonky with the upgrade, there might be something else afoot, rather than FF itself.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 22 Nov 2017 10:29 am

I let all three PCs update Firefox to #57. I have no complaints about the new appearance and end of life for a few extensions.

BTW: NoScript was finally updated to work in Fx 57+. Some changes were made and previous features that don't work right now will be added in as time goes by.

Georg Sørtun · Post by **Georg Sørtun** » 22 Nov 2017 3:07 pm

I updated to Fx 57 on my main machine, when it came out a week ago. Initially it didn't behave very well - slow with flashing content etc. A real disappointment.
However, by restarting it in "safe mode" to shut off all inherited add-ons, extensions and stuff, it started to perform as advertised.

On another machine the update went seamless right away, probably because the previous version on that machine wasn't loaded with any add-ons that could cause problems.

Fx 57 Quantum is definitely a good browser, but one has to start more or less from scratch when setting it up for use since it is a new browser running on new software, not just an upgrade of the old software.

Greg Lambert · Post by **Greg Lambert** » 23 Nov 2017 7:42 am

I use Opera on my old Vista machine. It works great.

Dave Potter · Post by **Dave Potter** » 23 Nov 2017 5:07 pm

Greg Lambert wrote:I use Opera on my old Vista machine. It works great.

Arrghhh ... old habits die hard. Just sayin ...