Firefox isn't a superhero, it can't stop every threat.

If you want to protect yourself as much as possible with Firefox, I suggest installing the NoScript and AdBlock addons. The former especially will stop malicious scripts that get secretly loaded into bad webpages at the root.

Tempodivalse:Firefox isn't a superhero, it can't stop every threat.

If you want to protect yourself as much as possible with Firefox, I suggest installing the NoScript and AdBlock addons. The former especially will stop malicious scripts that get secretly loaded into bad webpages at the root.

I'm pretty sure I have AdBlock; I'll check later when I'm on that computer again (at the moment I'm on my phone). About NoScript I'm not sure; I bought the laptop from Caleb, who bought it from one of his computer nerd friends, so I don't know what all add-ons it has.

Christa627:

Tempodivalse:Firefox isn't a superhero, it can't stop every threat.

If you want to protect yourself as much as possible with Firefox, I suggest installing the NoScript and AdBlock addons. The former especially will stop malicious scripts that get secretly loaded into bad webpages at the root.

I'm pretty sure I have AdBlock; I'll check later when I'm on that computer again (at the moment I'm on my phone). About NoScript I'm not sure; I bought the laptop from Caleb, who bought it from one of his computer nerd friends, so I don't know what all add-ons it has.

If you don't have it you can go to the Menu -> Add-ons and search for NoScript. Installation is a snap. There is some inconvenience when you first run it (it brings up a bar to notify you of its blocking). You will need to decide which sites to trust to run scripts and which not to, but you should only need to do this once per site. It's a relatively easy way to beef up your security.

Christa627:My brother, aka Caleb the Computer Guru, says that Firefox can detect that.

The one, who gets viruses all the time, right?

linux manjaro.

Debian Linux

Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft and is therefore unsecure. At least install AVG free and malwarebytes antimalware and run a thorough scan with both. If they reveal that your computer is infected, then make upgrading or migration a priority! You might consider moving to Linux via an operating system like Ubuntu which gives you a visual interface not too dissimilar to Windows and enables you to use Firefox.

Currently typing this on iOS.

However, during the course of a typical day I may also use:

Windows XP (very frequently)
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2008
Windows 7 (my favorite version of Windows, and the one I use the most)
Windows 8.1 (my least favorite version; I actually try avoiding using this version and can rant for long periods of time about just how much I hate it, possibly repeating myself multiple times for emphasis)
Xubuntu Linux (my favorite Linux distro)
Lubuntu Linux
Luna Linux
I also have a bootable thumb drive containing Puppy Linux, although I don't use it very often.

RiotNrrd:
Windows 8.1 (my least favorite version; I actually try avoiding using this version and can rant for long periods of time about just how much I hate it, possibly repeating myself multiple times for emphasis)

Yes!!! Another member of the "Hate the 8" society!

kaŝperanto:

Christa627:

johmue:
Maybe a non-spammy website is infected and controlled by some criminal who is using it to deploy infrastructure for criminal activities on the machines of people coming along.

My brother, aka Caleb the Computer Guru, says that Firefox can detect that.

I wouldn't count on it. I had an XP machine a few years ago at work, and with the latest Firefox at the time. One day I noticed that every first link that I clicked after a Google search would take me to an unrelated website (advertising something). This was obviously malware, but it was only being used to direct me to websites for various products as far as I know. It could have silently done much worse. This was when there were regular updates to XP.

A few years ago, ey? You probably had it at the same time we did. Only our computer had Vista, and we were using Internet Explorer (it never had occured to us to use anything else).

The question is not whether XP can get and spread viruses (I'm sure it can; it's not impervious like Linux), the question is whether it is significantly more likely to do so than other Windows operating systems, supposing one takes reasonable precautions.

Christa627:The question is not whether XP can get and spread viruses (I'm sure it can; it's not impervious like Linux), the question is whether it is significantly more likely to do so than other Windows operating systems, supposing one takes reasonable precautions.

Of course it is. The most important precaution is updating on a regular basis to fix security flaws. Those updates aren't available for XP any more. So security flaws remain unfixed and exposed.