Should firefox be on my firewall's allowed programs and features list
With the release of versions 27-30, Firefox has been opening web pages very slowly - so much so that I have reverted back to using IE 11. I have been trying every "fix" that has been suggested in the various forums - including creating a new profile, resetting Firefox, reinstalling Firefox, making changes in the about:config, etc. - to no avail.
In my search for a solution to the problem I came across a post that recommended making sure [my] firewall isn't causing a problem - it suggested that I remove Firefox from the list of allowed programs and to let the firewall ask for permission to allow Firefox the next time I launched it.
When I finally found the list I discovered that Firefox was not on it. Further research lead me to articles where users were getting "Server not found" error messages, and the recommended fix was to add Firefox to the list. All this did was confuses me.
Since I am able to connect to the internet, all-be-it very slowly, Firefox must be getting past the firewall. It should be noted that Internet Explorer is not on the list either and I have no problem with it.
This raises the question as to whether or not Firefox needs to be on the allowed list. Can Firefox not being on the firewall's allowed programs and features list slow Firefox down and if so why?
If I'm going to make a change to my system I want to make an informed change.
System Info: Windows 7 64bit SP1 8Gb Ram Nvidia Quadro 600 Graphics card
All Replies (11)
There is a great variation between different security products. If yours does not prompt you for permission to let different programs access the internet, then you probably do not need to worry about that particular issue.
To test how Firefox runs "uncustomized" on your system, could you do a two-minute experiment?
Create a new Firefox profile
A new profile will have your system-installed plugins (e.g., Flash) and extensions (e.g., security suite toolbars), but no themes, other extensions, or other customizations. It also should have completely fresh settings databases and a fresh cache folder.
Exit Firefox and start up in the Profile Manager using Start > search box (or Run):
firefox.exe -P
Don't delete anything here. Any time you want to switch profiles, exit Firefox and return to this dialog.
Click the Create Profile button, choose a name like July21, and skip the option to change the folder location. Then start Firefox in the new profile you created.
Does Firefox work any faster in the new profile?
You also could experiment with disabling all the nonessential add-ons in the new profile. Open the Add-ons page using either:To check the most relevant categories, you can click "Plugins" and "Extensions" in the left column. Plugins can be disabled by setting them to "Never Activate". Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the add-ons page and click one of the links as the last step.
- Ctrl+Shift+a
- "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
When returning to the Profile Manager, you might be tempted to use the Delete Profile button on July21. But... it's a bit too easy to accidentally delete your "real" profile, so I recommend resisting the temptation. If you do want to clean up later, I suggest making a backup of all your profiles first in case something were to go wrong.
Thank you for your suggestions. However a closer read of my original post explains that I have already tried creating a new profile in the manner you suggested. I probably should have been more clear.
I also created a new profile when I reinstalled Firefox. I did a complete uninstall and eliminated any reference to Firefox on my computer before doing a new install thus creating a new profile in the process.
As far as Add-ons are concerned, I do not use any Add-ons.
I have also tried disabling all of my Plugins and Extensions and have found that disabling them has no effect. This was actually one of the first things I tried because somewhere in the back of my mind I thought I noticed a correlation between Firefox updates and Flash updates that seem to slow thing down. Probably just a coincidence.
As I said, I have tried everything that has been suggested in the various forums. I have been fighting the slowness issue since the release of version 27. Some versions have been better than others, at least for a while, but the differences have been minimal.
As long as Firefox continues to take 25-30+ seconds, on average, to load simple pages and slams my CPU usage to 70-80% - I can't use it.
I'd love to find a fix. I started using Firefox because IE sucked so it say something that I have now switched back.
If you open Firefox's Web Console on the lower part of a tab using Ctrl+Shift+k, then click Network, then load this simple page, can you see where the delays are? (Screen shot attached for comparison)
jscher2000
I grabbed a couple of screen shots last night as you requested, but I'm not sure how to post them.
When you post a reply, there's a Browse button below the box to attach image files. Does that work for you?
jscher2000
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Attached are three (3) screen captures showing the "network" data you asked for.
The first, taken at 11:59am, is typical of the results I got on several earlier tests the night before.
The second, taken at 12:25pm, was captured after a reboot and an automatic update from Firefox.
The third, taken at 4:53pm, was captured after a few hours of normal internet usage.
It should be noted that Firefox typically runs a little faster and uses less CPU resources after a reboot, but quickly slows down and becomes more of a drain the more I use it. The effect seems to be cumulative.
It should also be noted that I ran the same test using IE 11 immediately after each capture and your site loaded in less than 2 secs.
Thank you for the screen shots. It is strange that there seems to be a consistent delay of about 20 seconds. It's as though something is preempting Firefox's access to the network and forcing it to wait.
Do you have any special connection settings in Firefox? You can check here:
"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > Network mini-tab > "Settings" button
The default setting is "Use system proxy settings", which should piggyback on IE's LAN settings. You also can try No Proxy to see whether that makes any difference.
Thanks for all your input Jefferson. I don't have any unusual setting in the options > network > settings menu. Everything is at the default settings - the only thing ticked is the "Use System Proxy Settings". I have tried disabling this setting on different occasions and not seen any improvements.
Going back to my original question, is there any reason I should not add Firefox to my Windows Firewall's allowed programs and features list? I'm not sure why it might make a difference in speed or why it would cause Firefox to use less CPU resources. Any thoughts?
If your Firewall has a list of programs allowed to make outbound connections, Firefox should be on it. There may be other lists that Firefox should not be on.
Jefferson,
What lists should Firefox not be on?
For anyone else who might be keeping score, adding Firefox to the windows 7 firewall "allowed programs and features" list did nothing to fix the problem I've been having with Firefox 30 (27, 28, & 29). If memory serves me well the last version of Firefox that worked well for me was version 26.
I haven't given up yet, but at some point one has to wonder if it takes this much effort to use Firefox - is it really worth it?
I don't actively manage the Windows 7 firewall, so I didn't realize it even cared about which programs access the internet.
The type of list you might not want Firefox listed on would be a list of applications permitted to sit on a port listening for incoming connections. Sites that need to do this initiate a persistent outbound connection, so you should not need to allow random inbound connections.
If you get the "portable" version of Firefox 26, does it still work quickly, or does it now have the same issues you are seeing in Firefox 31? For security reasons, you would only want to test on trusted sites.