HELP! Browser hijacked?!

JD0348 · Post by **JD0348** » February 9th, 2007, 10:15 am

This morning Firefox (latest 2 version) started occasionally displaying Alert Boxes with the title "Authentication Required".

The text syas: Enter username and password for "Oui?" at http://mozdev.elliptic.fr

When I close the box, Firefox tells me that I wasn't allowed to access
http://mozdev.elliptic.fr/maf

I haven't had any luck tracking this down through the Knowledge Base or Google.

Has Firefox been hijacked? Does anyone know what might be causing this?

Thanks for any help or insight you can provide.

Win XP/Pro. Installed extensions:

Dictionary Search 2.0
DOM Inspector 1.8.1.1
Download EMbedded 0.5
DownThemAll! 0.9.9.7
Ebay Negs! 0.6
Linky 2.7.1
Magpie 3.2.8
MovieNetworks Quantum Media Player 1.005.0.06101001
Talkback 2.0.0.1
Update Notifier 0.1.5.2
Uppity 1.4.11
VideoDownloader 1.1.1

old np · Post by **old np** » February 9th, 2007, 10:20 am

Try in Safe Mode. If there's no problem there, it's one of your extensions.

It could also be your homepage or any Live Bookmarks you have. Check those too.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » February 9th, 2007, 10:23 am

Thanks for the suggestions. My homepage is Google. Unfortunately, FF doesn't do it every time, so I can't replicate the behavior reliably.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » February 9th, 2007, 10:27 am

Thanks for the tickle about Safe Mode, though. If no other suggestions are offered, I'll alternate sessions in and out of Safe Mode to see whether there's a pattern.

old np · Post by **old np** » February 9th, 2007, 2:51 pm

It sounds like it's Update Notifier.
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=518918

Guest · Post by **Guest** » February 9th, 2007, 4:06 pm

I'd pulled it earlier today along with one or two more and the problem seems to have resolved. However, as I mentioned earlier, the problem was intermittent, so I couldn't be sure. Thanks for the link. That gives me confidence that the problem is resolved. I'd spent last evening surfing the web looking for blogging and discussion board tools, so I couldn't be sure I didn't pick up something on my travels.

Your assistance is much appreciated!

stevietheman · Post by **stevietheman** » March 14th, 2007, 5:55 pm

I think Update Notifier is being unfairly accused here. I've been using this extension for a very long time, including on FF2, without this issue occurring.