Hmm, it's hard to think of a reason for that.

In case one of your extensions is involved, could you test the dialog in Firefox's Safe Mode? That's a standard diagnostic tool to deactivate extensions and some advanced features of Firefox. More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.

You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

• "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
• Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

Not all add-ons are disabled: Flash and other plugins still run

After Firefox shuts down, a small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Reset).

Any difference?

As an alternate way to modify pop-up permissions for sites, you can use the about:permissions page, but depending on what you have planned, it might be less efficient that way.

Type or paste about:permissions in the address bar and press Enter.

The initial view should show "Default permissions for all sites". The "Open Pop-up Windows" permission for all sites is the equivalent of the checkbox for blocking pop-ups in Options\Content.

To change a particular site's permission, you can select that site in the left column (type part of the URL in the search box above the list to filter it).

One reason for lots of pop-ups is a bad add-on. I suggest starting your cleanup here:

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Take out as much trash as possible here.

(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a
• "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Plugins. Set nonessential and unrecognized plugins to "Never Activate".

In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions.

Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.

Any improvement?

(3) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

sorry it took so long to get back to you...had to attend to something quickly...anyway, thank you for all the info. I'm not much of a computer wiz so I started off easy...I followed your control panel instructions and it worked! I uninstalled some programs. I can now access the "content" tab. I will keep your other instructions and go through them also. Thank you again for sharing your expertise and taking the time to answer...I really appreciate it!