I'm not sure if you can still access that router with Firefox. It sounds that the router has outdated security software and uses cipher suites and certificates that has been disabled and removed in current Firefox releases.

What connections are used in IE?

Did you check if there is an update of the software in that router?

Yes, the problem is related to security. With Internet Explorer, I get a message from 'Windows Security' about the certificate, but it allows me to access the 'site' anyway. I don't know what connections IE uses.

Unfortunately, Firefox doesn't give you the slightest clue as to what's going on. It just keeps re-showing the log-in box (user name and password entry).

There's no update for the software in the router. It has the latest firmware upgrade, if that's what you are referring to.

I found another message that talked about changing some settings in Firefox relating to 'security.tls...'. I made those changes, but it didn't work.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply. I guess I'll have to keep IE around for this.

Do you own it, or does the provider? Think about replacing it.

myrnalarson said

I found another message that talked about changing some settings in Firefox relating to 'security.tls...'. I made those changes, but it didn't work.

I recommend changing those back now in case the changes cause problems later after you forget you changed them. To restore a default setting of a preference in about:config, you can right right-click > Reset it.

Oh, I changed them back immediately after I found they didn't work <g>. But thanks for the reminder.

FredMcD said

Do you own it, or does the provider? Think about replacing it.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I own the router. It was Linksys' top-of-the-line model when I bought it in 2010, for about $200. I have other Linksys hardware -- a USB Wi-Fi adapter and a range extender -- that work flawlessly with it. Granted, it's 5+ years old. But it's relatively recently that the Firefox issue turned up and with a function that I use only once or twice a year. I've had no other problems with it.

It's easier, and cheaper, to start up IE than to replace 3 pieces of hardware. And given that, for the last several months, Firefox crashes 4-5 times a day for me, maybe that's what I should replace <g>.

imo, the solution is to get portable firefox and set your settings for portable firefox to allow you to open these old ssl connections. That will make your portable firefox 'insecure and out of date' (basically) , but that's ok, because you are not going to use it for anything other than logging into your router.

Just keep in mind that while you can have both regular firefox and portable firefox on your computer, you can't RUN both of them at the same time. So make sure that you exit one of them before loading the other one.

So now you just need to find out where to get portable firefox and how to change that SSL setting (I forget).

Also, since your router is out of date, you should make sure your router has administration over wifi disabled, and only administer it from a wired connection.

Thanks for your suggestions.

I found information about changing the settings via a Google search -- the messages were a couple years old. As I said earlier, I made the 'required' changes, but that didn't solve the problem, so I changed them back to the previous settings.

I also located the portable version, but there was no info about how to install it. So I didn't try -- I was concerned that installing it would replace the 'regular' version. I wonder if, since the portable version is so hard to find, the Mozilla folks don't really want you to use it.

I realize you can't run both programs at the same time but thanks for the reminder.

cor-el said

What connections are used in IE?

TLS 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2 and SSL 2.0 and 3.0 are all enabled in IE.

I believe that regular firefox does not allow you to change those settings (and/or they don't take effect)

Portable firefox does let you change it, and it does work.

You don't install portable firefox, that's the whole idea of "portable", you just get the files, put them in a folder and run it, there is no install.

It won't replace your regular firefox, just put it in a new folder somewhere like C:\portablefirefox

Thanks much for the additional info. I've found a site to download the portable version. I'll give it a try.

soundwave said

Portable firefox does let you change it, and it does work....You don't install portable firefox, that's the whole idea of "portable", you just get the files, put them in a folder and run it, there is no install.

I changed two settings based on info I found elsewhere (security.tls.version.min and security.tls.fallback-limit ) but it doesn't work with Firefox Portable, either. So these are not the settings that need to be changed. AIR, the 'answers' were more than a year old, so perhaps that's not surprising.

As for 'installing', this would seem to be a semantic 'problem'. When you click on the downloaded file, the box that comes up says "This wizard will guide you through the installation of Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition. If you are upgrading an existing installation of Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition, please close it before proceeding."

As a bit of background, I am a fairly experienced programmer and have been working with computers for 55 years (really!). I have other utility programs that also are not "installed", and the documentation tells you exactly what they mean by that, i.e. (in part) that the files are not placed in a folder under Windows' Program Files, and there are no changes made to the Registry.

I assume Firefox Portable works the same way. Too bad they don't provide more information about what they really mean.

Anyway, I'm off to Google for more information about the security settings that need to be changed.

Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

Firefox 39 and later do not support the old SSLv3 protocol.

myrnalarson said

As for 'installing', this would seem to be a semantic 'problem'. When you click on the downloaded file, the box that comes up says "This wizard will guide you through the installation of Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition. If you are upgrading an existing installation of Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition, please close it before proceeding."

It might seem to be merely semantics, but the Portable Edition doesn't touch the registry when "installed" on a desktop / laptop PC. iirc, Portable can't be made the "default browser" and most Plugins won't be "seen" by Portable, so it really "isn't installed" as the official Firefox versions are.

Are you using a Linksys WRT54G - series WiFi router? If so, check out http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index - OpenSource Firmware for many routers, initially created for the Linksys WRT54G - series routers.

Here's an article about DD-WRT - http://lifehacker.com/178132/hack-attack-turn-your-60-router-into-a-600-router - from June 2006. A very active OpenSource project.

the-edmeister said

myrnalarson said

As for 'installing', this would seem to be a semantic 'problem'. When you click on the downloaded file, the box that comes up says "This wizard will guide you through the installation of Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition. If you are upgrading an existing installation of Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition, please close it before proceeding."

It might seem to be merely semantics, but the Portable Edition doesn't touch the registry when "installed" on a desktop / laptop PC. iirc, Portable can't be made the "default browser" and most Plugins won't be "seen" by Portable, so it really "isn't installed" as the official Firefox versions are.

---

Are you using a Linksys WRT54G - series WiFi router? If so, check out http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index - OpenSource Firmware for many routers, initially created for the Linksys WRT54G - series routers.

Here's an article about DD-WRT - http://lifehacker.com/178132/hack-attack-turn-your-60-router-into-a-600-router - from June 2006. A very active OpenSource project.

Yes, I know what is and isn't happening with the 'installation'.

My point is, they shouldn't use the word 'INSTALL' if they don't mean what that word ordinarily implies.

How about 'We will copy the necessary files to your computer, in a folder of your choice. No changes will be made to Windows files or folders or to the Windows Registry.'

My router is a Linksys E3000, not a DD-WRT.

jscher2000 said

Firefox 39 and later do not support the old SSLv3 protocol.

Yes. The problem remains, "How can I change my router settings with Firefox?"

The answer has become obvious: I can't. I have to use Internet Explorer! Or get Firefox portable, version 38 or earlier.

cor-el said

I'm not sure if you can still access that router with Firefox.

This seems to be the correct answer to my question. I can't. I have to use IE.

myrnalarson said

Yes. The problem remains, "How can I change my router settings with Firefox?"

The answer has become obvious: I can't. I have to use Internet Explorer! Or get Firefox portable, version 38 or earlier.

Yes, those are the easiest options.