Ubuntu
firefox-3.0 package

Firefox has taken control of my computer

Asked by Sheryl A. Miller

I cannot open anything I try to download. Firefox is telling me to run "dpkg--configure-a" I was on the phone for several hours with a friend of mine who is a technician & he said I can't do anything on my computer except from the Firefox browser. I tried running the updates & can't do that either. I can't find "my computer" or "my documents" or a start menu on my computer.

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Ubuntu firefox-3.0 Edit question
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Ryan Dwyer
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Ryan Dwyer (ryandwyer) said : 		#1

Your technician probably thinks you're using Windows. Chances are he doesn't know anything about Ubuntu either.

Go to Applications > Accessories > Terminal. Type in: sudo dpkg --configure -a

Press Enter. It will ask you for your password, so type it in. You will not see any characters on the screen when you type your password (not even asterisks).

Revision history for this message
Sheryl A. Miller (samiam0812) said : 		#2

Ryan,
   I have tried that & it is telling me "command not found". I put it in like this: sudo dpkg--configure-a

Thanks anyway,
Sheryl

Revision history for this message
Ryan Dwyer (ryandwyer) said : 		#3

There should be a space after dpkg and a space after configure.

Revision history for this message
Soul-Sing (soulzing) said : 		#4

sudo dpkg --configure -a

Revision history for this message
Sheryl A. Miller (samiam0812) said : 		#5

O.K. I typed it with the spaces & it asked for my password. Typed that in
& got: Setting up java-common Is that all I do?

On Sat, Jan 23, 2010 at 1:35 AM, Ryan Dwyer <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #98375 on firefox-3.0 in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Ryan Dwyer proposed the following answer:
> There should be a space after dpkg and a space after configure.
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375/+confirm?answer_id=2
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Ryan Dwyer (ryandwyer) said : 		#6

Yes, you shouldn't be getting any errors from Firefox now.

Revision history for this message
Sheryl A. Miller (samiam0812) said : 		#7

Ryan,
   I think I am o.k. now. I was able to download all my updates. Do you
have any idea what may have happened to cause this problem? As you can
probably tell, I don't know much about computers. My technician friend is
recommending I try to switch to Windows XP. Do you know if that is an
option?
Thanks for all your help,
Sheryl[?]

On Sat, Jan 23, 2010 at 8:09 PM, Ryan Dwyer <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #98375 on firefox-3.0 in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Ryan Dwyer proposed the following answer:
> Yes, you shouldn't be getting any errors from Firefox now.
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375/+confirm?answer_id=5
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Ryan Dwyer (ryandwyer) said : 		#8

It can happen if the install/upgrade process is interrupted, maybe due to a power failure or program crash.

Sure, switching to Windows is an option. But do you really want to support proprietary software? Don't you think sharing software is better for the computer industry?

Revision history for this message
Anton¡o Sch¡fano (skiantoz) said : 		#9

Hello Sheryl,
I think you just need some practice with computers; switching to Windows XP will only give you other problems, like viruses and trojans. And of course you'd have to buy an expensive licence ;-)
Regards,
Antonio

Revision history for this message
Sheryl A. Miller (samiam0812) said : 		#10

Thanks for your advice. As I said before, I don't know much about
computers, but I have Windows XP at work.

On Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 12:59 AM, Ryan Dwyer <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #98375 on firefox-3.0 in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Ryan Dwyer proposed the following answer:
> It can happen if the install/upgrade process is interrupted, maybe due
> to a power failure or program crash.
>
> Sure, switching to Windows is an option. But do you really want to
> support proprietary software? Don't you think sharing software is better
> for the computer industry?
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
>
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375/+confirm?answer_id=7
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Sheryl A. Miller (samiam0812) said : 		#11

Can't I get a virus or trojan with Ubuntu? And you're right...I DO need
some practice with computers. Thanks for the advice, Antonio!

On Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 8:06 AM, Anton¡o Sch¡fano <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #98375 on firefox-3.0 in ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+question/98375
>
> Anton¡o Sch¡fano posted a new comment:
> Hello Sheryl,
> I think you just need some practice with computers; switching to Windows XP
> will only give you other problems, like viruses and trojans. And of course
> you'd have to buy an expensive licence ;-)
> Regards,
> Antonio
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Revision history for this message
Best Ryan Dwyer (ryandwyer) said : 		#12

The way Ubuntu is set up with software makes it extremely resistant to malware (viruses, trojans, etc).

In Windows, you find software you want to install from a website, download it and run it. You're trusting an unknown program from an unknown source, and this is where a lot of malware enters your Windows computer. In Ubuntu, almost all software is stored in repositories, which are checked and trusted to contain safe software. You don't need to blindly trust software in Ubuntu because the source code is usually available and many have verified it to be safe.

Malware can also enter your PC through exploits in programs. Just recently an exploit was uncovered in Internet Explorer which allowed attackers to hack Google and many other companies. It took Microsoft over a week to patch it because they're the only ones who are able to do so. And who knows how long that exploit went unnoticed? Years? In Ubuntu, if an exploit is found it's usually fixed within an hour or two due to the sheer number of people available to fix it.

So to answer your question, you can get malware with Ubuntu but it's incredibly unlikely. Far, far less likely than in Windows.

Revision history for this message
Sheryl A. Miller (samiam0812) said : 		#13

Thanks so much to everyone I chatted with concerning my problem. All the input was very much appreciated & helpful.