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Oops. This site interprets angle brackets a certain way so they & their contents disappear.

This should work:

Best bet is to use the Alt & F4 keys together ...

Good Morning / Evening, Syzygy! Thank you for this last tip! Is there no danger if I do that of something else being disabled?

It appears my fake Java update wasn't...got it again on the Guardian website and Norton OK'd it...it certainly looked different though.

@greedy kite & ixion

Pressing Alt & F4 together should stop any program running on Windows, such a browser which has run across something nasty. The command simply kills the program & does no harm elsewhere.
An anti-virus program such as AVG incorporates with Firefox to block attacks. Usually does the job very well, but the "nasty boys" out there are ingenious. If in doubt, kill it immediately.
Never, ever click on anything that wants to scan your computer, improve it's performance, etc.

There are plenty of legitimate programs available that will do various house-keeping functions. Go to their actual sites or try something like Cnet (Google it) to preview them.

Re Java, see my post @5
http://www.crosswordsolver.org/forum/457537/offset/4

Thanx, Syzygy: orders received & u'stood! Will do as you say!

Sorry to report, Syzygy, pressing Alt + F4 simultaneously doesn't seem to cure anything with me. After turning off and re-starting computer, the "update" messages return sooner or later. Do you know any other trick?

Ash says that these 'updates' are beyond his control and, unfortunately, there is nothing he can do about them. The advertising on the Forum is supplied through a single company whom Ash contacts in the event of complaints about the ads. However, these very annoying 'updates' have nothing to do with the advertising company.

Ash tells me never to click on any of these update/slow running computer etc ads. He doubts their effectiveness and giving control of your computer to a stranger is never a good idea. They might just speed it up but who knows what personal info they have gleaned in the process. All this technology is way beyond my simple non-tech brain!