Can't turn off all auto-downloading

Question

I'm on dial-up at home; poor phone line quality, download speed between 2k and 3k bytes/second. I only use it at home for a very few things that work at that speed. But it won't work at all if something else is using the bandwidth. (I take it to a broadband site to update apps etc.). I have set firefox to never check for updates, and on the add-on's page have unchecked the "check for updates" button and clicked on the link to make all add-on's NOT check for updates. (I also turned off the "check certificates" under the advanced section.) Still, when I start up Firefox, I see in the resource monitor (using windows 8) that firefox is downloading something. This makes using it for something I want to download (or browse) impossible. What else could Firefox be downloading or doing with my bandwidth? How do I make it stop? Thanks. Note that I am posting this from a difference computer, the problem is on a Windows 8 machine, using a recently updated version of firefox.

Answer 1

First off I'm surprised you can use the modern internet on speeds that slow. Do you start loading a page, go make lunch, then come back? lol
Anyway, you can see what connections Firefox is making by reading [[How to stop Firefox from automatically making connections without my permission]]
I'd make sure you always have the latest version of Firefox (Use another computer to download the installer onto a thumbdrive if needed) as newer versions can be faster and less resource intensive (and I'm guessing you want to squeeze out every bit of resources you can), and make sure you scan for malware that could be making unrequested connections in the background ([[Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware]]). Also, consider getting a better connection if possible.