Problem with websites that use Cloudfare to verify human


Recommended Posts

So every time I run into a website that uses Cloudflare to verify if you are human. It spins for a few seconds, and eventually it wants me to click the box to verify I'm human, but when I do that it just spins in an infinite cycle (spin, present box, spin, etc.) This in on Firefox, and from what I have read from my Google searches, it is usually due to an extension related to privacy, but I don't have any that do that, and I tried disabling an extension at a time to see if it resolves, but it never does. Sometimes I am able to load a private window and open the site that way, and it will load, and then I am able to switch back to the regular window and proceed with the website. What could be causing this, and/or what can I try to fix this?

Hello,

Try opening the site in question in a private web browser session, if you have not allowed extensions to run in private windows that should let you know whether it is an issue with an extension for your web browser or not.

Also, if you are doing any blocking of domains via the hosts file, try renaming the file to something like hosts.bak and restarting the computer to see if disabling all of those makes any difference.

 

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

  • Like 1
On 11/08/2025 at 01:41, goretsky said:

Hello,

Try opening the site in question in a private web browser session, if you have not allowed extensions to run in private windows that should let you know whether it is an issue with an extension for your web browser or not.

Also, if you are doing any blocking of domains via the hosts file, try renaming the file to something like hosts.bak and restarting the computer to see if disabling all of those makes any difference.

 

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

It works 99% of the time in private window, and I do not have anything in my hosts file. I feel like it has to be an add-on, but even when I disable them one at a time, I can not pinpoint which one is causing it, I know from reading troubleshooting guides that any 'privacy' add-ons usually cause the problem, but in my case, I do not have any of those. 

FWIW, have you checked your browser's user agent? Are you using an old Firefox version?

Had a similar (but not the same) problem. Turned out an extension was overriding the user agent to what was then a very old version, 122 IIRC and Cloudflare didn't like it, too old probably. After removing that override and the browser reported it's real version in the user agent, Cloudflare worked fine.

This site will tell you your browser's user agent... What's my User Agent?

On 11/08/2025 at 15:49, Mindovermaster said:

What is your Settings > Privacy & Security set at, just "standard"?

You're browser privacy might be breaking it.

Standard

On 11/08/2025 at 16:47, Karlston said:

FWIW, have you checked your browser's user agent? Are you using an old Firefox version?

Had a similar (but not the same) problem. Turned out an extension was overriding the user agent to what was then a very old version, 122 IIRC and Cloudflare didn't like it, too old probably. After removing that override and the browser reported it's real version in the user agent, Cloudflare worked fine.

This site will tell you your browser's user agent... What's my User Agent?

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:141.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/141.0 

Firefox is up-to-date and is updated as soon as a new version is released

On 12/08/2025 at 15:32, goretsky said:

Hello,

What add-on's do you have installed?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

Add-ons
Name     Type     Version     Enabled     Location     ID
Add-ons Search Detection    extension    2.0.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
AI Grammar Checker & Paraphraser – LanguageTool    extension    9.0.1    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Behind The Overlay    extension    0.2.1    true    app-profile    jid1-Y3WfE7td45aWDw@jetpack
Better Twitter    extension    2.1.3    true    app-profile    {ef32ca60-1728-4011-a585-4de439fe7ba7}
Control Panel for Twitter    extension    4.13.0    true    app-profile    {5cce4ab5-3d47-41b9-af5e-8203eea05245}
CSS Exfil Protection    extension    1.1.0    true    app-profile    {7fc8ef53-24ec-4205-87a4-1e745953bb0d}
Disable HTML5 Autoplay    extension    2018.10.4resigned1    true    app-profile    disable-html5-autoplay@afnankhan
Enhancer for YouTube™    extension    2.0.130.1    true    app-profile    [email protected]
FastForward    extension    0.2383    true    app-profile    [email protected]
FastStream Video Player    extension    1.3.51    true    app-profile    faststream@andrews
Form Autofill    extension    1.0.1    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
Honey    extension    12.8.4    true    app-profile    jid1-93CWPmRbVPjRQA@jetpack
I don't care about cookies    extension    3.5.0    true    app-profile    jid1-KKzOGWgsW3Ao4Q@jetpack
ImTranslator: Translator, Dictionary, TTS    extension    16.99    true    app-profile    {9AA46F4F-4DC7-4c06-97AF-5035170634FE}
Minimal Theme for Twitter / X    extension    6.3.0    true    app-profile    {e7476172-097c-4b77-b56e-f56a894adca9}
Neat URL    extension    5.0.0    true    app-profile    [email protected]
New Tab    extension    141.1.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
Picture-In-Picture    extension    1.0.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
Privacy | Protect Your Payments    extension    2.4.15    true    app-profile    [email protected]
readReddit, Readable text posts on reddit    extension    0.15.0    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Reddit Enhancement Suite    extension    5.24.8    true    app-profile    jid1-xUfzOsOFlzSOXg@jetpack
Return YouTube Dislike    extension    3.0.0.18    true    app-profile    {762f9885-5a13-4abd-9c77-433dcd38b8fd}
Simple Ping Blocker    extension    1.0.0    true    app-profile    {8f3a0730-43ac-4bd2-a9c3-3b4b41531ddf}
SoundFixer    extension    1.4.1    true    app-profile    [email protected]
SponsorBlock for YouTube - Skip Sponsorships    extension    5.14    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Terms of Service; Didn’t Read    extension    5.1.1    true    app-profile    jid0-3GUEt1r69sQNSrca5p8kx9Ezc3U@jetpack
uBlock Origin    extension    1.65.0    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Unhook - Remove YouTube Recommended & Shorts    extension    1.6.7    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Web Compatibility Interventions    extension    141.3.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
YouTube Volume Normalizer    extension    4.0.3    true    app-profile    {0fa8f380-98c6-4cc9-9f24-10d84bf1b609}
Language: English (CA)    locale    141.0.20250806.102122    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Language: English (GB)    locale    141.0.20250806.102122    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Dark    theme    1.3.3    true    app-builtin    [email protected]
Don't track me Google    extension    4.28    false    app-profile    [email protected]
DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials    extension    2025.7.23    false    app-profile    jid1-ZAdIEUB7XOzOJw@jetpack
Firefox Relay    extension    2.8.1    false    app-profile    [email protected]
Grammarly: AI Writing and Grammar Checker App    extension    8.933.0    false    app-profile    87677a2c52b84ad3a151a4a72f5bd3c4@jetpack
Open Link with New Tab    extension    1.1resigned1    false    app-profile    Open-Link-with-New-Tab@sienori
Plasma Integration    extension    1.9.1    false    app-profile    [email protected]
Silk - Privacy Pass Client    extension    4.0.2    false    app-profile    {48748554-4c01-49e8-94af-79662bf34d50}
The Camelizer    extension    3.0.15    false    app-profile    [email protected]
Twitter Container    extension    1.3.3    false    app-profile    @contain-twitter
Video DownloadHelper    extension    9.5.0.2    false    app-profile    {b9db16a4-6edc-47ec-a1f4-b86292ed211d}
Violentmonkey    extension    2.31.0    false    app-profile    {aecec67f-0d10-4fa7-b7c7-609a2db280cf}
WhatRuns    extension    1.7.7    false    app-profile    {66d854c2-fd1b-4857-bd0a-7d220e4834da}
YT Siphon    extension    1.0.6    false    app-profile    [email protected]
Firefox Alpenglow    theme    1.5    false    app-builtin    [email protected]
Light    theme    1.3.2    false    app-builtin    [email protected]
System theme — auto    theme    1.4.2    false    app-builtin    [email protected]

On 14/08/2025 at 22:28, jnelsoninjax said:

Add-ons
Name     Type     Version     Enabled     Location     ID
Add-ons Search Detection    extension    2.0.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
AI Grammar Checker & Paraphraser – LanguageTool    extension    9.0.1    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Behind The Overlay    extension    0.2.1    true    app-profile    jid1-Y3WfE7td45aWDw@jetpack
Better Twitter    extension    2.1.3    true    app-profile    {ef32ca60-1728-4011-a585-4de439fe7ba7}
Control Panel for Twitter    extension    4.13.0    true    app-profile    {5cce4ab5-3d47-41b9-af5e-8203eea05245}
CSS Exfil Protection    extension    1.1.0    true    app-profile    {7fc8ef53-24ec-4205-87a4-1e745953bb0d}
Disable HTML5 Autoplay    extension    2018.10.4resigned1    true    app-profile    disable-html5-autoplay@afnankhan
Enhancer for YouTube™    extension    2.0.130.1    true    app-profile    [email protected]
FastForward    extension    0.2383    true    app-profile    [email protected]
FastStream Video Player    extension    1.3.51    true    app-profile    faststream@andrews
Form Autofill    extension    1.0.1    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
Honey    extension    12.8.4    true    app-profile    jid1-93CWPmRbVPjRQA@jetpack
I don't care about cookies    extension    3.5.0    true    app-profile    jid1-KKzOGWgsW3Ao4Q@jetpack
ImTranslator: Translator, Dictionary, TTS    extension    16.99    true    app-profile    {9AA46F4F-4DC7-4c06-97AF-5035170634FE}
Minimal Theme for Twitter / X    extension    6.3.0    true    app-profile    {e7476172-097c-4b77-b56e-f56a894adca9}
Neat URL    extension    5.0.0    true    app-profile    [email protected]
New Tab    extension    141.1.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
Picture-In-Picture    extension    1.0.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
Privacy | Protect Your Payments    extension    2.4.15    true    app-profile    [email protected]
readReddit, Readable text posts on reddit    extension    0.15.0    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Reddit Enhancement Suite    extension    5.24.8    true    app-profile    jid1-xUfzOsOFlzSOXg@jetpack
Return YouTube Dislike    extension    3.0.0.18    true    app-profile    {762f9885-5a13-4abd-9c77-433dcd38b8fd}
Simple Ping Blocker    extension    1.0.0    true    app-profile    {8f3a0730-43ac-4bd2-a9c3-3b4b41531ddf}
SoundFixer    extension    1.4.1    true    app-profile    [email protected]
SponsorBlock for YouTube - Skip Sponsorships    extension    5.14    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Terms of Service; Didn’t Read    extension    5.1.1    true    app-profile    jid0-3GUEt1r69sQNSrca5p8kx9Ezc3U@jetpack
uBlock Origin    extension    1.65.0    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Unhook - Remove YouTube Recommended & Shorts    extension    1.6.7    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Web Compatibility Interventions    extension    141.3.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
YouTube Volume Normalizer    extension    4.0.3    true    app-profile    {0fa8f380-98c6-4cc9-9f24-10d84bf1b609}
Language: English (CA)    locale    141.0.20250806.102122    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Language: English (GB)    locale    141.0.20250806.102122    true    app-profile    [email protected]
Dark    theme    1.3.3    true    app-builtin    [email protected]
Don't track me Google    extension    4.28    false    app-profile    [email protected]
DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials    extension    2025.7.23    false    app-profile    jid1-ZAdIEUB7XOzOJw@jetpack
Firefox Relay    extension    2.8.1    false    app-profile    [email protected]
Grammarly: AI Writing and Grammar Checker App    extension    8.933.0    false    app-profile    87677a2c52b84ad3a151a4a72f5bd3c4@jetpack
Open Link with New Tab    extension    1.1resigned1    false    app-profile    Open-Link-with-New-Tab@sienori
Plasma Integration    extension    1.9.1    false    app-profile    [email protected]
Silk - Privacy Pass Client    extension    4.0.2    false    app-profile    {48748554-4c01-49e8-94af-79662bf34d50}
The Camelizer    extension    3.0.15    false    app-profile    [email protected]
Twitter Container    extension    1.3.3    false    app-profile    @contain-twitter
Video DownloadHelper    extension    9.5.0.2    false    app-profile    {b9db16a4-6edc-47ec-a1f4-b86292ed211d}
Violentmonkey    extension    2.31.0    false    app-profile    {aecec67f-0d10-4fa7-b7c7-609a2db280cf}
WhatRuns    extension    1.7.7    false    app-profile    {66d854c2-fd1b-4857-bd0a-7d220e4834da}
YT Siphon    extension    1.0.6    false    app-profile    [email protected]
Firefox Alpenglow    theme    1.5    false    app-builtin    [email protected]
Light    theme    1.3.2    false    app-builtin    [email protected]
System theme — auto    theme    1.4.2    false    app-builtin    [email protected]

Might want to post a picture.. ;) 

Hello,

Try removing all of the extensions except for these default ones from Mozilla:

  • Add-ons Search Detection    extension    2.0.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
  • Dark    theme    1.3.3    true    app-builtin    [email protected]
  • Firefox Alpenglow    theme    1.5    false    app-builtin    [email protected]
  • Firefox Relay    extension    2.8.1    false    app-profile    [email protected]
  • Form Autofill    extension    1.0.1    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
  • Language: English (CA)    locale    141.0.20250806.102122    true    app-profile    [email protected]
  • Language: English (GB)    locale    141.0.20250806.102122    true    app-profile    [email protected]
  • Light    theme    1.3.2    false    app-builtin    [email protected]
  • New Tab    extension    141.1.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
  • Picture-In-Picture    extension    1.0.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]
  • System theme — auto    theme    1.4.2    false    app-builtin    [email protected]
  • Web Compatibility Interventions    extension    141.3.0    true    app-builtin-addons    [email protected]

Restart Firefox, and see if the problem goes away.  If it does, you can go ahead and start adding them back one-by-one until you find the culprit.  Chances are that is the one that is doing something which interferes with Cloudflare.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

 

  • Like 1

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Are you going to do performance benchmarks comparing all states? I'd be interested in seeing that in the next "part".
    • My father still uses a programme written in dbase3. Still manages to work with a little help from dosbox. 
    • Microsoft hides these secret Windows 11 performance boost settings available on every PC by Sayan Sen Windows enthusiasts often look for ways to extract as much performance out of their systems as possible, and it's often the case that they try and do so while trying to minimize the heat and power consumption. This is especially relevant in the case of mobile Windows PCs since laptops and notebooks tend to get hot and management of that heat and power is harder in such a form factor. As such users often turn to techniques like under-volting which can be used to squeeze out the maximum capabilities of a chip while also maintaining lowered power levels. There are official apps from AMD and Intel with the likes of Ryzen Master and XTU (Extreme Tuning Utility). While these are quite handy, most enthusiasts probably prefer to dig into the BIOS and play around with settings there like Curve Optimizer on Ryzen, which lets users set various frequency-voltage scaling values. These are essentially called P-States. If you are not familiar with them, Processor Power Management is done through Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) P-states and C-states. While P-states or performance pwoer states handle CPU voltage-frequency scaling, C-states deal with CPU sleep states so that some of the CPU functions, which are not necessary at that moment, can be disabled. The P-states and C-states work together to make the processor run more efficiently. It helps the OS and apps determine which cores can be parked and which should be boosted. Of course not every user is an enthusiast or knows the technicalities and integrities of how things like overclocking or undervolting work. Thankfully for them Windows itself offers something pretty cool, though it is hidden by default on all systems. By default, Windows only has two P-States, "Minimum Processor State" and "Maximum Processor State." However, this can be changed with a Registry trick to expand the options under a secret "Processor performance boost mode" dropdown. This essentially enables the HWP or hardware P-States available on a device, and these are not controlled just by the OS itself as the underlying hardware gets involved too. In total there are five Processor Performance Boost Mode profiles that control how Windows requests and allows CPU turbo/boost behavior under the different power policies. They are: Disabled: In this mode, processor boosting is effectively turned off. The CPU will avoid entering turbo or boost frequencies and instead operate closer to its base frequency ceiling. This can significantly reduce power consumption and heat output, but at the cost of reduced burst performance and responsiveness in short workloads. Enabled: This is the standard behavior where boost functionality is allowed under normal conditions. The processor can opportunistically increase frequency when workload demands it, balancing performance gains with power and thermal constraints as managed by the system. Aggressive: Aggressive mode favors performance more heavily, allowing the CPU to enter higher boost states more readily and sustain them longer. This should in theory improve responsiveness under bursty or heavy workloads but increases power draw and thermal output compared to the default enabled behavior. Efficient Enabled: This mode still allows boosting, but with a stronger bias toward energy efficiency. The system attempts to use boost more selectively, avoiding unnecessary frequency spikes when the performance gain is marginal. Efficient Aggressive: This is a hybrid approach where boost is still performance-responsive, but the system continuously weighs efficiency more heavily than in Aggressive mode. It aims to deliver noticeable performance improvements while reducing wasted power in less demanding scenarios. Here's how to enable the Processor performance boost mode: Open Registry Editor: Press Win+R, type regedit, and click OK. Go to: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\be337238-0d82-4146-a960-4f3749d470c7 (where HKLM stands for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_) Modify the value of Attributes from 1 to 2 (you can find modify option by right-clicking) After that, exit Registry, you should now be able to see the new "Processor performance boost mode" dropdown menu: As you can see there are now five new P-States or CPPC states or power profile available that help define the boost mode processor setting on your PC. Wrapping it up here's a quick run-down of the settings as defined by Microsoft itself. Setting Description Disabled The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is disabled. Collaborative Processor Performance Control (CPPC) behaviour is disabled. Enabled The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is enabled. CPPC behaviour is Efficient Enabled. Aggressive The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is enabled. CPPC behaviour is Aggressive. Efficient Enabled The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is Efficient. CPPC behaviour is Efficient Enabled. Efficient Aggressive The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is Efficient. CPPC behaviour is Aggressive. Aggressive At Guaranteed Windows calculates the desired extra performance above the guaranteed performance level, and asks the processor to deliver that specific performance level. Efficient Aggressive At Guaranteed Windows always asks the processor to deliver the highest possible performance above the guaranteed performance level. In the next part we shall be comparing these settings to explore how much of a benefit or regression they can provide in terms of performance and power efficiency. If you decide to change the values on your system and are experiencing problems like crashes or an overheating PC, make sure to revert the steps back to the original state.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      rolfus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Conversation Starter
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      AndreaB earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      agatameier earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      518
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      198
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      147
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      93
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      78
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!