Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness

Subject: Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness
From: michaelr
Date: 05 Apr 04 - 07:35 PM

Prompted by the recent Spyware thread, I downloaded Ad-Aware. The program identified 49 items, which I instructed it to quarantine.

Immediately after, my browsers ceased functioning. Whether I typed in a URL or clicked on one of my Favorites, the IE "completion bar" (Don't know what it's really called) stopped in the middle of its field and sat there. And sat. And sat. Nothing else happened.

The Opera browser gave me this message: "If you are seeing this page, your browser settings prevent you from automatically redirecting to a new URL."

So I went back into AdAware and restored the quarantined items, and IE is back to what it was before. Opera, however, keeps showing me the same message.

Can anyone tell me what's going on here? (I use Win98 SE.)

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 05 Apr 04 - 07:58 PM

I don't see a way that quarantine of items that AdAware normally finds would cause this, although I can't say it couldn't.

If you also updated your IE while you were trying to get safe, there were some recent changes in how the various "privacy levels" are defined, and at least one of the recent updates automatically defaulted things to "very secure." In IE, if you click on Tools - Internet Options, and select the "Privacy" tab, there's a slider that you can use to adjust "how safe" you want to be. If you go too high, IE may block just about everything. I assume that Opera has something similar. The message you're getting implies that you have a setting you can change to get back to what you want, but I don't know enough about Opera to advise on it.

If you're getting a redirect when you try to connect to a site you use frequently, it probably means their address has changed, and you may need to update your "favorites" link for them - if you can find their new address.

Hopefully, we'll get an Opera expert to comment soon....

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness
From: Escamillo
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 02:14 AM

Many websites will freeze if you don't accept "cookies" from them. A cookie is a small file that the website wants to record in your disk, supposedly in order to identify your preferences when you visit their site. However, many cookies have proven to be real spyware.

If you trust the site, allow cookies "from origin" (not from third parties) by setting them allowed in your IE Explorer (Tools, Internet Options, Privacy, Advanced, First-party cookies)

Un abrazo,
Andrés

Subject: RE: Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness
From: Kaleea
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 02:26 AM

The only Opera I am aware of with something similar is one written by "Poochini." A very famous Bass-et Hound comes onstage and proceeds to sing so low that all the laptops in the audience shatter into a million pieces, & it stops the show!

Subject: RE: Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 12:47 PM

I've not had any problems using Opera and Ad-aware together.
If in Opera you go to the "File" menu list and down to "Preferences"
(alternatively - press the "Atl" and "P" keys to bring it up.
In the preferences list of options, click "Privacy" and it brings up some options. There is a box (also named "Privacy") which has some tick boxes One of these is marked "Enable Automatic Redirection". This is the setting which either allows or prevents a website sending you to another page. See if altering this setting solves your problem.
If not tell us and we'll have another think.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 12:55 PM

If the box is NOT ticked, then when you post to a Mudcat thread it takes you to an intermediate page "http://www.mudcat.org/ThreadNewMess-Sub.cfm" which displays a page saying :-

Document Moved

This document has moved here.


(Which finishes with a Blue Clicky to the main Threads page)
If the box is ticked, then Opera automatically re-directs you to the Threads page without you seeing the intermediate one.
Quack!
Geoff the Duck.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness
From: michaelr
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 07:05 PM

Thanks for the responses.

Geoff -- Opera's "Enable Automatic Redirection" is checked. It appears that I'm only seeing that message when tryin to sign in to my Yahoo email account... other pages open fine. (?)

John, Escamillo -- my IE slider is set to Medium.

Weird...

Subject: RE: Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 06 Apr 04 - 11:38 PM

michaelr -

The slider set to Medium is one set of "conditions" pre - the recent updates, but means something slightly different after you've installed all the latest IE security fixes. The definitions of what the system is allowed to do at each setting were changed to something much more restrictive, so Medium after the update is closer to what High was before. Either way, it shouldn't be causing the problem you've described. I generally run at the "Medium-High" setting, with the new rules, and the only thing it changed is that I've had to put one or two sites on the "accept cookies" list. I don't even have to do that for sites that have a "valid privacy statement" up.

If you haven't done so, you should get to the Microsoft IE update site, and download all the latest stuff. Going straight to IE6 is generally to be recommended if you're using something older, and I believe it's compatible with your Win98. They should warn you if it's not. You may want to hold off on updates though until you've sorted out your current glitch. No sense confusing things by introducing new stuff in a system that's not working right.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Ad-Aware weirdness
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 07 Apr 04 - 12:12 AM

You will find your best tech answers in the NewsGroups.

Stay away from most "tech advice" in a folk-song forum, Foules, Kats, WYSIWYG's while best intentioned....usually know less than a good search engine.....(BTW - Google is no long "good.")

Sincerely,
Gargoyle