Links won't open

[PPRuNe Pop]

I cannot open Google links, IE8 links and many others. The google problem is the latest. The usual webpage warning comes up.

[dubbleyew eight]

caused by a very slow internet.
your viewer is timing out before the info comes back.

happens to me all the time with my first world internet connection.
as for watching youtube stuff forget it.
a 1 minute video will typically take me 5 minutes to watch wait watch wait ...if I'm that patient.

[PPRuNe Pop]

No, its not that. I can open You Tube and such and my internet is around 5-6 Mbps all the time.

Just tried Google again and still no joy. My OE8 is following suit too. Could there be a connection of problems?

[Guest 112233]

Are you using a Proxy Service ? - Which Browser (maybe not as you say not one instance, IE 8 and later) -

Anti Malware Software causing Probs ? - A temp problem with your ISP.

I assume its a Windows based System - Perhaps an add-in that blocks Third party content in the browser (legitimate) is causing problems

Or !!!!! on the black side - your "Man in the Middle" has given himself away because the battery backup on his server has finally given up.

No doubt Mix or MB will help.

[PPRuNe Pop]

My email is OE6 - not 8 as I stated.

Everything was working OK yesterday and the day before.

Thanks for inputs anyway.

[Guest 112233]

PPRuNe Pop

Have you run an anti malware scan - Your Anti-virus software may be attempting to block a nasty.

It does happen to the most careful users occasionally.

PS One to look out for: Look at the blocked sites settings on your browser, has a legitimate site been added or blocked by accident.

Are you getting the "cannot find remote server 404" message ?

CAT III

[BOAC]

http://www.pprune.org/computer-internet-issues-troubleshooting/499774-oe-6-a.html ??

[PPRuNe Pop]

CATIII-NDB (http://www.pprune.org/members/184899-catiii-ndb)

I was using Google this morning and it was playing up!! An orange box appeared at the beginning of items to start showing as AD in the orange box. I tried to open any item but it show 'cannot op[en web page.'

I tried malware / Avast / CCleaner etc., and all show clear. I am on the internet as per this post and others.

I have now downloaded and started Firefox and it works a treat. I am keeping IE8 on but when trying it out after Firefox it behaved in the same way as before. As I say Firefox is now up and running.

But............I would like to get back to IE8...........so the problem has be resolved. I also did a System Restore - NOTHING has changed.

[PPRuNe Pop]

BOAC - yes OE6. I know, but all my past emails are in there. But the links are still iffy in there! That AD I mention above is parculiar - at least to me. ;)

PPP

[Guest 112233]

By OE6 do you mean Outlook Express Ver 6.

That may have confused us a bit. That's a bit elderly now but If you have EM's you want to keep ? - From memory I upgraded to outlook 7 and was able to keep my EM's.- The Malware detectors are not perfect.

It's a bit of a guess but do you have Malwarebytes on your System I use it personally on XP - Its free but you can buy the Pro Version.

You might have a Malware infection - Downloadable from here Malwarebytes : Free anti-malware download (http://www.malwarebytes.org/)

The best way is to run it in Windows Safe mode. - But I suggest you try it initially as it comes installed. From memory I don't think it has any browser add ins but be cautious. It has never caused me problems but you can Un- install it from you Sys normally after you have used it.

It needs to have its definitions updated manually - Do this after install. The menu is simple

Also check you Add/Remove Programs for any surprise entries.

Its well worth a try. You may have a browser hijack pest on your Sys.

Goof Job FF is running OK.

CAT III

[BOAC]

PPP - post #7 was a link to a thread.

[PPRuNe Pop]

Thank you sir, missed it! After following the link and subsequent instructions I am now getting Google to open on link click. What geniuses there are on here.

Thanks all round.

PPP

[PPRuNe Pop]

Thanks to the advice I got some results and was (temporarily) most pleased. However, I am back to square one after doing a system restore going back 4 weeks. Things again improved but went downhill from there.

I tried Google again and again but the number of complaints about links not opening in Google is amazing. Not only Google but Firefox and Opera and also Mozilla with a great big anti Chrome. What is going on?

If anything the problem is worse now than it was. I took up an offer to check out my DNS addresses but that didn't work either.

It was only two weeks ago that I could open any link in Google.

????? Please.

[mixture]

However, I am back to square one after doing a system restore going back 4 weeks.

Oh dear. Number one rule if you've got a suspected virus. Delete all your system restores, they are no longer trustworthy.

Can you get us a screenshot (or at least a copy/paste of the exact error message) of what the various browsers you are trying show when you try to access links ?

Do any websites work (e.g. BBC ?).

Do you have any secondary systems you can test your broadband on to rule that out ?

[PPRuNe Pop]

The message is the same one that everyone gets. IE 'cannot open the webpage.' The reason being that instead of Google opening the first tab it opens a second. IE is opening a new tab on each click. It has never done that before but.................dated history in Google shows that the problem has been around since 2009.........its just that it is worse now.

All my virus checks prove negative. Anyway, I think this is a Google problem.

I can open any number of websites, BBC, newpapers, and not one of my favourite web sites ever causes a problem.

Something serious is going on I believe.

PPP

[BOAC]

PPP - can you clarify what you mean by a 'Google link'? Do you mean a G search result link or some other? If so, have you tried another search engine?

[PPRuNe Pop]

The result link.

I loaded Firefox last evening and have been working on it this morn. It seems to work fine. Funny thing is that I put a question into the Firefox 'Google' and up comes Google and one click on the link and its done. Going well so far. What baffles me is one click on the result link opens a new tab on the IE Google. One click and another and so on. Have a look. The complaints are well into despair it seems. I was thinking that it is IE8 that is causing the problem but what do I know. :ugh: The clue might be in IE8's invitation to 'restore previous session' or 'go to home page' but although new tabs open on each click, the question stays with the first tab - if you see what I mean.

I'll stay with Firefox and get it sorted and see what happens.

Ta muchly.

PPP

[Guest 112233]

I do not mean this in any untoward way; but are the affected Sits those that may be affected by "parental controls" e.g "History of Boxing - Bear Baiting through the Centuries" etc.

The sort of site that may be blocked by "Strict Parental Control settings"

The reason I ask is that there appears to be no decipherable pattern in the sites being blocked so far. Is there a common connection or association linking the blocked sites.

I'm thinking of the occurrence of a potentially unwanted program on your system. Aka a PUP.

Do you have a corrupted "Parental Guidance" block affecting web site access.

Access to a secondary system not operating Windows would be a help. Is there anyone in your house using a different computer / browser experiencing the same problem.

CAT III

[PPRuNe Pop]

Thanks CAT.

No nothing like you query. I am the only one who uses the computer. As you will have seen from my comments the problem seems vast and is causing no end of problems to very many people.

As I have said I am investigating the persistent opening of the tabs. Why are they opening? What causes them to by-pass the opening tab? Very annoying.

In the meantime I have a normal Firefox.

PPP

[Guest 112233]

Thinking along another pattern of thought entirely.

This time assuming that the problem is widespread - and it happened to me along time ago (ten years or so) and only briefly - Has your external router address been associated with (a block of addresses associated) with a bot net attack, as part of an old virus infection.

Some servers maintain blocked IP address lists.

I know that your Internet service provider allocates an external Web facing IP address for your router.

I know that these external router addresses do change through time; but BT have kept mine for over twelve months. (The router is always on )

Just to help its not the 192.168.1.85 internal DHCP address, you might see in your Network connection settings, but instead something like 31.64.208.101 i.e an externally rout able IP address.

You can ask your ISP to change this address if the problem persists.

"As I have said I am investigating the persistent opening of the tabs. Why are they opening? What causes them to by-pass the opening tab? Very annoying."

This does seem like Malware.

Edit: [? could the problem be associated with the creation of so-called session cookies Have you got Java enabled in IE its used for graphics/animations on certain sites.]

CAT III

[mixture]

PPRuNe Pop,

Out of interest, who is your ISP ?

[BOAC]

Have you tried Nothing happens when you click a link in Internet Explorer (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175775#method1) ?

[areobat]

I think the problem you are having is that this site is infected with the viglink virus. Or at least, that's what I call it. Viglink is tracker the follows you to other sites and for certain sites, if you buy something or take advantage of some service, the owners of this site get a kickback via vigllink. It's a HUGE moneymaker for them. Most of the special interest BBS sites have the same infection. If you hover over a link, your browser will display the true destination and you will see that all external links go through viglink. Viglink runs a small javascript to ensure it can track you across many sites.

I refuse to be bought and sold and I don't permit people on our corporate network to be so either, so I have blocked access to viglink from within corporate network (people shouldn't be reading forums as work anyway) and I have blocked it from my home network. This creates a problem where links will fail (because they can't get to viglink) but I have fixed that with a Firefox/Greasemonkey script that removes the viglink redirection.

You should check to see if your anti-virus/privacy software is blocking the viglink redirection. I have also had people on other boards that I am a member of report that their ISP blocks viglink as well - this is especially true if you are with a non-US ISP. I showed them how to setup the script and all was well.

Good luck.

[Saab Dastard]

I showed them how to setup the script and all was well.

That sounds like useful information - is that something you could post here?

SD

[Keef]

I found a script on a Mercedes-Benz forum that claimed to remove viglink so that I could use links on PPRuNe, but it seems not to work. I still get the "viglink" stuff in the URL bar, and it stops there.

I'd appreciate that script if it works on here - it's a nuisance not being able to use links.

[areobat]

Yes, indeed, I had something to do with the script on the MB forum (I am a senior member there), although I did not write that actual script. Another member stepped up and did the heavy lifting because I kept procrastinating about it. I have adapted the script to various other sites, including this one.

For those not familiar with Greasemonkey, it is an add-on script manager for Firefox that lets you run scripts to control the behavior of the websites you visit. To use it, install Firefox (if you don't have it already) and then go to Get Add-ons, search for Greasemonkey, and the install it. Make sure Greasemonkey is turned on.

Then, copy the text below and paste it into Notepad:



// ==UserScript==
// @name viglink redirect remover for PPRUNE
// @namespace org.pprune
// @description Removes ad redirects that are added to links on forums.
// @include http: // * . pprune . org / *
// @grant GM_log
// ==/UserScript==


(function() {
var a = document.getElementsByTagName("a");
for (var i=0; i<a.length; i++) {
// Example: document.getElementsByTagName("a")[104].href
if (a[i].href.match(/apicdn\.viglink\.com/)) {
var realurl = /[?&]out=([^&]*)/.exec(a[i].search)[1];
if (realurl) {
a[i].href = decodeURIComponent(realurl);
} else {
GM_log("Hmm, maybe the parameter name 'out' changed and broke things");
}
}
}
})();


Note in order to prevent viglink from inserting itself in the "link" after // @include above (bolded) I have added extra spaces. After you paste this into Notepad, you must remove the spaces which I have inserted to prevent viglink from "parsing" it.

Save the file to someplace like your desktop with a file name like PPRUNE.user.js. Whatever name you choose, it MUST end with .user.js . Close Notepad. Then open Firefox and go to File | Open and navigate to the desktop and select the file you saved above. Greasemonkey will recognized is as an installable script and ask you if you want to do that. Say yes, of course. Reload pprune.org and viglink will be gone.


The link in this thread above without the script will look like:

http://apicdn.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&key=1e857e7500cdd32403f752206c297a3d&loc=http://www.pprune.org/computer-internet-issues-troubleshooting/528488-links-wont-open-2.html&out=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175775%23method1&ref=http://www.pprune.org/newreply.php%3Fdo%3Dpostreply%26amp%3Bt%3D528488 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175775#method1)

You can clearly see the viglink intercept.

After the script, it is:

Nothing happens when you click a link in Internet Explorer (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175775#method1)

Enjoy!

[BOAC]

I still get the "viglink" stuff in the URL bar, and it stops there. and areobat - I have no idea what you are seeing! Whether it is something I have added to my machine or something 'on' yours I know not, but I do not see a whiff of viglink anywhere. At what point does the wording appear?

I believe viglink is a module that can be installed on vb by admins. This link (from viglink!) offers a way to disable it.

Opt Out of VigLink (http://www.viglink.com/opt-out)

I run both FF and IE.

[Keef]

Thanks, areobat. Installed and working.

[BOAC]

Keef - "Whether it is something I have added to my machine or something 'on' yours I know not, but I do not see a whiff of viglink anywhere. At what point does the wording appear?"

[areobat]

BOAC - The viglink "opt out" function sets a no-track cookie and so depends on cookie persistence to tell a viglink using site not to insert the viglink redirection. I do not permit cookies to persist (I set FF to flush them all each time I close it), so I would have to remember to "opt out" each time I fired FF up. Even then, it is not clear what kind of tracking vignlink still does based on the opt-out cookie.

To see what I am talking about with the links, go to the opt out and click to "op-in" Then view this site with FF and hover over any external link. At the bottom of the FF window, FF will display the true destination of the link. With Viglink running on VB, the link will always start with apicdn .viglink .com (spaces added to prevent parsing). If you hover and select copy link location and then paste the link into Notepad or Word, you will see the same thing but with UTF8 (e.g., percent) coding.

When this is coded into the page, your system must still be able to resolve apicdn .viglink .com in order to display the destination URL. Security software, local network policy, and even ISP policy can prevent it from being resolved. When that happens, often one will see the viglink URL in your address bar as the browser waits for it to be resolved.

I installed Greasemonkey and the script so that the links are removed real-time so I don't need to depend on a persistent cookie.

Hope this helps.

[BOAC]

Yes, I understand that, but I do not see anything like the URL keef talks about:

"To see what I am talking about with the links, go to the opt out and click to "op-in""

Where do I find this opt out/in when I do not appear to 'see' viglink at all? Why indeed should I 'opt out' of something I do not appear to be 'opted in' to - and why am I not?

[Guest 112233]

I'm using an add-on for Firefox called Ghostery - It actively blocks "viglink".

Its not perfect (it seems to slow down FF Ver 26 on Vista (business SP2) - V 26 Ubuntu 12.04 is fine ) but its certainly worth a try. {edited from earlier post]

Its blocking "viglink" as I type this: (Ubuntu-64 12.04 in use /Windows Vista 32 Bit (Business) - used too- P/C struggles)

I hope this helps.

CAT III

[NB Linux Bods - I don't have any experience of 13.04 yet but this will change]

[Saab Dastard]

I'm using an add-on for Firefox called Ghostery - It actively blocks "viglink".

Its not perfect (it seems to slow down FF Ver 26 on Vista (business SP2)

I certainly found that Ghostery was making FF unacceptably slow, so I'm not using it any more - no-script, ABP and DNT Me are what I run (and GreaseMonkey as of today!)

SD

[Guest 112233]

Its an up hill struggle - I'm using the "Home made CAT III Ex Dixon's wonder Box MK II CAT III modified" - Secondary use as a toaster to try things out"

Being very serious - "Ghostery" function is very dependent on the ISP connection chain used - Thanks

I'm literally working on this ! [Edit: Using ISP Defaults - for Now ]

CAT III

[Keef]

Keef - "Whether it is something I have added to my machine or something 'on' yours I know not, but I do not see a whiff of viglink anywhere. At what point does the wording appear?"

It was there and hijacking my browser until I loaded the "opt-out" from viglink whereupon it disappeared from the links (as it did for you). Then I closed and reopened Firefox and it was back again. The first fix was to put viglink in my hosts file - that stopped it, but links didn't work. The greasemonkey fix seems to work, and as far as I can tell hasn't slowed down the PC.

I don't like hidden code that redirects my browser: I've been caught that way a couple of times before. I know that some redirects are said to be innocuous, but my attitude to them is the same as to telephone taps.

[BOAC]

(as it did for you). - my puzzlement is that it never 'did'! I am trying to understand what is causing this on your machine and not mine. How did it manifest itself in the url? Was it only there when you followed a web link or would a bookmark do the same? Did it show in the url displayed when you 'hovered' or only when you 'arrived' at the URL? Did you run HiJackThis to see if the redirect was listed?

[Tarq57]

aerobat, thanks for posting that script and instructions.
Works a treat. Far superior to my (non-operational) workaround, which was to disable viglink in the hosts file - which also rendered links unusable, of course.

Just a query about this line:
GM_log("Hmm, maybe the parameter name 'out' changed and broke things"); Is that intended to be included in the final script? Doesn't look so "scripty", but I wouldn't know.

[Keef]

- my puzzlement is that it never 'did'! I am trying to understand what is causing this on your machine and not mine. How did it manifest itself in the url?

It was in the link as shown within the post, when pointed at.

Where I might have put "try this link" (http://wtandw.org.uk), pointing at the link would bring up the link address in the bottom "info bar" of Firefox with "something.viglink.etc" in front of the real link location, and the real link then coded with % signs and all sorts.

Following the "fix" it now shows the link without the viglink addition.

[Tarq57]

It was in the link as shown within the post, when pointed at.

Where I might have put "try this link" (http://wtandw.org.uk), pointing at the link would bring up the link address in the bottom "info bar" of Firefox with "something.viglink.etc" in front of the real link location, and the real link then coded with % signs and all sorts.

Following the "fix" it now shows the link without the viglink addition.It still shows "something.viglink.etc" in my info bar. Except if I hover over the link having first opened a reply window. (That's interesting.)

I wonder if the greasemonkey script I installed from aerobats post was somehow flawed or otherwise "didn't take"?

[Keef]

Could be. When I point at any of the links up the page (apart from the viglink one) the viglink bit doesn't appear.

Try clicking on the "viglink opt-out" link above and see if that changes it!

[Tarq57]

Tried opting out. Doesn't work. Cookies are accepted by the browser.