How to I stop pages from redirecting, whent he advanced setting that should prevent it does NOT work?
Here is the situation. I have the advanced setting checked to warn me when a sit tries to redirect or reload a page, which is supposed to prevent it from happening. However, it isn't working. A page tried to redirect, and I saw the little banner that said Firefox prevented it, then it happened again immediately, with the same banner, and then the page went ahead and redirected, and I did NOT click to allow it. It was as though the page redirect was tried three times, stopped two, then allowed. There has to be some way to stop this entirely. To be clear, I already have it checked under Advanced/General to "Warn me when websites try to redirect or reload the page." It simply isn't stopping the redirect. Yes, I have antivirus protection, and yes, it works. The page that s reloading is a Sims 3 store page. It's supposed to be a video, on the store site, to watch for points. Most re just that, but today some have sown up that, instead of playing a video, it redirects to some other site. One was a health site, with no video to even view! cookies galore, though, which have now been blocked.
Any help appreciated in preventing this from happening in the future!
All Replies (8)
That setting is designed to help users of screen reader software and other accessibility aids in a small set of scenarios and is not designed to intercept all methods of page navigation.
What you're describing could be a feature of the page, which is using both a standard HTML method of redirection that the built-in feature detects, and a script-based method that it does not detect. But judging from the new location, this doesn't seem like something the site would be designed to do...
My suspicion thus turns to a bad add-on. Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons. Sorry for the length -- it's not as bad as it sounds:
(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Take out as much trash as possible here.
(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:
- Ctrl+Shift+a
- "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
In the left column, click Plugins. Set nonessential and unrecognized plugins to "Never Activate".
In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions.
Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.
Any improvement?
(3) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.
Success?
All good ideas in general, but nothing new installed that I didn't want, and no unknown or new add-ons, either. Great advice, and nicely detailed, though, which should help others that might have those things causing problems. I have seen that sort, when another family member wasn't careful and had an annoying toolbar installed, that was practically taking over when they were online. Took a bt of doing to get that one out; uninstall was the start, but had to clear out some "stray" registry entries as well.
I did notice that if I do not click to close the little pop up banner, it doesn't redirect. Weird, but it worked. I don't know why closing the message without telling it to allow would have that effect, but it did. Also blocked ll the blasted cookies that were showing up, which is something I track, anyway. I can't stand having this or that site track, even if settings are to accept only from sites I visit. Google is BAD about that sort of thing, and some of the social media sites.
Appreciate the tips, in any case.
If this persists, could you post a screen shot of the banner? Just in case it is an impersonation of Firefox's normal infobar that pushes down between the toolbar area and the page.
Does this happen on many web sites? A few? What are the links?
It only happened on the one site, and only when I hit the "x" to close the message. Just from the one site, too, so assuming it was something with a couple of specific ads. The idea is that you can watch an ad to collect points, with which to buy store content for the game. Not a bad system overall, and have used it for long months with no issues before this.
The rel mystery is why the page would redirect just because the message that states it's been stopped from doing so was closed. If I do see it again, I will get a screen shot, though. Hasn't happened since the one day; hoping the site removed those supposed "ads"!
LadyGreenEyes said
It only happened on the one site
What is the public link for us to look at? Have you contacted the site support?
Adblock Plus {web link} Blocks annoying video ads on YouTube, Facebook ads, banners and much more. Adblock Plus blocks all annoying ads, and supports websites by not blocking unobtrusive ads by default (configurable).
Flash block {web link} Never be annoyed by a Flash animation again! Blocks Flash so it won't get in your way, but if you want to see it, just click on it
I have posted a screen shot showing the banner. However, lately, the pages are sometimes able to redirect even if I don't click to close the banner. Not always, and there seems to be no pattern to it, other than it being the same sort of ad every time, these UVidi things, which are apparently for various magazines, and sometimes, health information.
The Sims 3 Store - Daily Deal page
This is the site that is having the issue, and not just from the one page. The ads can show up anyplace in the store, on various pages for different store content, and the redirect can happen from any of them. Most ads do NOT have this issue; just that one bunch.
I do have AdBlock installed, but it's disabled on the site, to be able to actually use the ads to collect points. ONLY on that site is it disabled. Flashblock is also installed, and does block the actual video content. Those are both awesome add ons, which I have used for some time now, and highly recommend.
I also have installed, since this started, Block Site, to prevent the pages from ever actually loading, and I have had the cookies associated with them blocked since the first day this started. So, the sites cannot load, but the redirect still takes me away from the store site, which is annoying, and also has the result of gaining no points. Support for that particular game is problematic at best, as anyone familiar with EA Games can tell you. The only "solution" they will offer is to not use the ads. They can barely manage to fix on-site issues of their own.
Keep in mind, too, that Firefox is set to not allow redirects. Somehow, these sites manage, now and then, to get past that Not every time; most times, the redirect setting stops it from happening, but now and then, it fails, and the page is redirected through TWO sites, before ending up on a third. There are no other issues; no other sites redirect, the home page is set as it should be, and yes, I have scanned for any malware, and found nothing, and even searched manually for a specific program that some mention as causing a similar issue. Nothing like that is installed. Nothing has been installed since well before this began, and it began with the particular brand of ads. It seems to be related only to those, as far as I can tell.
The site addresses that show up are:
video.quibblo.com/rw/....*variations on this)
ripp.ly/feed/aol-feed?......(variations on this)
It ends up on the last one, in some variation. That one has four variations that I have blocked, and the first has twelve. The second seems to have only been the one. Block Site does catch them, once they are entered, but the occasional redirects still happen. Blank pages now, with Block Site, but still not where I wanted it.
LadyGreenEyes said
The rel mystery is why the page would redirect just because the message that states it's been stopped from doing so was closed.
LadyGreenEyes said
Keep in mind, too, that Firefox is set to not allow redirects. Somehow, these sites manage, now and then, to get past that Not every time; most times, the redirect setting stops it from happening, but now and then, it fails, and the page is redirected through TWO sites, before ending up on a third.
Just to repeat: the option is an accessibility-oriented feature to stop some kinds of redirects and reloads that may confuse screen readers, for example, and is not a security feature that covers all the different ways that sites and their scripts can redirect the page. So this is not a complete surprise.
You might need to consider some kind of script blocker if this problem continues.