I’ve been getting a lot of support emails like this, so I figured it is time to bring the issue front and center:
Thought I would let you know that for the past week or two, I’m having a problem with your website (wattsupwiththat.com).
I can read the first few stories, fine but as I continue to scroll down, the screen goes blank (all white), and does not come back.
I am using Firefox 3.6.28 on an Imac running Mac OS 10.4.11.
My software may be outdated, but if I’m having the problem others may as well.
WordPress.com (my hosting provider) recently made yet another unannounced upgrade to the blog software that provides for continuous scroll, adding new stories as you scroll down. There seems to be no way to turn off this feature, so the only way around the problem in older browsers (Like Firefox 3.6 which is out of date) is to upgrade. Upgrades are free, just do it.
Firefox is now up to version 11.0 – get it here: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/fx/
Chrome is up to 18.0 – get it here: http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/
Internet Explorer 9 is out, though IE8 will work just fine. IE 6/7 not so much.
Safari/Opera/others – I have no experience with them, please advise in comments
Tinfoil hat time.
Have WordPress made any changes that affect the content we see?
Whatever happened to backward compatibility.?
DaveE.
I suspect many of the people having performance issues here are infected with Malware. I highly recommend anyone having any problems to run the following free scanners,
1. Kaspersky Anti-rootkit TDSSKiller, http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208283363
2. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Malwarebytes-AntiMalware/1186760019/1
3. Then if you do not have an AntiVirus program installed or the one you have installed is outdated, get Microsoft Security Essentials which is free for home users, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials
* Do not install more than one AntiVirus program at a time and uninstall any outdated ones before installing Microsoft Security Essentials.
4. Finally make sure to run Windows Updates and install ALL security related updates.
I recommend updating the chipset drivers and video card drivers for your system. New browsers use graphic accelerated features that can expose problems you may have been unaware of before.
Open firefox –> Go to “Options”
Click “Advanced” Tab –> Go to “General” SubTab
UnCheck “Use hardware acceleration when available”.
See if that resolves the problem.
Your entire system crashing is not normal with Windows XP, Vista or 7 and if updated drivers did not resolve your problem, I recommend scanning for malware and then looking into a potential hardware problem – an obvious one is the fan going bad on the graphics card.
“Internet Explorer 9 is out, though IE8 will work just fine. IE 6/7 not so much.”
Keep in mind that MSIE9 is not for Windows XP, though good idea to upgrade to Windows 7 if computer can handle it. (Vista was rather troubled.)
MSIE6 is rather old, may not handle the popular “Cascading Style Sheets” mess well.
Indeed, use Windows Updates! (I recommend setting to Notify not automatic, for two reasons:
– you may be on low bandwidth connection when it wants to push updates
– Microsoft has unwisely pushed a major update on occasion, usch as SP3 to Windows XP, for which a user needs to properly prepar.
You need to be ready with full backup and instructions printed or on another computer before doing a major upgrade like that. One type of information you need is advice on your specific computer and software, which may be available from Microsoft (at least which ones they have checked out and which ones they have had trouble with.
(If you are running XP without SP3, get with it! I suggest embracing any Service Pack that has been out for a few months without major problems.)
If you have custom or very specialized software, as is often the case in organizations including the type many participants here work in, check with your IT experts.
It is better that non-IT types leave Windows Updates to automatic otherwise they will forget to install them and leave themselves vulnerable. The scare stories about problems installing service packs is due to those who have malware infected systems or faulty hardware and were unaware. They then go online and cluelessly rant about it falsely blaming Microsoft. Installing the service pack did not cause their problem but rather exposed it, these problems are in the very small minority. Installing service packs on clean systems with working hardware is completely safe. Backups of important data should be done weekly-monthly irregardless, you can do this by buying a $10 USB Thumb Drive and copying your important files to it.
I had a lot of problem with windows updates from W2k to 7.
For the benefit of those Mac users still nursing along an older PPC Mac that will only run Tiger (OS X 10.4.11), like Anthony’s correspondent, there is a website that has specially compiled versions of Firefox for those processors and that OS at http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/ called TenFourFox. They may not have the very latest patch available immediately (currently at 10.0.3 for Firefox), but you will be miles ahead of where you are with abandoned versions of Safari and Firefox. And there is a link there for a browser (Classila) for even older Macs. And I’m not shilling for Apple, but it might be time to consider a newer machine (I finally gave up my last G4 box a few months ago).
Presently holding at SP3/Win Xp with this computer (updated a few years back now) and with auto-updates turned OFF … and running with _no_, repeat _NO_ anti-virus software whatsoever, although I do occasionally stop by TrendMicro like once a year just to be sure …
The ‘secret’ to this is: run behind a firewall (DSL router here; used to use a personal firewall under Win98SE when using dial-up and would regularly see incoming ‘pings’ and port-connect requests by the ‘outside world’), visit only reputable websites, utilize e-mail through a service which does pre-screening for you (Yahoo works for me) and IF any __unexpected__ attachments come through from persons known or unknown simply delete them …
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Jim, turning auto-updates off and not running an AV is not recommended for non-IT types and for the average user can be very dangerous. These systems are more likely to get infected with malware. People are of course free to do what they want but I have a problem when they encourage others to do this as this is as it is not responsible advice to give to non-IT type users.
Windows XP comes with a firewall that was updated and enabled by default if your are running Windows XP SP2 or higher which will properly protect your system (the same with Vista and 7). Yes most routers come with an additional firewall but it is not necessary. A firewall will not prevent malware infection which can happen by simply connecting an infected USB drive or opening an infected email attachment. Autorun infections from say connecting an infected USB drive are mitigated if you have all the updates installed as Microsoft addressed this in a patch from last year, http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/autorun-malware-infections-declining/8772.
Phishing attacks can be very sophisticated and users might have no idea the email they received or the site they are visiting is not reputable. Recent Rootkits variants are getting more and more sophisticated and people can have no idea that their system has been compromised. What they do instead is complain their system is slow, their system crashes/does not work right or Microsoft sucks. This is why it is important that everyone who has not scanned their system recently does so with the free tools I provided above.
Systems that have problems installing Windows Updates usually are infected with malware, have been “tweaked” (usually broke a necessary windows component) or have a third party application interfering with the updates.
I reread over this thread and wanted to clear up various myths that have been presented,
1. Using Windows XP until it reaches it’s extended service life on April 8, 2014 is perfectly fine. You will not notice any Internet performance improvements by upgrading to Windows 7 unless you are using IE8. IE9 overall is faster than IE8 but since you cannot use IE9 on Windows XP I recommend using Google Chrome for optimal performance. If you have older hardware not fully compatible with Windows 7 or less than 2GB of RAM, you might actually get reduced performance by moving to Windows 7. To improve Internet performance upgrade to the latest version of your browser or get a faster Internet connection, dial-up users will want to get any broadband connection that is available (Cable, DSL, Satellite, Wireless) anything will reduce your suffering.
2. Installing service packs is very safe on clean systems with properly working hardware.
3. Enabling Automatic Windows Updates will greatly improve your system security and has no effect on your system performance unless it is during the the second Tuesday of the month or the following Wednesday when the updates are being installed. How much it will effect performance during this time is based on your system and/or Internet connection. Out of bound updates while rare are necessary if you want your system secure.
4. Having a currently updated Anti-Virus program installed is essential to making sure your system remains secure. Home users can get one for free from Microsoft called, Microsoft Security Essentials, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials – there is no need to pay for one.
Good sound advice, and I second it
To put things in perspective a recent analysis showed that roughly 25-65% of computers are infected with malware worldwide, http://blogs.norman.com/2012/for-consumption/global-malware-rates-is-your-country-among-the-safest-or-infected
So please scan your computers for malware and install an updated Anti-Virus program
Moved from dial-up to DSL in Sept. of 2008. The time this saves is amazing. Still use XP. Use Chrome. Follow the advice just given by Poptech. The DSL provider includes (in the ‘standard’ package) a ZoneAlarm Security Suite. Before DSL, I had my own resident copy and when an update was to be downloaded I could expect about a 2 hour session. Now, I notice a slowdown during a download. So much so that I will ‘pause’ it to do something (like getting an article I want to read on the screen) and then start it again. Other updating programs do not cause the slowdown that the Security Suite does.
I didn’t see that anyone else mentioned security being supplied as part of their connection package.
Regarding the alleged ‘scrolling’ feature that WordPress has employed. I don’t see it on other WordPress sites. If it is a ‘feature’, why does it act like a bug? Once I get 3-4 articles down on the homepage it starts loading as I scroll. If I select an article from those that loaded while scrolling, read it, and exit back to the home page, it is blank until I scroll up to the top 3-4 articles, and it starts loading as it scrolls again, often double loading the last one or two articles. Yes, they are loaded twice. Further, there are no links to older pages except through the monthly archives which lack the graphics that often identify the article for my feeble brain.
I am running XP SP3, Firefox 11.0, my system is maxed at 2Gb RAM, I run three different antivirus programs. Everything is automatically updated as soon as an update is available.The above is accompanied by this odd overlaid panel at the bottom of the page/screen. It floats at the bottom of the screen over whatever is on the page. It does not do this on the Comments page, nor the Reference pages, only the Homepage.
http://i41.tinypic.com/ta6ie1.jpg
I would be happy to contact WordPress to gripe, but see no way to contact them via Blog at WordPress.com
Entirely endorse all the remarks about malware and AV software.
It was a costly risk I took for a few hours running without. Do not do it. The internet is full of bad people who want to do you harm. Guard against them.
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G.S. Williams says:
April 3, 2012 at 8:50 pm
REPLY: Probably because the name sounds hoighty-toity. That, and I hate opera, you couldn’t drag me into a theater. Dislike by association. – Anthony
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Thanks, that one made me laugh!
To others: I think Anthony has previously made it clear that he uses WordPress because it saves him considerable time and effort. He’s already stretched as it is, so if we’re to expect the same high level of topics & posts, we need to accommodate him.
Good replies w/some good info on this post.
I use Opera as my regular browser because of hits nice home page display of favorite links.
It works fine with WUWT. Other applications will sometimes cause a “Browser not supported “etc. and I switch to Firefox or IE etc.
You should only have one anti-virus program installed and running in the background. Having more than one can severely reduce system performance and cause various problems. You have plenty of RAM so that is not the problem. The two programs I recommended (Note: only the free version of Malwarebytes) will only run when you use them and not run in the background when closed. What Internet connection do you have.and have you ran the scans I suggested? Also what CPU do you have in your computer, anything less than a Pentium 4 will reduce performance with Firefox, http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/11.0/system-requirements/
You can use this free program to determine your CPU type, http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
Opera never had the zealot Firefox fanboys spreading lies to promote it (such as it is a perfectly secure browser, 824 vulnerabilities say otherwise, http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=firefox), it did not come bundled with any PC operating system (IE for Windows, Safari for OS X) and it does not have Google advertising for it every time you go to Google.com. Initially Opera had a significant performance advantage which has largely been mitigate with the latest versions of the other browsers, noticeably Chrome. Opera also had many innovative features before other browsers (tabbed browsing, integrated search, pop-up blocking, http://operawiki.info/OperaInnovations). In the end it comes down to webpage compatibility and if one pages do not work right people will stop using it. Thus Opera’s market share still stands at around 1-2% on the desktop, http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0&qpcustomd=0 but is doing better on mobile devices at 15%, http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0&qpcustomd=1
Thanks, but no thanks IT-god (or goddess).
I’ve played with/used/compiled and ‘linked’ and used the communications packages (to move datasets or remotely ‘execute’ commands) on a number of platforms over the years from the big IBM iron (System/370 stuff in its day) through the minicomputer craze (TI 960, 990) and VAX 11/780 – 8800’s into the PC craze from DOS through to Xp with diversions to SCO and SUN UNIX (while at DSC – Digital Switch Corporation) when the job called for it … this ain’t my first rodeo (as we are prone to say here in Texas) … and all of this from an engineering perspective (and not just ‘computer engineering’) while doing defense work on airborne RADAR systems and their test environment.
I remember when your field was called “data processing” and TI’s corporate IBM mainframes were under TI’s CIC (Corporate Information Center) control, the minis were under TI’s DCS (Distributed Computer Services) control and there was no such ‘animal’ as a PC.
Later on I had a chance to get into cellular and there became with systems and computer resources (‘The Switch’ and ‘The HLR’ et al) and related architecture in that area … but that’s another rodeo and another story …
In the future, please also note the name is “_Jim” on account of all the Jims on the board.
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I’ve been having the same problem for a few weeks now. I’m on Firefox 3.6.24. And as I scrolled down WUWT tonight to view the posts, the problem did NOT occur.
Poptech says:
April 4, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Yada yada yada …
Phishing attacks can be very sophisticated and users might have …
I was going to say, all this might be applicable if you were addressing a fifteen year old; you’re not.
Back in the day it was EETimes, Network World, PC Mag, RF Design (Aviation Leak and Space Technology was available in the tech library) etc … I shied away from Byte magazine; the ‘digital’ stuff was just too simple (contrasted with antenna theory and network analyzers: YES) … now my reading has shifted to online-available resources e.g. to Bruce Schneier et al.
I did a final ‘product’ utilizing an embedded Z80 uC over the course of a couple semesters ’93 into ’94 … keyboard scan routine, LCD write, serial port service as well as active ‘accrual’ of a 3600 baud GMSK (Gaussian Minimum Shift Keyed) over-the-air ‘signal’ that incorporated a Rate 1/2 convolution code (for EDAC – error detection and correction) … all in ASSEMBLY and no cheating help using any of the Wind-River based uC real-time embedded ‘frameworks’ … wrote every last ISR (interrupt service routine) myself … it was my Master’s EE project back in the day ….
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That has nothing to do with having the relevant experience of building and supporting over 5000 PCs from DOS to Windows 7, currently supporting over 5000 Windows based PCs or handling more than 50,000 support calls. There is a reason IT departments set company PC policies and end users such as yourself do not. Jim please do what you wish just don’t give this irresponsible advice to others because I get to fix the problems bad advice like yours causes.
I was the one who wrote about this originally. As several have noted Firefox 3.6 is as far as I can go on OS 10.4. I have upgraded the memory on my iMac and plan to move to OS 10.7 soon. That should fix the problem, at least for a while. In the short term I installed Camino (thanks to those who suggested it, I didn’t know about it.). So far everything is cool. Now all I have to do is figure out how to merge bookmarks. Doesn’t look like fun. Thanks to all.
An obvious question for Mac Users who cannot upgrade Firefox, have you tried the latest version of Safari?