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Costco meeting "the dark side" in Firefox: WTF?!


onDvine

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Check out ALL the tabs opening when I click on a desktop link to a vacuum cleaner I'm considering. This is in my WinXP, SP2 USING FIREFOX with various security-related extensions.Never saw anything like this in Firefox before. :( The 2nd tab which opened on its own "behind" was a porn site called 89.com, with the bright colors of an active tab. I didn't click it and used Firefox's Options to block cookies and downloads specifically from 89.com. No colors, now.CostcoOrMeProblem.gifLooking at the same page using Avant Browser w/ MVPS HOSTS and security zones configured decently (Costco in the Internet Zone w/o much privilege), I don't see any evidence of all those pages trying to open in the background. B) Is there something I should do about this? I don't know what the other pages are, but they're being blocked by one of my tiers of protection. :lol:

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What are you using to block items in Firefox?I don't run any hosts file but I have AdMuncher installed, run SpywareBlaster and have noscript so javascript won't run.When I go to costco.com, I don't get any extra tabs in FF 2.0.0.4I'm not sure which of the items I have installed is doing the blocking.

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What are you using to block items in Firefox?...
FF 2.0.0.4, too, with Adblock Plus, Adblock filterset.G Updater, Flashblock and NoScript. Also installed are SpywareBlaster, SpywareGuard, Spybot S&D w/ protections enabled and other things disabled by xp-AntiSpy.Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware & HijackThis scans are all squeaky clean. :hmm:Edit: I don't think the HOSTS file does anything in Firefox; it's only for IE, afaik. I run eDexter, too. Edited by onDvine
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I'm making a bit more progress at DSLReports, where someone else has reproduced the situation, if anyone decides they're curious. Still don't know what's going on. :)Edit: Someone has said HOSTS affects more than IE, so I'm apparently wrong in what I thought.

Edited by onDvine
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The hosts file is a part of the network stack. All programs use it. ...
Thank you, Adam! B) I'm learning new things in this situation, at least.
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Hello,Have you tried disabling all of the plugins and enhancements in Mozilla Firefox and then just visiting the web page? If so, did the behavior change?I tried accessing the http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11138251&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC web page with Fiddler (an HTTP debugger) loaded, and the only requests I saw were from Costco and Coremetrics, who appears to be web metrics/marketing company.Have you checked your computer with an anti-virus (anti-malware) program? While it seems you have a broad selection of anti-adware and anti-spyware tools (including eDexter, which is an excellent program), there could be some malcode such as a computer virus, worm, Trojan horse, and so forth on the computer that those programs may not detect.Regards,Aryeh Goretsky

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Thank you, Aryeh. :( Based on feedback offered in a thread at DSLReports, which I provided a link to above, it seems the problem is Firefox's "Bug 221445," as described here, rather than anything nasty. That's a relief! B)

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AHA, I finally understand goretsky's tagline! Phew, another of life's mysteries solved.Since I'm close to paranoid when it comes to security, I'm also downloading the program. My theory, it's next to impossible to have too many security products on a computer. Disclaimer: just make sure only one is operating in active mode.

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