scripts and flash that will not end

[micky]

This is a Firefox question, I guess, but I have to use a separate
program I don't like to get to the Firefox group, so I hope you don't
mind.

I get between two and several message boxes a day that ask if I want to
stop a script, yes or no. There is also a check box there that says
"Don't ask this question again"

Sometimes there is a third choice, Debug. I guess that's for use by
whoever wrote the script, right?

Every 2 or 3 days I get a message box asking if I want to stop Shockwave
Flash (I think it is).

I always say Stop and I always check "Don't ask me this question again",
which acc. to what I read means the script or Flash will be stopped
after 45 seconds without asking me if I want to do that.

Why am I getting so many of these? What have I done to deserve it?
I've tried to be a good boy. I have the latest version of FFox and the
latest version of Java.

A few months ago, when I updated Java, it asked if I wanted to undo all
my previious Stops, and I inferred from that that the Java people
thought they had improved Java so much that scripts would no longer be
stuck in a loop. So I said Yes. After that, for a week or more, I got
more endlessly-running-script boxes than ever before. So I'll never say
Yes again, unlless you or I can solve the underlying problem.

Help?

 

[Paul]

This is a Firefox question, I guess, but I have to use a separate
program I don't like to get to the Firefox group, so I hope you don't
mind.

I get between two and several message boxes a day that ask if I want to
stop a script, yes or no. There is also a check box there that says
"Don't ask this question again"

Sometimes there is a third choice, Debug. I guess that's for use by
whoever wrote the script, right?

Every 2 or 3 days I get a message box asking if I want to stop Shockwave
Flash (I think it is).

I always say Stop and I always check "Don't ask me this question again",
which acc. to what I read means the script or Flash will be stopped
after 45 seconds without asking me if I want to do that.

Why am I getting so many of these? What have I done to deserve it?
I've tried to be a good boy. I have the latest version of FFox and the
latest version of Java.

A few months ago, when I updated Java, it asked if I wanted to undo all
my previious Stops, and I inferred from that that the Java people
thought they had improved Java so much that scripts would no longer be
stuck in a loop. So I said Yes. After that, for a week or more, I got
more endlessly-running-script boxes than ever before. So I'll never say
Yes again, unlless you or I can solve the underlying problem.

Help?

Is the sequence as described here ?

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...-webpage/c65b9209-8ce1-4de1-a0c9-070789fa2fe7

The last poster in that thread, claims it started happening after
KB2559049 for Internet Explorer.

In your case, why would Java be involved ? Not every web page uses
Java, whereas the built-in Javascript support is likely triggered
on just about any web page (code to keep track of advertising
is done in things like Javascript, as are popular modules such
as JQuery). Java is used on some game pages. And when you get
the Java updater from Oracle, it can come with a "passenger"
in the package. (There is a separate page you can get
the Java installer from, where no third-party stuff is in
the package.)

In my opinion, you shouldn't keep Java installed, unless you
have a pressing need for it. As an example, my work provided
an encrypted VPN, for work-at-home. The VPN used Java code, so
the same code would run on a Mac or a PC. I had to keep the
Java runtime package installed, because I would be using the VPN
pipe to work every day (in the evenings). Once the need for the
VPN disappeared, there was no reason to keep Java installed. Not
enough web pages need it, and I can find non-Java solutions for
other things. I expect even if you uninstalled Java, the problem
would remain (whatever the root cause is).

Now, why should Firefox be showing such a dialog ? You would think
at the very least, some details of the dialog would differ, between
Internet Explorer version and the Firefox version. It sounds like
the browser itself, notices the script is hung up. So the browser
should be putting up the message.

Paul

 

[micky]

I'm not at all sure of the details here anymore. I think the update had
an icon which was orange with a cup of coffee with steam rising from it
on it, and I thought that was Java, and I think that was the update that
asked, as the very last step, if I wanted to -- I forget the words --
cancel exceptions I had made before, which I thought referred to those
scripts or something that I had said "Stop" and "Don't ask me this
question again".

OTOH, when the error box gives a name for a problem script, it ends in
..js, which I guess stands for javascript.

Is the sequence as described here ?

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...-webpage/c65b9209-8ce1-4de1-a0c9-070789fa2fe7

Not that much. I think I only have to say Stop and Don't Ask Me Again
once for any given error, not 4 times like he says. And it doesn't ask
me to debug the webpagte, only the script.

And error boxes with the Debug option are the least common, maybe 10% of
the occurrences. another 15 or 20% is Flash, and 70% or more is "Stop
the script or continue", with no debug option.

The last poster in that thread, claims it started happening after
KB2559049 for Internet Explorer.

But this guy does describe a problem similar to mine. I almost never
use IE however, and I can't quite find Disable Script Debugging. Maybe
the term has changed since then, 3 years ago.

In your case, why would Java be involved ? Not every web page uses

My first comment tried to explain this.

Java, whereas the built-in Javascript support is likely triggered
on just about any web page (code to keep track of advertising
is done in things like Javascript, as are popular modules such
as JQuery). Java is used on some game pages. And when you get
the Java updater from Oracle, it can come with a "passenger"
in the package. (There is a separate page you can get
the Java installer from, where no third-party stuff is in
the package.)

In my opinion, you shouldn't keep Java installed, unless you

I'd be glad to get rid of it. How do I do that?

have a pressing need for it. As an example, my work provided
an encrypted VPN, for work-at-home. The VPN used Java code, so
the same code would run on a Mac or a PC. I had to keep the
Java runtime package installed, because I would be using the VPN
pipe to work every day (in the evenings). Once the need for the
VPN disappeared, there was no reason to keep Java installed. Not
enough web pages need it, and I can find non-Java solutions for
other things.

OTOH, I doubt if I'll be able to find non-Java solutions in those cases.

I expect even if you uninstalled Java, the problem
would remain (whatever the root cause is).

Me too.

Now, why should Firefox be showing such a dialog ? You would think
at the very least, some details of the dialog would differ, between
Internet Explorer version and the Firefox version. It sounds like
the browser itself, notices the script is hung up. So the browser
should be putting up the message.

Maybe the wording *is* different. I once copied it word for word, but I
can't find that now. I'll copy it if you think it will help. I can't
compare the text with IE, becaues I don't think I've ever gotten a box
like this in IE, (but I rarely use IE).

 

[Paul]

Maybe the wording *is* different. I once copied it word for word, but I
can't find that now. I'll copy it if you think it will help. I can't
compare the text with IE, becaues I don't think I've ever gotten a box
like this in IE, (but I rarely use IE).

Even if you can find a picture of the dialog on the web, that
would do.

As for the quirks of browsers, I don't think I know the internals
well enough, to spot every kind of exploit. If you're seeing
these dialogs, and other people are not, it makes me suspicious
that *something* is attacking your copy.

It is possible on browsers, to change the "busy" time constant,
if a situation arises where the browser is detecting "a loop"
when none exists. But a real problem, an actual script running
flat out, changing the time constant won't fix a situation
where the problem is real. Changing the time constant is
for cases where something "normal" is taking up too much time,
and setting off the dialogs.

Do you use a lot of plug-ins that you've added ? Flash is one.
Maybe the Java installer is leaving a plugin. On some OSes,
it's even possible for some of these things to be "blacklisted"
based on version. Patches have been issued, to turn off
plug-ins with known ongoing exploits (easy to tip over).
I think I even had a plug-in turned off here, that needed
to be updated so it could be turned back on.

Your copies of Java, should be listed in Add/Remove Programs.
Or in Programs and Features, on a later OS. That's a control panel
for removing the things you've installed. It is possible for
more than one version of Java to be installed, like Java 7 and
Java 8. So don't panic if you see two of them present.

Paul

 

[Mayayana]

You might check this:

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Dom.max_script_run_time

And possibly this if you have extensions:

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Dom.max_chrome_script_run_time

It might have helped if you had described the whole
message. Likewise with "I think it was a Java update".
Malware and marketers depend on people like you not
paying attention to messages. Tech support people, on
the other hand, can't offer much help if you don't pay
attention to messages.

When you get a message do a Cntrl+C, then copy it
to Notepad so that you'll have a copy of the exact
message.

When adjusting things in FF you can always check in
about:config. There may or may not be an option there.
The above options may or may not work. I don't generally
enable script and I've never seen the message you
describe except in HTAs running in IE, so I'm not sure
about that message.

Have you considered using NoScript? A lot of pages
these days have a grotesque amount of script loading.
Much of it is unnecessary. Much of it is spyware. If you
install NoScript you'll find that on many sites there can
be 4 or 5 scripts that are not even coming from that
website. They're tracking and advertising scripts from
the likes of google/doubleclick, scorecardresearch, etc.
Many sites also load Google's jquery library, which is
gigantic. Not long ago a "big" webpage was 60-80 KB.
With script libraries the script alone can easily be 250 KB!
I find that in most cases, even when I'm at a site where
I need to enable script, I don't need to enable anything
except the local script. The way it works is that NoScript
puts an icon in the lower right. Hovering over that you
see all the script sources on the page and you can enable
any or all of them. If you only enable the local script that's
safer, more private and might help to reduce the apparent
script logjams that you're seeing. (You can always try
enabling more if the page still doesn't work.)

| This is a Firefox question, I guess, but I have to use a separate
| program I don't like to get to the Firefox group, so I hope you don't
| mind.
|
| I get between two and several message boxes a day that ask if I want to
| stop a script, yes or no. There is also a check box there that says
| "Don't ask this question again"
|
| Sometimes there is a third choice, Debug. I guess that's for use by
| whoever wrote the script, right?
|
| Every 2 or 3 days I get a message box asking if I want to stop Shockwave
| Flash (I think it is).
|
| I always say Stop and I always check "Don't ask me this question again",
| which acc. to what I read means the script or Flash will be stopped
| after 45 seconds without asking me if I want to do that.
|
| Why am I getting so many of these? What have I done to deserve it?
| I've tried to be a good boy. I have the latest version of FFox and the
| latest version of Java.
|
| A few months ago, when I updated Java, it asked if I wanted to undo all
| my previious Stops, and I inferred from that that the Java people
| thought they had improved Java so much that scripts would no longer be
| stuck in a loop. So I said Yes. After that, for a week or more, I got
| more endlessly-running-script boxes than ever before. So I'll never say
| Yes again, unlless you or I can solve the underlying problem.
|
| Help?

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

On Mon, 13 Oct 2014 09:45:40 -0400, "Mayayana"

[snip]

Have you considered using NoScript? A lot of pages
these days have a grotesque amount of script loading.
Much of it is unnecessary. Much of it is spyware. If you
install NoScript you'll find that on many sites there can
be 4 or 5 scripts that are not even coming from that
website. They're tracking and advertising scripts from
the likes of google/doubleclick, scorecardresearch, etc.

Four or five? I see over a dozen frequently and even more.

[snip]

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko