Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 November 26

= November 26 =

Internet Explorer 8 Freezes
Internet Explorer 8 freezes when I open it. The tab just says connecting and I can't click on anything. The page doesn't load and it's only a white screen. I have to use ctl-alt-dlt to exit the window. I'm really not sure how to fix this. I tried installing the internet explorer 9 but it just hangs while it says its downloading. I have Windows 7 and any help would be appreciated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.140.166.139 (talk) 00:20, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Go to Start &rarr; Control Panel &rarr; Network and Internet &rarr; Internet Options &rarr; Advanced and click on the button that says Reset. Then, try to start Internet Explorer, again.&mdash;Best Dog Ever (talk) 01:50, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

That didn't work. 173.140.166.139 (talk) 02:07, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Do Firefox, Opera, or other web browsers work OK on your machine? Comet Tuttle (talk) 07:02, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Yes, I'm using Safari to answer this question. 173.141.192.113 (talk) 15:50, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Clear your cache by going to Start &rarr; Control Panel &rarr; Network and Internet &rarr; Internet Options &rarr; Delete. The only thing you need to check in there is Temporary Internet Files.Has Internet Explorer 8 ever worked on your computer? If it has, I would do a system restore: Start &rarr; All Programs &rarr; Accessories &rarr; System Tools &rarr; System Restore and pick a date when the problem was not happening.How long do you wait before using the task manager to kill Internet Explorer? I've seen Internet Explorer 8 take a long time to start up (especially on computers with slower CPUs and hard drives), but I've never seen it freeze indefinitely.&mdash;Best Dog Ever (talk) 23:07, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, once I deleted temporary internet files, it worked. I'm even posting this from Internet Explorer. Any idea why temporary internet files would make Internet Explorer not work? 173.141.192.113 (talk) 03:40, 28 November 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm sure Internet Explorer would have eventually finished loading. It was probably just taking a really long time to sort through those temporary Internet files to perhaps load your home page. It was probably trying to load it from this cache instead of downloading it anew. To the right of that delete button is a button that says Settings. You should make sure the size allocated for these files is under 250 MB in there. Anything over that can slow down the browser. Also, if your drive is fragmented, it can slow down this process further: . Also make sure you're not running out of hard drive space, as that can cause fragmentation.&mdash;Best Dog Ever (talk) 06:33, 28 November 2011 (UTC)

Using the search bar on Firefox
I've got the latest version of Firefox (using GB spelling) on Ubuntu and Windows 7. For both, the search bar gives results for the UK for Google, Bing, Amazon, eBay and Yahoo. I assumed that it was due to the language variation I had downloaded but that isn't the case. My son has the US version on his laptop and it is giving the same results. How do we get the search bar to show us the Canadian site for the above? CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 08:20, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * It may be that geolocation systems are misidentifying your IP as being in the UK. What does http://www.dnsstuff.com/ report as your "located near" (top left of screen)? -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 12:26, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Assuming you have a Google account, click on the options icon (top right of screen) and then complete the location field.--Shantavira|feed me 16:05, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * The dnsstuff page says that I'm near Whitehorse, Yukon, which is where the provider has their mailing address. Strangely enough I can't find the place to enter my location into Google. I know it was (is) in there because Google sends the occasional email to remind me about it. I just noticed that if I click on the magnifying glass to the right of the search bar I get Google Canada. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 17:05, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

How can a dictionary attack work?
Hi, I've often wondered how people can crack into systems by something as simple as a dictionary attack. I get the principle, but when I log into anything, there is a delay while the system does the handshaking etc., possibly on the order of about 3 to 10 seconds. How do people avoid this time wasting when they search by using "bots" and the like to crack a password? One attempt every 3 to 10 seconds looks decidedly slow to me. IBE (talk) 11:31, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Several ways:
 * The bot is a hydra: it has dozens of concurrent heads all trying to log in at once
 * And it has hundreds of heads in dozens of other sites all trying to log in at once (if it's attacking your site, it's just trawling; it's very rarely personal)
 * They have infinite patience, and can try for weeks and months if they like
 * If a site imposes a progressive delay (a failed log-in means the next attempt is delayed by 5 or 10 seconds) the bot just disconnects. Even of that 3-10 second handshake that you as a human being see, it's likely that it's possible to spot the difference between a success and a failure some of the way through (and so again it need not wait a failure out)
 * Successful bots operate from botnets, where the connections come from regular PCs around the world. So blocking a given IP briefly has no effect. Worse, because some countries funnel all their traffic through a handful of IPs, blocking such an IP prevents all your legitimate users on that IP from accessing.  A common strategy is progressively increasing block lengths (just like wikipedia does) but the problem is the same - you quickly deny service to all your legitimate users in that country.
 * They're also relying on non-random passwords; they know a reasonably proportion of most accounts have weak passwords, and they have a huge list of common passwords - so they can charge through that first (rather than the same dictionary you'd use for spell-checking).
 * All of this gets them the low-hanging fruit, which is often all they need. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 12:21, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Now that is really dastardly :) thanks for the reply. IBE (talk) 14:21, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Dictionary attacks are sometimes used against stolen databases and the hashed passwords they contain. Artificial delays don't affect attackers who get to run the hash algorithm and check for validity themselves. Paul (Stansifer) 23:25, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Right, most dictionary attacks are probably offline attacks where the database was compromised and the attackers have access to the database offline. Shadowjams (talk) 02:40, 27 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Currently I'm watching Zoominfo try out loads of different email addresses it has made up to try and reach people where it doesn't have an email address. I hide the addresses behind a check so they don't get spammed It's vaguely amusing them trying different names for a person who refuses to use email and doesn't have an email address but yes a distionary attack is the same sort of persistent attck by a robot but multiplied up quite a bit. Dmcq (talk) 18:22, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

How does jailbreaking work?
How it is work without directly connection, and why Apple doesn't block it? Exx8 (talk) 20:59, 26 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Don't really understand the first part of your statement. As for the second, I'm sure Apple does what they can to block it, but there are a lot more people working for the opposite. ¦ Reisio (talk) 21:51, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

I ment in the first part that the jailbreaker usually does not have a direct connection to the iphone's bios or to the cpu. He needs to find an exploit to the shell isn't he?Exx8 (talk) 22:59, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Apple does not encourage jail breaking, but stamping it out entirely would be extremely difficult, as it is so wide spread and readily available. Jailbreaking also adds additional features to a product that a parent company might not have thought of, making it desirable for most software platforms.--Denting5 (talk) 00:58, 29 November 2011 (UTC)