Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2014 December 30

= December 30 =

Only one browser will connect to the Internet
For some reason, I can go anywhere I want on the Internet with Google Chrome but not Firefox or Safari. I'm using a MacBook with the latest version of Yosemite. I just downloaded the newest version of Firefox and Safari should be up to date as well. Both FF and Safari just eventually time out. These were both working fine a couple days ago when I last used them. I haven't changed anything about my system since then. Any ideas what could be causing this? Thanks, Dismas |(talk) 17:05, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Update: I'm unable to connect to the Apple App Store as well. Dismas |(talk) 17:07, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * You have probably done all these things already but just in case here is my list of steps that will fix a surprising number of browser based problems: Clear the cache in the browser, restart the browser, restart the router, and if none of that works restart the computer. Also, I get excellent answers from the free Apple online support community: https://discussions.apple.com/welcome You might try posting the problem there.  --MadScientistX11 (talk) 17:57, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Well, now I feel stupid. I'd done everything you suggested except restart the computer.  I don't normally do that at all but I guess it finally needed it.  Thanks, Dismas |(talk) 19:45, 30 December 2014 (UTC)

Facebook Question
How do I stop my Facebook from being accessible to people I have unfriended, or am not friends with? There's an ex-girlfriend who keeps accessing my page, and thinking some of my posts are about her, then keeps sending me ridiculous messages. KägeTorä - ( 影 虎 ) ( Chin Wag )  18:54, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * At the top right of the newsfeed, there is a lock symbol with three lines coming out of it. Click that.  It will provide a menu with the various privacy settings.  The first one is "Who can see my stuff?".  You might want to change this to just your friends.  If it's already chosen that way, you might want to ask yourself if maybe one of your friends is letting this ex see what you're posting.  Dismas |(talk) 19:49, 30 December 2014 (UTC)


 * Change your password on Facebook as well, in case she has it.- gadfium 20:53, 30 December 2014 (UTC)

Suggestion to install Chrome
Prior to installing Chrome, when I went to google.co.uk in IE, I would get a notice encouraging me to install Chrome. When I dismissed this notice, it went away, until such time as I deleted IE cookies, at which point it would return. So far so good, but now that I have installed Chrome, I no longer get this notice when visiting google.co.uk in IE, even after deleting all cookies. (I know that the Google cookie(s) have been successfully deleted because various other notices reappear when I open google.co.uk, as expected). This puzzles me. How can the Google website, when opened from IE, detect that I have Chrome installed? 109.157.10.129 (talk) 20:31, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Browsers transmit depressing amounts of information. Go to EFF's Panopticlick website to get an idea. The browser does, e.g., advertise all the fonts installed on your system. Maybe Chrome installs a special font for some UI elements? Or it installs an IE plugin? Or maybe Google caches your IE fingerprint or IP address? --Stephan Schulz (talk) 23:34, 30 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I think it cannot rely on IP addresses because for many users these are non-permanent and/or shared amongst devices. Personally, I doubt it is based on font detection because fonts can be installed and uninstalled independently. I have no Google add-ons or toolbars in IE. May I ask what you mean by "IE fingerprint"? 109.157.10.129 (talk) 00:46, 31 December 2014 (UTC)
 * By IE fingerprint, I mean the collection of information shown e.g. by Panopticlick. Google could cache this fingerprint (which identifies you) and remember that that user has already downloaded Chrome. But I suspect there is something simpler behind your experience. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 11:35, 31 December 2014 (UTC)
 * The "IE fingerprint" method seems quite error prone: the fingerprint may not be unique, or I may not have downloaded Chrome via IE, or I may have downloaded it but not installed it, or I may have subsequently uninstalled it. Perhaps I should try uninstalling Chrome, seeing if the prompt reappears, and then reinstalling. That might tell us something. 109.157.10.129 (talk) 12:13, 31 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Chrome comes with a bunch of "spyware" called google "update" that runs in the background and keeps phoning home frequently. I would expect that at least once per day google is informed that your current IP-address has chrome already installed. --92.202.15.18 (talk) 21:54, 2 January 2015 (UTC)
 * In my opinion, IP address-based checking just wouldn't work. Multiple computers often use the same IP address, e.g. within a household. Even during the course of a day, my Internet connection not infrequently drops, and the router restarts and gains a new IP address. Nevertheless, www.google.co.uk never shows the "install Chrome" prompt. However, I discovered something interesting, which is that the Google "image search" page, despite still being under www.google.co.uk, does continue to show the "install Chrome" prompt, despite Chrome being installed. It seems as if whatever checking is being done by plain www.google.co.uk is somehow omitted on the image search page. Weird. 109.152.146.134 (talk) 14:24, 3 January 2015 (UTC)