Am I a Bigger Idiot Than Chuck?

p8cleared2land

p8cleared2land

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Jul 30, 2005
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p8cleared2land
I can't get into the chat. My life is over. :D

Can I have the secret password? I promise to behave.
 
What happens when you click on "Live Chat"?
 
I get a blank page that says "Done" in the bottom left corner.
 
Apparently it's my computer. I logged in with IE and it does the same thing. It used to work.
 
p8cleared2land said:
Apparently it's my computer. I logged in with IE and it does the same thing. It used to work.
Click to expand...
We replaced the chat with a different one. Check your browser version. I don't use Windows anymore..but it should be something like "Help -> About Firefox"...Could someone with Windows and Firefox tell her the exact way to see the version?

Do you have flash installed? Also--do you have any sort of fancy antivirus solution, if so, what is it called exactly.
 
I have Norton 360 which I hate. I should delete it, but am not sure what to do after that. Assuming I CAN remove it, then I try to download something else...I'd end up with a computer full of viruses. Which might not be much worse than what I've got now.

I have Adobe Flash, not the very latest version.
 
Do you have a popup blocker? That might have something to do with it...

Long shot here.
 
Please post the versions for your browsers. Chip and Grant wrote how. Also try disabling Norton 360--there should be an option to temporarily disable all of it for a few minutes.
 
AuntPeggy said:
Welcome to the club.
http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21984
Click to expand...

The chat requires flash for a few specific functions--its not entirely a flash application (AJAX), so it is very stable. The flash is used mostly for a few GUI animiations I think.

Like I said--this isn't a bug, nor a problem with the software. Flash is a requirement and if you don't wish to install it then you are deciding not to use the chat. Flash is pretty common, and becoming even more common with all the flash video players now.

---------

Back to this actual topic--do the above--if you don't understand no problem, I can call you and we can do a remote session (where I can see your screen).
 
I hesitate to load stuff onto my computer for fear of virus and other nasty stuff. I do run good security and use a firewall. Why should I be wary of flash?

Aunt Peggy has stated that she does not want to load it but I really would like to understand what the risks of using flash are? I have certainly never had any security related problem with it.
 
smigaldi said:
I hesitate to load stuff onto my computer for fear of virus and other nasty stuff. I do run good security and use a firewall. Why should I be wary of flash?

Aunt Peggy has stated that she does not want to load it but I really would like to understand what the risks of using flash are? I have certainly never had any security related problem with it.
Click to expand...

There really aren't any. At least none that aren't patched.

Peggy,

Perhaps you could install flash and then install the firefox plugin flashblock. Then you could create an exception for the chat site. That way you wouldn't run any flash except for the chat.

I understand if you don't want to install flash, but when you make that decision you're cutting off your ability to do certain things on the interweb. You certainly couldn't have used the last chat application either, so I'm not sure why you keep pointing it out as a problem with the new version. Your choices are limited when searching out these types of solutions, and I think they've found a nice fit. It's very hard to have a very nice interactive chat application that doesn't use flash. You could do it all in AJAX, but you might give up some functionality...and when you're a developer trying to sell your product, functionality is what sells. Plus, when they consider the fact that flash is installed on over 98% of the computers on the internet, why would they avoid using it?

I sorry. I don't mean to overreact, but it seems that you keep pointing to your inability to use it as a problem with the system...when it's really just a choice that you've made. I understand the choice, I just notice that you keep raising the issue.
 
In another thread, Jesse described a problem that would occur if you were behind a firewall. When I tried LIVE CHAT from work, all I got was a blank screen (firefox v3. Yes, version 3). He went on to say that maybe the port that chat was using was blocked. Did he say it was 8080?
So if you have a firewall working (and sometimes NORTON does this for YOUR benefit), allow port 8080. You should do fine.
As far as software from a vendor, I wouldn't worry about it too much. The real problem downloading programs is grabbing something from a questionable site or user. And yes, sometimes browsing sites will cause you issues too. If you have a good virus package, and keep it current, you should be okay.
Safe computing is like safe sex. Take adequate protection and hope for the best. Or abstain completely.
 
jesse said:
Like I said--this isn't a bug, nor a problem with the software. Flash is a requirement and if you don't wish to install it then you are deciding not to use the chat. Flash is pretty common, and becoming even more common with all the flash video players now.
Click to expand...
The problem is that the notification that Flash is required takes so long to appear that users will typically conclude that nothing has or will load.

smigaldi said:
Aunt Peggy has stated that she does not want to load it but I really would like to understand what the risks of using flash are? I have certainly never had any security related problem with it.

Flash loads executable binaries onto your system that can execute without your knowledge. Once loaded, it is necessary to be constantly vigilant to upgrade Flash to plug holes being exploited by malware. And, of course as mentioned, keep your version of virus protection up to date.

Flash is annoying on those websites where it is over-used or aggressively used. Although it is expected to speed things up, on older systems, processing sometimes seems to grind to a halt. And, oh, thank you so much for all the very, very cute ads.
Click to expand...
Flash Player does not ask the user's permission to store data permanently in a collection of cookie-like data that may include not only user-tracking information but any personal data that the user has entered in any Flash-enabled application, whether it be stand-alone or Web-based.

This is an invasion of privacy. While we have learned to delete traditional cookies, most don't know how to disable Flash cookies (LSOs). If you delete traditional cookies those cookies may be resurrected by Flash's LSOs. Since LSOs, unlike traditional cookies, have no expiration dates, the information resurrected in those cookies may persist indefinitely.

FlyNE said:
There really aren't any. At least none that aren't patched.

Peggy,

Perhaps you could install flash and then install the firefox plugin flashblock. Then you could create an exception for the chat site. That way you wouldn't run any flash except for the chat.

I understand if you don't want to install flash, but when you make that decision you're cutting off your ability to do certain things on the interweb. You certainly couldn't have used the last chat application either, so I'm not sure why you keep pointing it out as a problem with the new version. Your choices are limited when searching out these types of solutions, and I think they've found a nice fit. It's very hard to have a very nice interactive chat application that doesn't use flash. You could do it all in AJAX, but you might give up some functionality...and when you're a developer trying to sell your product, functionality is what sells. Plus, when they consider the fact that flash is installed on over 98% of the computers on the internet, why would they avoid using it?

I sorry. I don't mean to overreact, but it seems that you keep pointing to your inability to use it as a problem with the system...when it's really just a choice that you've made. I understand the choice, I just notice that you keep raising the issue.
Click to expand...
One problem as noted above is that notification of the Flash requirement is delayed by about 25 to 30 seconds, which on a high-speed system is long enough to give up on the page loading. Even when loading large images on a high-speed connection, I expect the delay to be less than 5 seconds.

Nevertheless, I did download Flash for Flash chat, despite the problems with Flash.

I normally use IE. Firefox is reserved for compatibility testing.

The issue this time was raised by p8cleared2land, not me.
 
I saw the title of this thread and for some reason immediately thought of Chicken Wings. Oh well... :D

Oh, and live chat is working fine for me. IE 7.0
 
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