Self-Destructing Websites



  • I've seen this mysterious behavior occur on few websites, recently...

    First off, this first example is a painfully over-loaded website that takes up to five seconds to load even on a cable connection.  More surprising, though, is that loading this school's site in Firefox causes Firefox--on some, not all, computers--to simply close all open browser windows.  I've got up-to-date Shockwave and Flash plugins installed on every computer, and Firefox doesn't report any errors... it just peacefully closes everything that it has open. 

    Can anyone find the WTF in the page's code that causes this?  Any idea how I can fix it on my end?

    Here's another site with similar self-destructing problems:  Soccer Center Ohio



  • I can't see any flash. The only embedded anything are a couple of applets:

     


    <applet code="fphover.class" width="120" height="24">
      <param name="hovercolor" value="#0000FF">
      <param name="textcolor" value="#FFFFFF">
      <param name="text" value="Home">
      <param name="color" value="#558CFF">
      <param name="effect" value="glow">
      <param name="url" valuetype="ref" value="Index.htm">
    </applet>

    and some page transitions written in Javascript. 

     I doubt it's a problem with Firefox (i am running 2.0.0.7) probably your Java VM. Maybe try it again after disabling Java and/or JavaScript.

     



  • I blame Java.  Opera managed to survive those, but I've crashed it with the Flash and Quicktime plugins before.



  • I've noticed this as well, not quite sure what it is, i find it usually seems to happen when you're surfing the seedier side of the internet, torrent sites, serial sites, porn etc.  I just assumed it was something attempting some sort of exploit, not quite sure what though, hasn't happened to me since the latest firefox update though



  • No crash with firefox 3.0 alpha9 prerelease , including java 6 plugin.

     

    However, for first page, it's carzy they use such an mermory consuming thing that java applets are just to.... :hover a button :s



  • @tchize said:

    However, for first page, it's carzy they use such an mermory consuming thing that java applets are just to.... :hover a button :s


    Blame Microsoft FrontPage for that. fphover.class is a FrontPage thing that was used for hover buttons in older FrontPage versions.



  • No crash with Firefox 1.0.0.7 and Sun JVM 1.60. I still blame Java. A navigation bar where each button is an applet of its own simply can't be good.



  • i didnt know 'bout willoughby-eastlake.

    but secretary <font color="#558cff" face="Cooper Black">Jennifer McCrone</font> sure is cute.

     



  • @Daniel15 said:

    @tchize said:

    However, for first page, it's carzy they use such an mermory consuming thing that java applets are just to.... :hover a button :s


    Blame Microsoft FrontPage for that. fphover.class is a FrontPage thing that was used for hover buttons in older FrontPage versions.

    Even worse, the only reason they included fphover in FrontPage (and made it the default way of implementing rollovers) was that Internet Explorer 3 couldn't do image rollovers with JavaScript the way Netscape Navigator 3 could. Ten years down the line, we're still suffering from the effects of Microsoft's clueless solution to something that, frankly, wasn't much of a problem in the first place :-(



  • @spxza said:

    I can't see any flash. The only embedded anything are a couple of applets:

    That's what I thought, but the school's website states, at the bottom, "Note:  You need updated versions of Flash and Shockwave in order to view our site", so I figured I must have missed something.

    In other news, here is some code that screams "Frontpage":

    <font face="Cooper Black"> <b> <font size="7" color="#6699FF">Home of the </font>
    </b></font> <font size="7" color="#6699FF" face="Cooper Black"><b>Rebels!</b> </font>



  • Almost certainly Java-related.  The only weirdness on the second site (aside from misaligned text and frames... ick.) is a single line of Java-based scrolling text.  What's weird is that the sites work on two of the computers I've tested--one with fully updated Java and one without--and do not work on other computers with fully updated Java platforms.

    In other news, did anyone notice that the school's name flies in differently in Firefox versus IE? 

    Ew... it triggers bad memories of poorly done high school PowerPoint presentations.


  • Considered Harmful

    The real WTF is that element[0] has stolen my profile image concept.

    joe.edwards@imaginuity.com element[0]


  • @joe.edwards@imaginuity.com said:

    The real WTF is that element[0] has stolen my profile image concept.

    joe.edwards@imaginuity.com element[0]

     

    His is better.



  • @Morbii said:

    @joe.edwards@imaginuity.com said:

    The real WTF is that element[0] has stolen my profile image concept.

    joe.edwards@imaginuity.com element[0]

    His is better.

    Oooh!  Avatar fight! 



  • @bstorer said:

    @Morbii said:
    @joe.edwards@imaginuity.com said:

    The real WTF is that element[0] has stolen my profile image concept.

    joe.edwards@imaginuity.com element[0]

    His is better.

    Oooh!  Avatar fight! 

    Disagree!

    Edwards' is more pointy and more deftly executed. 



  • no, dhromed's is the pointiest!



  • I cant say for sure, but i suspect it may be fpcount.exe

    It is a visit counter present in both of the sites you mention. I dont really see anything else in common. To make firefox not crash, try turning off all your addons and restart ff. then turn addons back on one at a time till it dies again.
     



  • I remember an issue with gif-s of certain size that used to do that for firefox some time ago...


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