Browser won't go to Google paid-for ad sights

In both Firefox and IE, all google paid-for ads that come up during a
search, are in a yellowish box, and the links will not work. The
browser come up with a number of explanations why it cannot reach the
site.

I have renamed the HOST file to no avail. I have double-triple
checked all add-ons to see if they are blocking these sites. They
aren't. I've went through all the security settings in both browsers
with no luck. What in the heck is coloring these Google paid-for ads
and keeping the links from working? But - if I enter the URL in the
path box, then it will go there.

???

 

On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:29:23 -0500, in message <>

Google puts ads in a yellowish box, so you can see which are
real search results and which are paid-for ads.

This is a completely separate thing to the yellowish box.

Could you tell us what explanations were displayed?

Google do this to distinguish paid-for "adwords" from real search results.

The link you click on uses a redirect. This is so Google can count
click-throughs.

Perhaps you are blocking redirects? If not, it could be one of
several other things.

You wrote, "The browser come up with a number of explanations why it
cannot reach the site". It would be helpful if you told us what those
explanations were. That could give a clue.

For example, the paid-for ad might show the link as "google.com/places"
but the link you click on is
"http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=...&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=list%20google&cad=rja"

Which URL are you entering in the path box?

 

Network is too busy. Proxy connection problem. Site might be
temporarily unavailable.

Standard stuff. No error message of any real relevance.

That probably is the matter, but I'll be danged if I can find that
setting.

One directly to the site itself without the google stuff. So,
evidently, your explanation is correct. Again, where in the H#$$ is
this setting? I and my wife have the same comps, both with Firefox
and IE on them, but mine does not do this quirky thing. I just cannot
find the setting(s) causing it on her machine.

Thanks for clearing up the Google pastel setting for me. )

 

I might add the reason I never noticed the yellow on those Google
links before is because on my comp I have the page color settings set
to a pale beige, instead of letting the browser show the usual bright
white background. That glare is too much for these old eyes. Also,
since I don't have the redirect problem she does, I never noticed that
the actual URL in the path box. I only looked at the one showing in
the search link, which does not contain the Google redirect path.

So, I hope someone can tell me where this problem originates.

 

On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:50:19 -0500, in message <>

This sounds like a problem with your Internet connection.
It is not what would show if your browser was blocking redirects.

From the second message, it appears that your proxy settings
are something other than "No proxy". Unless you are using Firefox
behind a corporate firewall, I would suggest trying "No proxy" to
see if this works better.

Tools >> Options >> Advanced >> Network >> Connection >> Settings

See [in Firefox 4]
Tools >> Options >> Advanced >> General >> Accessibility
[ ] Warn me when web sites try to redirect or reload the page

The other way this may be done is with an add-on like NoRedirect
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/noredirect/

 

snipped

No. We have two different computers on Comcast 10mb cable with a
wireless modem/router feeding my wife's comp. My comp is hooked up to
the cable directly with the modem/router.

I just don't see how the connection could influence this.

No, no - I guess I mislead you with the way I expressed the error
message. The possible errors, standard fare, were stock answers
meaning:

Maybe the Network is busy.
Maybe it's your Internet connection.
Maybe it's your proxy.

Why it brought up the latter, I don't know. The browser is not set
for proxy operation. I am not using a proxy. I also am not behind
any corporate firewall. The only firewall I'm using is Win XP's,
which only protects against incoming junk.

Every other function of FF or IE is working normally on her machine.
I just don't get it.

snipped

I checked that earlier. It was not checked, and that would have only
warned of a redirect and not put up the error page, I think.

Don't have that.

It is a puzzlement. One that's driving me buggy.

 

On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:06:45 -0500, in message <>

I will sometimes see the following error message when trying to
load a website. This only happens to me at some times of the day.
It happens when my ISP's local network here is congested by lots
of other Internet customers. Re-loading often brings up the page,
depending on how congested the network is.

| Server not found
|
| Firefox can't find the server at www.foonly.example
|
| * Check the address for typing errors such as ww.example.com instead of
| www.example.com
|
| * If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection.
|
| * If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that
| Firefox is permitted to access the Web.


Last year, on those evenings when the FIFA world cup was on and
all my neighbours were glued to the TV, I did not see this
problem at all. The following evening, with no FIFA match,
they were on the net and problem was back again.

Are you and your wife both trying this at the same time, on the same day?

Even though your browser is not set for proxy operation, your connection
might still go through an "intercepting" proxy. For example, many ISPs
run an "intercepting" proxy cache to help reduce the backbone traffic
which they have to pay for. And badly-configured proxies (ISP or yours)
can cause problems.

 

You should be thankful about this. Those sites are mostly just spam
anyhow.