Facebook locks up computer after navigating to it - In IE9 and Google Chrome!

Getting tired of Facebook actually.


Cannot click on anything during this "seizure" of my machine, which may last anywhere from 30sec up to 1minute!


It used to happen only in Internet Explorer, now it also happens in Chrome. Only when going to FB.

 

_________________

Paul: This is not a joke.

 

You would start by reviewing plugins and add-ons.

And recognize how Evercookies work. Many sites require Javascript
to be enabled to run, then the Javascript puts cookies in all
sorts of places (such as web history). While this is not supposed
to have a noticable computing load, it's a possibility for a few
seconds worth of activity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evercookie

Your computer could have more than one network connection. Like
a LAN cable and Wifi. And it's related to networking and selecting
a path.

There are all sorts of complicating factors, and I can't see your
machine from here.

Your post also assumes that no other activity is compromised,
there are no signs of instability when working in other,
non-web applications.

It could be some form of malware, in which cases scans may
help point to a cause. Or alternately, it could be your
AV which has noticed something the browser is doing,
and is messing with it.

You can do control-alt-delete (for Task Manager) and
keep Task Manager open while invoking Facebook. And see if
there are any other things besides the browsers, which are
sucking up all the cycles.

You can also look in there, to see if memory usage is in
a runaway state (usage climbing quickly).

*******

It seems this is a common problem. One interesting aspect,
is this thread has posts over almost a two year period.
It's not a new problem.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...e/4a7c3085-c378-e011-9b4b-68b599b31bf5?page=2

One suggestion was to enter Facebook via the mobile portal.
This is just a regular URL.

https://m.facebook.com/

When I read the threads, most of the users commenting
aren't technical, and they aren't presenting any new
information. Yes, it could be a script (Javascript)
on the page. One individual started to suggest
installing Java, which somehow I doubt is needed
on Facebook. Javascript is a much more common extension
scheme for content presentation, and that's probably
what is locking up the computer. If you disable that
in the browser preferences, you won't be able to
log into Facebook.

As for why I'm not analyzing it myself, I have Facebook
blocked in my hosts files. That's how much I want to
go to the site... So you're going to have to do the
"observing" for me.

In Firefox, you can go to File and do a Save As, and
Save as "Webpage, complete". That gives you a folder
and a file, named after the page you're on. You can then
examine the contents of the folder, and see if things
like jquery and friends are in there. That's a popular
Javascript library of some sort. And that would likely
be just about impossible to debug.

You can do the "Webpage, complete" save thing, for the
mobile URL (m.facebook.com) as well, and compare
how much different files coming from each source are.

So it's probably a Javascript file, but since I don't
have a Facebook account, I can't really help you much.

Paul

 

Paul:


Interesting you mentioned Java and Javascript. I literally have to use a sledgehammer to get Java updates into this machine!


All kinds of errors. "check Internet connection", missing DLLs, the works. Updating Java from its control panel icon does not work unless I have a browser(preferably Chrome) open. I was most recently able to update Java from Chrome.


Same with Flash Player - must have a browser open because it too "cannot find the internet"!! This happens on the laptop as well as on the Pavilion. And this is AFTER my isp replaced the cable drop from the pole to my house.


Running Pingtest(sub. of Speedtest) from Chrome now gives me full results, including Packet Loss which Internet Explorer cannot because it and Java remain bitter enemies. LOL


And the Facebook issue persists. I cannot bring up Task Manager(Ctrl-Alt + Del) during the Facebook freezeup - it literally hangs up the entire machine! If a song file is playing, it stops for the minute or so it takes FB to load.


This does not happen when accessing Facebook via Mobile Safari or the IPhone app.

 

You should not be using Java on a whim. If you have purchased software
that requires Java to run, then yes, you use it and maintain it
with updates when needed.

It should not be installed for nothing, because it's just something
to be exploited by malware. The majority of web pages use JavaScript,
and the interpreter for that is part of the browser.

Java (JRE or Java Runtime Environment), has an offline installer. This
means there is less dependence on the Internet, during the file copying
phase.

http://www.java.com/en/download/windows_offline.jsp

The installation instructions say the download contains toolbars
or other undesirable software (chrome installer). Untick those
before using the final install button.

http://www.java.com/en/download/help/windows_offline_download.xml

Use Wireshark, to watch the incoming packets. Wireshark can be a nuisance
sometimes, at least on an OS like Windows 8, because you have to "Run as Administrator"
to get it to work. Older OS didn't need that (if you were already the
administrator or a member of administrator group etc).

In this example, I've snipped a bit of Wireshark screen display. It shows
a wide strip, with two green lines on top, and two black lines on bottom.
The black lines show "TCP retransmission". These are "normal" networking
errors. However, if virtually every site you go to, is filling the
Wireshark display with more black lines, than other colors, that could be
a problem with either your broadband connection, or with the networking
equipment at the ISP.

http://i61.tinypic.com/2wd14av.gif

You can get offline Flash updates here. I always do my Flash updating
this way. And turn off any other preferences involving automatic updates.

http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

Once installed, there is a test page here. You can compare the
upper right "Version Information" dialog, to the listing at the
bottom of the page, as to what versions are current.

http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

Both the browser and Flash, have hardware accelerator settings. If
you thought your video card was unstable, turning off hardware
acceleration in each, may help.

You would start Task Manager, before hitting return in the browser
to start the Facebook session.

If Task Manager is frozen, then that could mean the kernel of the OS
is involved. Device drivers run in Ring 0 with the kernel, whereas
applications run in Ring 3. A Device Driver could be involved.
It could even be a rootkit, which also works at a low level.
The modern kernels are mostly non-blocking. Only on older OSes, like Win98,
did portions of the networking stack block, causing a lot more
freezes than on modern OSes.

(Example of a rootkit killer...)

http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/disinfection/5350?qid=208280684
http://media.kaspersky.com/utilities/VirusUtilities/EN/tdsskiller.exe

There are still many possibilities, and it's something
I can't analyse at a distance for you from here.

The quickest fix is to reinstall everything. But I think
you've heard of that one before

I am a great believer in hardware testing, to prove a computer
doesn't have hardware problems before using it. To eliminate the
current OS from the picture, I boot from a Linux LiveCD and
run the Prime95 torture test from here. Versions are available
for Windows and Linux. When the software says "Join GIMPs",
you don't have to do that and can use the "Just Testing" option.
Then run the Stress Test, which checks that the processor
does math properly (and as a side effect, also proves the memory
on the computer is robust). Running Prime95 for hours on end,
without errors, is part of my acceptance testing for new computers.

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft

Paul

 

Still, would a rootkit or a hardware issue affect connection only to Facebook? On two different computers at that?

 

I can't find any information on this problem,
to narrow it down at all.

Would a rootkit be used to steal a Facebook username and password ?
I don't know what they do with botnets these days.

All I know is, a rootkit operates at a low level (ring 0), by
infecting atapi.sys and that's a driver used for storage. Things
at that low a level, can freeze a machine.

*******

Someone here, removed Unity Web Player plugin.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130423164403AAZ4qpt

The other answer there, has to do with Chrome having a built-in
copy of Flash, as well as the user being able to install Flash
separately. Looking at the Plugins list, would show two of them.
I think in Windows 8, Internet Explorer has its own private
copy of Flash as well. I don't think that aligns too well with
your symptoms (accounts for all of it).

The answer here was "try opening chrome:flags and disabling
GPU-compositing and Threaded compositing". That is related
to graphics.

http://community.spiceworks.com/topic/317703-google-chrome-locks-up-and-freezes

Hardware assist is used in Internet Explorer as well. Apparently,
starting in IE9. That uses the GPU on your video card as well.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2010/04/09/benefits-of-gpu-powered-html5.aspx

And I think those explanations line up nicely with your Task Manager
symptoms. The Task Manager won't pop up, if the graphics are
completely frozen. Especially if either of the browsers have
managed to do something to the GPU. So ordinary graphics can't
be updated.

Here's a bit more information on GPU recovery procedures, in Windows.
The theory being, that the browser screwed things up bad enough,
that the timer tripped. What I'm looking for here, is a time
constant, consistent with the time your computer stays
frozen.

"Timeout Detection and Recovery of GPUs (TDR)"

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/ff570088(v=vs.85).aspx

OK, so the time constant in that one is too short. But I have
seen a problem in Windows 8, where the screen froze on me, and it
took around two minutes before it became responsive again. And that
was after a swipe gesture up the left side of the screen.

Paul

 

It happens also when my wife logs into FB via IE9 on the laptop.