Unwelcomed MS Live Toolbar and problems with Groupwise Webaccess

[Daledoc1]

Hello:

I posted early in this thread, but never received a reply.
I sure hope someone can provide some guidance.
I thought that simply disabling the add-on from within FF would be sufficient, but I had asked if there was a better, safer, more thorough way to be rid of it WITHOUT corrupting my FF profile, OS, registry or other features. Now, it appears it may be too late.

Problem: I was one of the victims of this stealth add-on installation on June 8 b/c I apparently had MS Live Toolbar installed (but disabled) on both my Win 7 systems. I was unaware that either system had these toolbars, since they must have come bundled on both computers, which are both fairly new. I never use any toolbars, and certainly not Bing or MSN or even Google.
I rarely use IE for a browser, but keep it up to date for all the usual reasons. And, sadly, I never thought to uninstall any of the IE toolbar add-ons, since I didn't know they were installed in the first place (as I had not installed them).
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2 ... update.ars
I noticed no apparent change in FF (or IE) behavior when I disabled search extension add-on, but disabling it (and several of the other MS add-ons to IE) seems to have screwed up a few things in FF on BOTH computers.

Most notably, when I disabled these add-ons in *IE*, when using FF I started to get a blank white page when trying to open the login page for my employer's Groupwise Webaccess login page. This is the only thing I have noticed, but there might be other problems.

What I have tried: only by enabling some of the add-ons in IE can I get FF to properly display the login page.

What I don't understand: Everything was working just fine with FF (including logging in to my work webaccess account) BEFORE Tuesday and the FF add-on installation. So, this must be somehow be related to the add-on or, more likely, the fact that disabling either it or the IE add-ons somehow has changed the behavior of FF. I am just barely computer literate, so I cannot follow all the geek-speak discussion on this thread.

What I really need: is someone to explain in plain English A) what might be happening and B) how I might remedy the problem (since I need to be able to access my work email when away from the office!).

Would sure appreciate your assistance, please.

Thanks

daledoc1

[LoudNoise]

Daledoc1-
Since you have an actual support question I split your post off the other thread

[Daledoc1]

Thanks, Loudnoise.

This must somehow relate to the recent update (as all was totally fine on both systems prior). Moreover, AFAICT, it is only this one *secure* website with which I am having the problem.
The problem is inconsistently reproducible in both IE and FF. In FF I get a blank white page. In IE I get a trouble connecting error. If I selectively re-enable most of the MS add-ons, I *can* get to the website in question.
so, 1) it seems it's not specific to FF and 2) there is some relationship between the other MS IE add-ons.
Please help,

daledoc1

[GTryder]

I noticed no apparent change in FF (or IE) behavior when I disabled search extension add-on, but disabling it (and several of the other MS add-ons to IE) seems to have screwed up a few things in FF on BOTH computers.

Okay.
First. Are you able to recall 'exactly' what you disabled?
If so, you may wish to re-enable them 'all'* for the time being.
*With the exception of "Search Helper Extension"** of course.
**Although, apart from the 'bold initiative' of invasiveness apparently taken by M/S, there certainly doesn't appear to be malicious intent, past that. Though, I am not implying that there aren't issues, otherwise, experienced.
1b. Were they: add-ons, plug-ins or both?
1c. Restart, if prompted, then browse to the sites in question.

If still difficulty:
2. Start Firefox in "Safe Mode". Safe Mode is a debugging startup mode where all added extensions are disabled, the default theme is used. This will aid in diagnostics.
2a. Close any open Firefox applications running.
2b. Click: Start > In All Programs > Find Mozilla Firefox > Click Mozilla Firefox Safe Mode.
2c. Browse "Safe Mode" to the sites that have been giving difficulty and then report your findings.
**If unsure of anything, don't be hasty, and ask for assistance.**

[Edit]: Clarity.

[GTryder]

1) it seems it's not specific to FF and 2) there is some relationship between the other MS IE add-ons.

I cannot say with certainty if there are any "extensions" (which are often called add-ons") which are designed for both IE and Firefox. I would actually rather highly doubt it, because of extreme differences in design elements.
That being said, there are many "plug-ins" designed for cross-platform application.
Disabling any of them could/would result in possible difficulties.

I notice in your last posting you were already experiencing some success. Good.

[Daledoc1]

Hello, GTryder:

Thanks for the input.

Updates: After 3+ hr with MS TS, including 3 screen-share sessions and escalation to Tier 2, we were able to reproduce the problem, but they have no idea of cause or fix. They (of course) said they are not being swamped with calls about this (yet).

Further details: There seems to be ONLY 1 https webpage that is having a problem, the secure login page for my GW Webaccess (I tried logging in to my bank website, for example, & it was fine). Second, it does affect both browsers on both platforms, so it is unique to neither computer, nor to FF. The first time I open a tab for the main portal, then click the links to access email, I tend to get a "cannot connect" error in IE and a blank white page in FF. However, if I open a new tab, or close the browser & try again, it works fine most/all of the time. There is no other apparent "symptom" on either computer, in either browser, or on any other webpage (I think). Moreover, disabling all the MSIE add-ons (Windows Live/Windows Live Toolbar/Search Extension were the only ones I had installed and I confess I did not know they were there, as they must have been bundled; there is NO Bing toolbar) did not, in fact, change the problem (so it was likely a coincidence). Needless to say, there is no problem with my connectivity or my router. I have ruled out a FW/AV issue, since the 2 computers use entirely different security suites for FW/AV. Oh, and b/c this affects both browsers, FF Safe Mode had no effect, either.

What MS proposed: They suggested uninstalling the "search extension" patch (KB 982217), even though they were not certain it was the cause; after all, it could have been another of last Tuesday's updates. Rather than deleting the folder from the C:\Program Files...., he proposed a formal uninstall of that update, so that it would reset the registry accordingly (without having to manually regedit). While I agree that it seems a reasonable idea, I didn't want to be the guinea pig and possibly create another problem in trying to fix the first one.
We both agreed that it was OK to wait a few days, research it further at both ends, and proceed with the patch uninstall then, if the problem persists or worsens.
In the interim, I do have Windows Live toolbar & search extension disabled in MSIE on both systems, and I continue to have the search extension disabled in FF, and my workaround still works (for now).

The ONE big QUIRK about all of this: My employer (a university) is in the midst of a HUGE, system-wide migration from Groupwise to MS Outlook (BOO!!!). They are even talking about migration from the Novell environment altogether. SOOOOOOOOOOOO, I wonder if this might be a problem with the university's webaccess servers, rather than with my computers???? I have submitted a ticket to them, and will ask around among my colleagues about similar issues with their computers (though most use Macs). The IT guys on campus know less about computers than I do (that ain't saying much). But I have a feeling that the MS Search Extension issue add-on ****might**** have been a coincidence and a red-herring, though I cannot be sure.

ANYWAY, thanks for your help!!!
I'll report back when I have more info....

Best regards,

daledoc1

[GTryder]

You're welcome.

Until you receive an answer back from the folks working on your university's servers, you could possibly gain some further insight, on this topic, by reading through the Knowledge Base:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Error_loading_secure_sites
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Websites_look_wrong
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Error_loading_any_website

It does seem likely, though, that the issue would be cleared up when they do get your EDU servers debugged.