Ask DACS
August 2012

Moderated and reported by Jim Scheef.

AskDACS is a Question and Answer session before the main presentation at the monthly General Meeting. We solicit questions from the floor and then answers from other audience members. My role as moderator is to try to guide the discussion to a likely solution to the problem.

Q – Using Firefox on XP, the links in some websites and particularly in Google search results, I find that my computer is being redirected to unwanted and potentially dangerous websites.

A - There is known malware that creates this condition. Other possibilities include a conflict between Firefox Add-ons (Extensions and/or Plugins) and even malicious Firefox extensions which are installed without your knowledge. An easy way to test for this more benign condition is to start Firefox in "Safe Mode" which disables all add-ons. At the meeting I suggested disabling all Extensions and Add-ons in Firefox, but the safe-mode switch is easier for an initial test. Look for a Safe Mode shortcut in the Mozilla Firefox folder in your Start Menu, or if there is none, open a command window in the Firefox program folder (usually "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox" and type "firefox.exe -safe-mode" to start in safe mode. If the problem disappears, then one or more add-ons is to blame. In that case you must manually disable all extensions and plugins, retest and then re-enable the plugins and extensions one or two at the time until you find the culprit. If this seems like too much work, then uninstall Firefox and then reinstall the latest version. Of course you then must reinstall your add-ons to return to your previous configuration.

If the Safe Mode test did not cure the redirect problem, then you have malware. My post-meeting research found references to several items including a root-kit. The MyWebSearch toolbar is known to be a browser hijack that parades in plain view. Although a few years old, the page the Software Testing Zone has removal instructions that involve editing the registry. eHow.com has instructions on removing the TDSS rootkit using the TDSSKiller tool from Kaspersky.

A word to the wise: If you must install any browser toolbar, limit it to one single toolbar from a "reputable source" like Yahoo, Google or Bing. Adobe downloads always include "a little something extra" if you  do not uncheck an option box on the Adobe website; you must be vigilant.

Q - I would like to move the contacts in my Android cell phone from Verizon Backup Assistant to Google. Does anyone know how to do this?

A - There is an export function in Backup Assistant that can output a CSV file which can then be imported into Google Contacts. Once upon a time, Google Contacts was a separate "application"; it is now a part of Gmail. Since Google is always willing to suck up more information, it is probably possible to import "phone contacts" into Google on the phone, but a quick perusal did not find such a function on my Droid 3 phone. Other discussion centered on how to manage the contact storage on the phone. Some phones allow user control over where the contacts are stored: on the SIM card or an SD card. Since very few Verizon phones have a SIM card, the storage is either phone storage or an SD card. On my phone I found an export function in the Contacts app that would create a CSV file on the SD card. When you move the SD card to the new phone the contacts can be imported there. So we have methods on both the phone and the web (machine agnostic).

Q - Following the announcement about compromised Yahoo passwords I changed my Yahoo password. Now I can't get my phone to accept the new password to resume synchronizing email to the phone. This is in the native Android email client and I have already deleted the account and reentered it from scratch. It still does not work. Is there a magic incantation I can use to make it work?

A - A member suggested entering the password on the carrier's (Verizon) website. I tried this the next day and, unfortunately, there is no place for passwords other than the one for my Verizon account. Too bad. At this point my work-around has been to set up Yahoo email in K-9 Mail, a third-party app with some advantages and some disadvantages. The advantages include more advanced email handling while the primary disadvantage for me is that it does not yet work with Exchange 2010. For the time being I am condemned to multiple email clients.

Q - Using Firefox, a page on Google that I use displays two menus one on top of the other which makes them impossible to use. What causes this and what can I do to fix it?

A - The problem is that the page is not being rendered correctly. Generally this effect is seen when some part of the CSS (cascading style sheets) is not applied correctly. The member was running the NoScript extension for Firefox which prevents JavaScript from executing. This was the likely cause of the mis-formatted page. Most of the discussion for this question was too faint to be heard on the recording. Some of the discussion mentioned clearing the browser cache, history, etc. Most large sites like Google load scripts from many places and some of those scripts load CSS files to format the content. By blocking those scripts, the code needed to correctly format the page never reaches the browser which results in the "broken" page. When using NoScript, the goal is to block malicious scripts and any that just track your progress around the web while allowing the scripts that bring in content and formatting. This is a trial and error learning process that takes some time.

D - There was a question about using map coordinates from Google Maps or similar sites. The question was too faint to be heard on the recording, but the discussion led a member to mention the website FreeMapTools.com which offers a plethora of cool tools that are just too good not to mention. For example, the "Meeting Centre of Gravity for Postcodes" allows you to enter a series of zip codes and then get a map that shows a meeting location where everyone drives the same distance. Enjoy.

Q - After generating driving directions on Google Maps, I want to print the directions along with a large map. The directions will print, but no map is printed. What's wrong?

A - This is an unusual problem that is likely caused by some setting in the computer or printer - or possibly in the user's Google profile. One member suggested turning on the option to print background images, but I think a more likely cause is some setting stored in Google. If this behavior changes when you log out of Google, then look for a configuration setting within Google. We ran out of time for a thorough discussion.

Questions for the upcoming meeting can be emailed to askdacs@dacs.org.

Disclaimer: Ask DACS questions come from members by email or from the audience attending the general meeting. Answers are suggestions offered by meeting attendees and represent a consensus of those responding. DACS offers no warranty as to the correctness of the answers and anyone following these suggestions or answers does so at their own risk. In other words, we could be totally wrong!