Cannot open links

The machines we love to hate

Moderator: Wiz Feinberg

Post Reply
Harold Dye
Posts: 717
Joined: 22 Jul 2001 12:01 am
Location: Cullman, Alabama, USA

Cannot open links

Post by Harold Dye »

Sometimes I receive emails with a link. When I try to open the link it tells me it failed to download. It just started doing this a few days ago.
User avatar
Wiz Feinberg
Posts: 6091
Joined: 8 Jan 1999 1:01 am
Location: Mid-Michigan, USA
Contact:

Post by Wiz Feinberg »

What is the computer's operating system? What is the email program you are using? Did you recently get updates to the program, or the operating system before this happened? Did you change your default web browser?
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog
Harold Dye
Posts: 717
Joined: 22 Jul 2001 12:01 am
Location: Cullman, Alabama, USA

Post by Harold Dye »

The system is Win 10. It recently did an update and after that I was unable to open some sites that I receive in emails. My email is ATT (bellsouth) and that comes thru yahoo. My browser is Firefox.
User avatar
Wiz Feinberg
Posts: 6091
Joined: 8 Jan 1999 1:01 am
Location: Mid-Michigan, USA
Contact:

Post by Wiz Feinberg »

Harold Dye wrote:The system is Win 10. It recently did an update and after that I was unable to open some sites that I receive in emails. My email is ATT (bellsouth) and that comes thru yahoo. My browser is Firefox.
Are you using Firefox to go to Yahoo to fetch your email? If so, are you going to the HTTPS site, or the old HTTP? If you try to navigate to an HTTP website, Firefox and Chrome will bring a halt to the proceedings and force you to make an allowance to visit an insecure website.

Why? Because with HTTP, all logins and other input from visitors is unencrypted and could be intercepted as plain text by a neighbor, or curious teenager, or a hacker. Maybe you are isolated from those at home, but you wouldn't be if you took a laptop to a gig, bookstore, coffee shop of library and logged onto HTTP websites.

Open FF and check for updates. Also check for Windows Updates. Afterward, reboot, whether there are updates or not. Sometimes a reboot fixes annoyances like these.
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog
Harold Dye
Posts: 717
Joined: 22 Jul 2001 12:01 am
Location: Cullman, Alabama, USA

Post by Harold Dye »

I have update FF and Win. When I try to open a PDF file it tells me it can't download. Sometimes I will get pictures and I can open them but if it says PDF it will not open and tells me to try again.
User avatar
Wiz Feinberg
Posts: 6091
Joined: 8 Jan 1999 1:01 am
Location: Mid-Michigan, USA
Contact:

Post by Wiz Feinberg »

Harold Dye wrote:I have update FF and Win. When I try to open a PDF file it tells me it can't download. Sometimes I will get pictures and I can open them but if it says PDF it will not open and tells me to try again.
PDF files can be opened in Adobe Reader, or in Firefox, or Foxit Reader. When I click on a link to a pdf file in FF, it asks if I want to save it, or open it in Firefox, or in the reader program I installed (Adobe Reader or Foxit). I then have the choice to remember that choice, or choose each time.

How fast is your Internet connection?
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog
Post Reply