chrome

Infopackets Reader Mike R. writes: " Dear Dennis, Oftentimes when I visit Facebook.com, there are several ads on the right side of the screen such as 'The Top 10 Highest Paid Soccer Players', or 'The Funniest Billboards Ever', or something along ... those lines. Whenever these ads are displayed, the web browser locks up and I receive an error message that there is an unresponsive script on the page. I have three options: 'Debug', 'Continue', and 'Stop Script'. Why do I keep getting the 'unresponsive script' error? I use Firefox. " My response: This is a very good and frequently asked question. ... (view more)

Microsoft claims its Edge browser uses far less battery power on laptops than rivals such as Google Chrome. The claims come as it publishes details of further tweaks to the browser's power demands. To back up its claims, Microsoft has released the ... results of tests it carried out using its own Surface Book computer, along with data gathered remotely from Windows 10 computers. As with any such non-independent tests, it's always worth remembering that not only could the setup of the tests be designed in a way that favors Microsoft, but there's no way of knowing that Microsoft hasn ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled a couple of changes to improve Windows 10: smartphone owners will be able to see notifications on their computer screen, while many Chrome extensions could be coming to the Edge browser. A forthcoming update will introduce ... something called "notification mirroring." That will mean pairing a Windows or Android smartphone or tablet with a Windows 10 computer. Users can then automatically have any notifications that normally appear on their smartphone or tablet show up on their computer screen instead. The idea is that while somebody is working on their computer, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'dbrumley' writes: " Dear Dennis, I've had a problem lately with Firefox when visiting Amazon's website. I get a pop-up window saying a 'script on this page is either busy or not responding'. There are 3 buttons that say Stop ... script, Ignore error, and Debug script, along with an option that says 'Don't ask again'. I've tried using the 'Stop script' button, which closes the window, but the browser slows down and the window re-appears. The 'Ignore error' button does the same thing. The 'Debug script' button opens a window with what looks like HTML, but I can't make heads or ... (view more)

Google has uncovered a major bug in a security software tool that could expose user passwords to hackers. Its the second time in a matter of weeks that Google's found problems with security software . On this occasion the problem is with the ... antivirus package from Trend Micro, specifically a Password Manager feature. This allows users to store passwords securely with a master security code; at the touch of a button, users can then have them the program automatically fill in passwords and logins on websites. According to Google's Tavis Ormandy, the feature is installed by default with ... (view more)

A popular antivirus browser extension has been labeled as a security risk by Google. The tool in question is called Web TuneUp and is a browser extension by AVG; in this case, the problem involves Web TuneUp and the Chrome Browser, but the threat ... itself likely includes other browsers as well. Web TuneUp works by validating links that appear on a web browser page, such as on a search engine results list. It then warns the user if a link points to a page that could compromise security. It's arguably overkill, given that Chrome includes similar tools - plus the fact that Google itself ... (view more)

Google is to tone down security warnings for users of the Chrome browser. It believes the move won't increase user risk and may instead encourage websites to improve security. The change involves the way secure websites appear in the address bar in ... Chrome. At the moment, a website in Chrome will appear with one of four icons to the left of the address to indicate whether or not it is secure: A plain white 'blank page' icon indicates an ordinary http site, meaning there's no encryption of data passing back and forth between the website and the user's computer. A green ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sam P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just upgraded to Windows 10 and I can't stand using the Edge browser. Before I upgraded to Windows 10, I was using Windows 7 with Internet Explorer 11 (IE11). I had Internet Explorer 11 set up with ... a few of my favorite add-ons, which are not compatible with Edge. Do you know if there is any way for me to use Internet Explorer 11 as my default browser in Windows 10? I've tried using the Settings App to make IE 11 as default, but it doesn't seem to work. " My response: When you upgraded to Windows 10, and if you agreed to use the "recommended ... (view more)

Reports that Windows 10 stops Google's Chrome browser from running appear to be only partially correct. While the problem does exist, it only affects people running test editions of Windows 10 which are not available to everyone. The problem affects ... the version of Chrome designed for 64-bit PCs. If the problem strikes, the browser simply fails to show any page and instead displays the familiar "Aw Snap!" error message. It appears to affect all editions of 64-bit Chrome, from the standard edition through the various test editions, such as developer and Canary. (Source: ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Terry W. writes: " Dear Dennis, Whenever I click on a link via email, I get an error stating that 'This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer.' I don't understand why I receive this error ... message, as my user account has administrator access and I am the only one that uses this computer. Any ideas why this is happening? " My response: Admittedly, I have never heard of this error message before. The next day Terry emailed me with a follow-up, stating that he found a solution and provided me with a link. The page he directed me to, however ... (view more)