Strange Problem...do you have it?

[RMF]

While trying to find out something on google, I typed the following into the google search engine, and it closed the browser. I've tried it a few times, and every time it does it. I asked a friend of mine, and it doesn't happen to him. Does it happen to you? Did it happen to you? Do you know why it happens?

Type this in google:

~close~



RMF

 

[WebCat]

Come on RMF! Quit trying to kid us! :goofy:

Gullible old me- I just typed it in, and the search engine ignored the tilde and returned 18 million returns for "close"!

So...... tell me this is a joke! :cheeky:

You got me!
WebCat

 

[RMF]

No joke. Its real, and its freakin me out!

RMF

 

[cyphix]

Dooesn't close me here.. but I only get like 12mil results.

 

[RMF]

Seems to close when I do that same thing in Altavista.com, Excite.com, Dogpile.com, Lycos.com, Yahoo.com, Alltheweb.com, and possibly many more.....It even closes if I type that into the address bar! Errrrr

RMF

 

[RMF]

Oh, I just noticed that it closes only if all letters are lower case

~close~ = closes browser
~Close~ = doesn't

RMF

 

[mole]

What OS are you using?

 

[HeavyLifting]

please tell us:

your OS version?
what browser(s) it happens in?
does it close all windows or just the one?
what toolbars are you running?
are your running any other browser enhancements?
does it happen with any form you submit, or just search engines?

 

[nicorlino]

i only get the google results for close
best regards
nico

 

[WebCat]

I agree with Android, it definitely sounds like a browser or OS issue! Check your "preferences". You might accidently have something set that makes it do that.

WebCat

 

[bocajohnh]

I tried this on IE and Netscape, on Win2000 box, and I do not see the behavior you are experiencing.

? What OS and browser?
? Have you installed any system/browser patches lately? I had the IE scrollbar double click problem driving me NUTS after I installed a IE "security patch". Solution was to uninstall it.
? Have you scanned for viruses and spyware? There's some nasty stuff out there...

Good luck

 

[actnow]

RMF, are you using a 286 with windows 2.0?

The only reason he is doing is, is because he owns
close.com and wants his type in to go up!

LOL

 

[RMF]

^ lol

I run Win XP Home. I just tried this in other browsers, and it seems its only happening with IE. I've scanned for viruses and worms, but Norton says im clean.

The reason I even found this is because I had a random popup banner yesterday and the title of it was ~close~. I was trying to find information about that popup because it was hidden on my desktop, so I couldn't see where it came from, or what was in it.

RMF

 

[bocajohnh]

While you've checked for viruses using Norton, you probably have a spyware program running on your computer. I recommend getting Adaware, which is free: www.lavasoft.de. Others prefer SpyBot Search & Destroy from www.safer-networking.org.

Depending on how much browsing and IM you do, you might need to run spyware scans MORE often than virus scans.

And if you have any of the "free" toolbars, like Hotbar and others, they constantly seem to add spyware to the computer. Here's a well written article about these issues:

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm#Articles

 

[RMF]

Thanks, actually I downloaded ad-aware lastnight and did a basic search and got rid of some spyware. I just did a customized search and it found some more, and I guess it woke up a virus or something because norton said it detected a virus. Now I just gotta go figure out how to get rid of the darn thing. I hate virus creators. You'd think they would have something better to do.

RMF

 

[puravida]

Originally posted by RMF
I hate virus creators. You'd think they would have something better to do.

It's odd. The faulty logic at work in their minds.

It's like when people pay $35,000+ for a worthless domain...

I read an article once that said most overseas virus creators wrote them becuase they hoped it would help them get a job. Some of them put their name on it for a while -until the crackdown. And now, I think they just hope that writing viruses will create more jobs at Symantec or wherever... ugh...

Others just do it for fun or practice, but I agree.. I wish they had something better to do!

 

[peter]

I think viruses are fun. Gets people jobs, gets the whole world and media all shouting about it, because idiots open attachments received from unknowns and using outlook

On the downside, the fvck up my email when others using the same host get viruses and the host shuts down temp, and the likes. However, viruses like mydoom, all concentrating on bringing down a server or similar are just crazy. However, the idea of forcing people to be a part of a distributed program to do something is kind of interested, and just think about how this could crack some encryption etc.

anyways that my $0.02

 

[actnow]

Iceman, you sound like the ignorance of youth. And, we all have
been there and dunn that.

But, it is so time consuming and wasted money and energy for
the end user.

 

[.com.net.org]

how do you know there's ~close~ command ?

I got page cannot be displayed.

 

[RMF]

Just figured out some more information on the problem I have. The ads are coming from http://xads.offeroptimizer.com

Now I just need to figure out how to get rid of it. If you search google with this:

xads.offeroptimizer.com?

you will see a few listings down there is a webpage with the title:

~close~

Both that command, and that website will close on its own when activated.

Now I'm on the right track to figuring this out.

RMF