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Topic: Can Keyboard send bad characters? |
Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 11:36 am |
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I'm trying to register with a health insurance site. In the place where I need to answer security questions such as 'what hospital were you born in' or 'name of your favorite Muppet', when I submit perfect simple names I get red notification that I cannot use these characters | & ; $ % ' \ " < > ( ) + , # = ] [ ? / * , none of which, of course, I am using.
No matter how many times I try to clear the board and try again, it keeps telling me not to use them and I'm getting nowhere.
Where's the glitch? Could my keyboard be set to the wrong format (even though I'm seeing normal English characters)? If so, where do I tweak this?
Or is the site buggy? |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 11:44 am
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It's the operator.  |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 12:04 pm
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I'd guess site buggy.
I had a similar problem with security questions within the last 2 or 3 years, but cannot recall the detail. It didn't involve odd characters as I recall, but the software seemingly didn't correctly acknowledge what I had typed.
I'd contact the site's help line by phone and explain. Most likely they are familiar with the issue.
It happens. From time to time, I can't get Excel to acknowledge a perfectly ordinary entry in a cell or have it try to tell me that the sum of 3, 4, and 5 is 8 rather than 12--ignoring the middle number. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 12:09 pm
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| I ended up getting accepted by eliminating a space from one answer (e.g. ElmStreet) and eliminating capital letters from another answer (e.g. kermit the frog) even though it accepted the spaces on that one. Ok. Makes total sense. |
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Tim Russell
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 12:45 pm
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Are you using I.E.?
Not sure about the special characters issue you are experiencing, but I know that a lot of Bank websites, Govt. sites, health, etc., want you to only use I.E. browser.
I forget sometimes and have FF or Pale Moon open, & then I have to start at the beginning and log in w/ I.E.
_________________
Sierra Crown D-10 |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 12:52 pm
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Good idea but it's hard to believe that here in 2016, that is still an issue (but if you have encountered the issue, then it is still an issue!).
I do not use IE at all. Have not used it in years. FF, exclusively. Never had this problem before although I've seen dodgy form behavior on occasion.
This will be a mystery, I'll guess. Amusing things, these computers. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 1:01 pm
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I understand the govt. spends billions of dollars a year to keep those old, outdated, programs operating. 
I think some of the agencies are still using an abacus to add with. |
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Howard Parker
From:
Maryland
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 1:26 pm
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Wireless keyboard?
If so, check batteries.
If not, well.....Try another browser.
h
_________________
Howard Parker
03\' Carter D-10
70\'s Dekley D-10
52\' Fender Custom
Many guitars by Paul Beard
Listowner Resoguit-L |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 1:35 pm
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| nah--corded. No matter. I came to a roadblock that requires telephone so it has been wasted effort anyway. |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 1:37 pm
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If it is a laptop with a touchpad below the keyboard, make sure your thumbs aren't hitting the touch pad. A lady friend had me look at hers, and after I let the wife use it, I discovered she too was tapping the touchpad making all kinds of weird characters appear...
_________________
Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 1:58 pm
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| Good idea. But no, it's a desktop keyboard. And to clarify, there are no visible bad characters. The entry box looks exactly correct with only the words that I have typed. But the red error message pops up instructing me to not use the bad characters. That's why I'm wondering if there could be some invisible coding issues, not that I even understand quite what that means. |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 2 Aug 2016 8:29 pm
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| I've had trouble using an '_' (underscore) with some sites, even though it's not listed as an unaccepted character. |
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Tim Russell
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 3 Aug 2016 1:59 am
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Another workaround I have used in the past is to type the text in notepad/wordpad/etc. & then copy/paste into the browser text box. That works most of the time when I encounter these goofy things.
_________________
Sierra Crown D-10 |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 3 Aug 2016 7:02 am
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I try alternate browsers when that crap happens to me. I have four browsers to choose from: Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Edge. My OS is Windows 10 and all browsers are the most current versions.
For instance; there are some web forms that don't display submit buttons, or Captchas or refuse to accept the data I type in, while using Firefox. So, I will copy and paste the URL into Chrome and try with it. If that fails, I try Edge, then lastly, IE. If all browsers fail on that form, I apply the old proverb: If at first you don't succeed, try again --- then give up. No use being a damned fool about it!
I can tell you, as a webmaster, that these problems are usually caused by way outdated validation scripts, used to validate each form field. Sometimes, long standing websites have copied and pasted, or written their own JavaScript validation code that sometimes goes back to the late 1990s or early 2000s. These codes used to work just fine back in the days of AOL and Netscape.
Fast forward to here and now and JavaScript codes that were written 16 or more years ago no long are interpreted correctly by the script engines in modern browsers. Also, some browsers have privacy and security features that interfere with old validation methods.
It probably wouldn't hurt to try to contact the Webmaster of the site that is refusing your otherwise valid typing. Let them know what OS and browser you are using and what the error message was. Chances are that somebody can get this fixed in a short time. If not, let the owner or admin of the website know that they are losing online customers due to bad script validations.
_________________
"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 |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 3 Aug 2016 7:17 am
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That's a really good post.
I suspected that the problem would be in those areas that I know exist but don't know squat about (words like java and script and validation).
For now it is a moot point but if/when I need to go back in, I'll at least try switching to Chrome or (reluctantly) IE or Edge. I'm on Windows 10 with all updates so MS browsers are presumably up to date and safer than the older days.
The website, btw, was a major commercial HI company, not a govt. facility. |
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Dave Potter
From:
Texas
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Posted 3 Aug 2016 8:50 am
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| Jon Light wrote: |
| I'm on Windows 10 with all updates so MS browsers are presumably up to date and safer than the older days. |
Dunno, Jon - Windows 10 is still an unknown quantity for me. I did the free upgrade from Win7 at least 3 times, and returned to 7 each time. The last straw was a few days ago, when my Win10 start menu disappeared twice in the same day. First time, I fixed it, and a hour or so later, it was gone again. Back to Win7 on my PC, for the forseeable future.
A quick Google search reveals that vanishing Win10 start menus have plagued users since the initial release. Fixes are legion, but none appear to be final. It's amazing that MS still hasn't fixed this annoying bug a year after its release. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 3 Aug 2016 9:16 am
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| I've had pretty much zero issues with it. I'll just keep knocking on wood. |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 3 Aug 2016 2:41 pm
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| Jon Light wrote: |
That's a really good post.
Snip
The website, btw, was a major commercial HI company, not a govt. facility. |
Why don't you PM a link to the web page in question. I will see if I can type into the fields giving you problems.
_________________
"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 |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 3 Aug 2016 2:48 pm
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| Dave Potter wrote: |
Snip
A quick Google search reveals that vanishing Win10 start menus have plagued users since the initial release. Fixes are legion, but none appear to be final. It's amazing that MS still hasn't fixed this annoying bug a year after its release. |
I suffered with the non-opening Start Menu and Notifications from the time I first upgraded for keeps, until I got tired of running Powershell scripts and rebooting, and performed a Windows 10 "Reset." Since the Reset, I have not had a single instance of the Start Menu failing to open.
I wrote a blog article about this, titled "How I restored sanity to my Windows 10 upgraded computer."
_________________
"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 |
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Dave Potter
From:
Texas
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Posted 3 Aug 2016 3:13 pm
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| Wiz Feinberg wrote: |
| I suffered with the non-opening Start Menu and Notifications from the time I first upgraded for keeps, until I got tired of running Powershell scripts and rebooting, and performed a Windows 10 "Reset." Since the Reset, I have not had a single instance of the Start Menu failing to open. |
Yeah, I thought long and hard before I made the decision to return to 7, and I did evaluate the options as best I could, given the information provided. Our 3 other computers ARE running Win10, successfully, best I can tell, and I wanted this to work.
When I looked at "Reset", and saw the part about "Removes apps and drivers you installed", that did it. The "apps and drivers I installed" work fine with 7, and I had no way to know how many of the "apps I installed" would have to be RE-installed from scratch again. In addition, I had no way to know if I'd have to deal with the Vanishing Start Menu bug even AFTER the "reset". All the reports on the web from others having the identical start menu problem were not encouraging.
I just decided the overhead of struggling to get Windows 10 to work wasn't worth the effort. I gave it at least three tries, and don't have the stomach for any more. 
FWIW, I do have two Win10 ISO DVDs, for if/when I might want to try it again. 
Now, we return to our regularly-scheduled broadcasting. Sorry, Jon. 
Last edited by Dave Potter on 3 Aug 2016 4:28 pm; edited 4 times in total |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 3 Aug 2016 7:22 pm
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What did you do that generated the errors? Was it on the landing page, or via a link to a sub-page?
Don't bother. I already tried registering. I found that it took a couple attempts to get the system to accept the typed input. But, it did finally validate. I baled because I am not in their system as a member.
_________________
"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 |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 4 Aug 2016 6:14 am
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I was trying to create a login identity. The the answer-input boxes for the pull down security questions were the ones that were being balky.
We'll never know what was up with that. |
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