WG Browser Problems

You may be experiencing problems with your browser (or your PC).  I don't know if the following suggestions will work; but it is a start.  I suggest reading all the way through, before attempting any of the suggestions.  In order to identify which solution works, try one suggestion at a time; then try to access Where’s George (WG) again.  Good luck.

1. Try using another browser i.e. Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, or Opera.  At present Mozilla and Phoenix are reported to be unstable with WG.  Previous versions of Apple Safari are known to not work with Where's George.  There is nothing we can fix.

2. 'Log Off' from and 'Log On' to WG.

3. 'Log Off' of WG, close all browser windows, open browser window and 'Log On' to WG.

4. 'Log Off' of WG, close all browser windows, close all applications, shut down PC for 30 seconds to clear Random Access Memory (RAM) (actually time shut down for 30 seconds), turn PC back on, open browser window and 'Log On' to WG.

5. Delete WG Cookies (FAQs / Cookie FAQ):

   1. Open your browser.

   2. Go to this page: http://www.wheresgeorge.com/no_cookies.php to delete your WG cookies.  CAUTION: This is automatic and contains no confirmation button.

   3. Close your browser.

   4. Go to the C:\WINDOWSCOOKIES directory.  (You can use the Explorer program.)

   5. Delete any file with "wheresgeorge" in the file name.

   6. Restart your browser.

   7. Go to: http://www.wheresgeorge.com .

   8. Go to the 'Log On' link and logon.

6. Is your temporary internet history file too large?  You may need to delete the history files.  If you need assistance, please check your browser help for instructions.

7. Delete Internet Cookies:  'Log Off' of WG, close all browser windows.  Then delete Internet Cookies - for MS Internet Explorer - 'Tools / Internet Options / Delete Cookies [button]'.  CAUTION: this will delete other website cookies and will reset you 'viewed' links.  Open browser window and 'Log On' to WG.

8. Perhaps, your browser, proxy server, firewall, ad-blocker software, (or some other software [i.e. Norton Internet Security]) or your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is blocking the cookies from the WG domain.  Please refer to the appropriate help pages, manuals, or contact the respective vendors.  In Internet Explorer/ Internet Options / Privacy tab - down the bottom under “Web Sites – To override cookie handling for individual Web sites, click the Edit button.”, verify that WG is not on the list.  Please review Additional MS Internet Explorer Suggestions below.

9. Can you try to connect to WG from another machine or network connection?

10. Nothing has changed at Where's George.  Perhaps you have loaded new software patches or drivers.  You could perform a system restore.  Please utilize your system "help" for instructions.  For Windows XP Professional: 'Start/Help and Support/Fixing a problem/Using System Restore to undo changes'.  CAUTION: if you restore your system, you may need to re-install some software patches and/or drivers.

11. Verify that your computer system date is correct.  A previous user had their system date incorrectly set to the year 2018, and no website logins functioned correctly.  All cookies had expired. *smile*

Additional MS Internet Explorer Suggestions:

When another WG user, thegypsy, could not access Where's George, he contacted his ISP, Earthlink, who suggested the following e-mail reply.  Some suggestions are repeated, while others are new.  Thank you thegypsy and Earthlink.

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We understand that you are unable to access a particular site.

There are a number of possible causes, which in turn have a number of suggested fixes.  You can test your ability to connect to SSL sites using this SSL test site.

Check Firewall/Network Configuration

Make sure that the SSL port (port 443) is open on your network/firewall (if you have any).  There are many different Firewall/Network products, so we can't give set-by-step instructions. Check the documentation or help file of the product you use.

Verify that Internet Explorer Is Using 128-Bit Encryption

To check:
In Internet Explorer, on the Help menu, click About Internet Explorer
The level of encryption on your computer appears next to the words Cipher Strength.  Verify that the Cipher Strength value appears as 128-bit
If the Cipher Strength is anything less then 128-bit, download the Internet "Explorer High Encryption Pack" to your computer's hard disk, and then install it.

Delete Temporary Internet Files

There's also a possibility of some corrupted files in your Temporary Internet Files (TIF) storage.  To clear these:

In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and select the General tab
Under Temporary Internet files, click Delete Files, and click OK when you are prompted to confirm the deletion

Configure Security settings for the Trusted sites zone in Internet Explorer:

In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and select the Security tab
Select Trusted sites, and then click Default Level
Add the secure Web site you are trying to access to the Trusted sites zone.  To do so, click Sites, type the address (URL) of the site in the Add this Web site to the zone box, click Add, click OK, and then click Apply

Clear the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) slate and AutoComplete history:

In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and select the Content tab
Under Certificates, click Clear SSL State
Click OK when you receive the message that the SSL cache was successfully cleared
Under Personal information, click AutoComplete
Under Clear AutoComplete history, click Clear Forms.  Click OK when you are prompted to confirm the operation.

Verify that Internet Explorer is configured to use SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0:
In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and select the Advanced tab
In the Settings box, under the Security header, click to select the Use SSL 2.0 and Use SSL 3.0 check boxes (if they are not already selected), and then click OK

Verify that the Date and Time Settings on Your Computer Are Correct:

Because SSL certificates have an expiry date, if the date on your computer isn't correct, it may prevent you from connecting to secure sites.  To verify that your computer is configured with the correct date and time settings:

Click Start > click Control Panel
Click Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options, and then click Date and Time
Select the Date & Time tab
Check to make sure that the date and time settings are configured to use the current date and time, and then click OK.

Performing the above troubleshooting steps should now allow you to access 'www.wheresgeorge.com'.

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Please let us know if you get it working and what the problem was via the 'response form' link in your original e-mail.   Please reference the case # - to keep related materials together.  If you came to this page via a forum link, please indicate your solution via the Contact Us Form.

Anonymous E-mail:
Certain web-based e-mail clients, like Yahoo and Hotmail are using “frames”.  These e-mail clients change the WG URL data, resulting in an error message which indicates that the user is not logged into WG.  Unfortunately, there is no fix for this.  These are the work-around solutions: 1) forward the e-mail to another NON web-based e-mail client or 2) change your registered WG e-mail (via preferences) to a NON web-based e-mail client.  For detailed information, please go to “Preferences” and search for “Anon Email FAQ”. http://www.wheresgeorge.com/anon_email_faq.php .

Thanks.
HMG in MAss

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