Strange URL transformation

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tom Hall
  • Start date Start date
T

Tom Hall

Recently, something strange has started happening here. I participate in a
few forums on the net which send me via email URLs to topics I'm following
such as the following:

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=3165425#3165425

These links take you to the thread, and then to the bottom where the latest
post(s) is/are.

For some reason, when I click on such a link in the email message, when the
browser opens, the URL looks like this:

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=3165425#3165425

where the "#" has been replaced by "%23".

My mail program is Eudora Pro 7.1, but I've discovered the same problem if
I receive such a URL in Outlook 2003.

I have two versions of Firefox plus IE7 installed here, and no matter what
the default browser is, the URL gets changed.

What makes it interesting is that I can copy the link from the message and
paste it into any browser address bar, and the transformation does not
occur. Furthermore, I can, using Eudora, send the entire message to the
default browser and click on the link there, and the transformation does
not occur. It seems to ONLY happen when the link is clicked from within the
body of the actual email message.

Someone in the Firefox forum suggested a recent security update from
Microsoft might be to blame:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS07-061.mspx

However, uninstalling this update and restarting the system did not solve
the problem.

I've even tried shutting off my AV software (AVG Pro 7.5), to no avail.

So far as I've noticed, no other URL types are affected - only the ones
formed like the one above. I get the same kind of messages in both the PGP
and Firefox forums, and they are both affected.

I've also looked at the actual raw message in Eudora's inbox, and the link
looks exactly like it should: the "#" is there, not the "%23".

I'm also aware that the "23" is the hex value of the "#" character.

I keep my AVG up to date, and I also use both AdAware and Spybot which I
keep current as well.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


Tom

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Tom Hall wrote:
> Recently, something strange has started happening
> here. I participate
> in a few forums on the net which send me via email
> URLs to topics I'm
> following such as the following:
>
> http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=3165425#3165425
>
> These links take you to the thread, and then to the
> bottom where the
> latest post(s) is/are.
>
> For some reason, when I click on such a link in the
> email message,
> when the browser opens, the URL looks like this:
>
> http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=3165425#3165425
>
> where the "#" has been replaced by "%23".
>
> My mail program is Eudora Pro 7.1, but I've
> discovered the same
> problem if I receive such a URL in Outlook 2003.
>
> I have two versions of Firefox plus IE7 installed
> here, and no matter
> what the default browser is, the URL gets changed.
>
> What makes it interesting is that I can copy the link
> from the
> message and paste it into any browser address bar,
> and the
> transformation does not occur. Furthermore, I can,
> using Eudora, send
> the entire message to the default browser and click
> on the link
> there, and the transformation does not occur. It
> seems to ONLY happen
> when the link is clicked from within the body of the
> actual email
> message.
>
> Someone in the Firefox forum suggested a recent
> security update from
> Microsoft might be to blame:
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS07-061.mspx
>
> However, uninstalling this update and restarting the
> system did not
> solve the problem.
>
> I've even tried shutting off my AV software (AVG Pro
> 7.5), to no
> avail.
>
> So far as I've noticed, no other URL types are
> affected - only the
> ones formed like the one above. I get the same kind
> of messages in
> both the PGP and Firefox forums, and they are both
> affected.
>
> I've also looked at the actual raw message in
> Eudora's inbox, and the
> link looks exactly like it should: the "#" is there,
> not the "%23".
>
> I'm also aware that the "23" is the hex value of the
> "#" character.
>
> I keep my AVG up to date, and I also use both AdAware
> and Spybot
> which I keep current as well.
>
> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>
>
> Tom

Well, the "#" in a URL is a bookmark. That's the part
of the URL that sends you to the bottom of the page, or
wherever that bookmark is located in the file you are
going to.

Then: Hex 23 = Decimal 35, = &#35, which are all the
"#" screen character. So, the browser has merely
converted the "#|" to a 'net-understandable character.
Seems clear to me; what's the issue? Or am I missing
something?

HTH

Pop`
 
On Mon, 3 Dec 2007 19:48:09 -0500, "Poprivet`"
<poprivet@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote:

>Seems clear to me; what's the issue? Or am I missing
>something?

The link does not work with the "%23". It does work with the "#".

The former sends you only to the top of the thread. The latter sends you to
the bottom of the thread, which is where you want to go.

Tom

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On Sun, 02 Dec 2007 11:09:11 -0700, Tom Hall <aria1946@gmail.com.spoo>
wrote:

>Recently, something strange has started happening here. I participate in a
>few forums on the net which send me via email URLs to topics I'm following
>such as the following:
>
>http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=3165425#3165425
>
>These links take you to the thread, and then to the bottom where the latest
>post(s) is/are.
>
>For some reason, when I click on such a link in the email message, when the
>browser opens, the URL looks like this:
>
>http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=3165425#3165425
>
>where the "#" has been replaced by "%23".

The same thing happens when I click the first link above here while reading
the message. The link that appears in my browser address bar is altered
just like the second one posted above.


Tom

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