Why am I getting multiple blank pages with my browser?

February 10, 2012 11:00 AM

I am currently traveling.When trying to visit my bank online, multiple blank windows begin to open faster than I can close them. This is happening both with safari and firefox. All this is happening before I sign in to my account and because of this I am not logging on. I find this somewhat alarming. This has started occuring only recently. Does someone reading this know what could be happening?
posted by citybuddha to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

It's kinda hard to say without knowing which Web site you're talking about (I have no idea which bank you use) but judging from the fact that it happens in more than one browser, the Web site may be broken. Try it on additional systems. Also, make sure you haven't disabled cookies in your Web browsers.
posted by kindall at 11:04 AM on February 10, 2012

Not entirely surprising. Both in europe and south america I've had issues where every internet cafe i stopped at was infested with malware.
posted by Oktober at 11:05 AM on February 10, 2012

If possible, you may want to contact your bank directly on the phone. Assuming you have a bank card on you, there should be a 1-800 number on the back. The cost to call them might seem high, but it'll be lower than having your banking information compromised.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:24 AM on February 10, 2012

See if this happens with a trusted connection. If so, you probably got malware'd and your computer is suspect. Otherwise, it's likely someone exploiting the wifi you're using.

Does https do the same thing? Try going to https://yourbank.com instead of http://. If someone's doing some sneaky man-in-the-middle stuff, you should get a certificate warning.
posted by neckro23 at 11:28 AM on February 10, 2012

Are you using your own personal computer or public computers in net cafes? If the latter, grab a USB flash drive and download your portable browser, etc. on portableapps.com. And do as little of your banking online as possible.
posted by nicebookrack at 11:29 AM on February 10, 2012

I would go further than nicebookrack: NEVER EVER do any banking or other sensitive online transactions in an internet cafe, period. You should assume that those machines are carrying keyloggers and other malware. Typing passwords into a machine in an unfamiliar internet cafe is the functional equivalent writing them on the wall by the men's room.

If you are tech savvy enough to download an entire portable OS and apps to a thumb drive and boot from that at the internet cafe that might alleviate some of these issues, but it might not if the cafe's router is either insecure or deliberately compromised. Please, don't bank on strange machines.
posted by The Bellman at 1:23 PM on February 10, 2012 [2 favorites]