The Amazing Vanishing IMG Tag

Where is it?

[inveni0]

I'm checking a website from two different ISPs. This is the only website I have EVER found that performs this way from these two locations.

There are certain images that don't show in one location, but show in another. When the source is viewed, the IMG tag is completely gone! It doesn't do this to all of the images, just some.

I've verified this at two different computers at the failing location. Neither shows as intended.

What could cause this? It's not just that the imag is being blocked, it's that, somehow, the entire tag is being removed. I wish I could post the link for others to try, but I must abide by the rules!

[pageoneresults]

What could cause this?

Are you running Norton Internet Security? If so, there is a good chance that those images qualify as ads and if they do, NIS will block them from appearing. Not only NIS, but other ad blocking programs will too.

[inveni0]

I am running Norton on these, but after disabling them and the AdBlocker, there was no change to this one website.

Would a program like that actually edit the page source?

[netchicken1]

Is the image inserted via the CSS and not the html?

[inveni0]

Nope. It's right there in the regular HTML code. No PHP script or anything. Here's the code from the FTP:

<table width="641" height="175" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#660000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
 <tr>
 <td width="65" rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor="#4CACFF"><a href="shows/113749681.html"><img src="shows/113749681.jpg" width="120" height="120" border="0"></a></td>
 <td width="383" height="22" align="center" valign="middle" bgcolor="#000066"><span class="style1 style3"><span class="style1 style7 style2"><u>Neil
  Goldberg's Cirque</u></span></span></td>
 <td align="center" valign="middle" bgcolor="#000066"><a href="shows/113749681.html"><img src="readit.jpg" alt="Read this Review!" width="120" height="30" border="0" align="right"></a></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td height="100" align="left" valign="top"><p class="style3">Take a magical
  journey through a mystical forest alongside an enchanting cast. Sound
  like too many adjectives? See why Cirque has made the Editor's Choice
  List... </p> </td>
 <td width="120" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor="#4CACFF"><img src="stars/4star.jpg" alt="4 Stars Overall" width="120" height="90" border="0"></div></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td width="65" align="center" valign="middle" bgcolor="#4CACFF">&nbsp;</td>
 <td height="31" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#4CACFF"><hr align="center"></td>
 <td width="120" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor="#4CACFF">&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 </table>

And from the web source:

<table width="641" height="175" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#660000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
 <tr>
 <td width="65" rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor="#4CACFF"><a href="shows/113749681.html"><img src="shows/113749681.jpg" width="120" height="120" border="0"></a></td>
 <td width="383" height="22" align="center" valign="middle" bgcolor="#000066"><span class="style1 style3"><span class="style1 style7 style2"><u>Neil
  Goldberg's Cirque</u></span></span></td>
 <td align="center" valign="middle" bgcolor="#000066"><a href="shows/113749681.html"><img src="readit.jpg" alt="Read this Review!" width="120" height="30" border="0" align="right"></a></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td height="100" align="left" valign="top"><p class="style3">Take a magical
  journey through a mystical forest alongside an enchanting cast. Sound
  like too many adjectives? See why Cirque has made the Editor's Choice
  List... </p> </td>
 <td width="120" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor="#4CACFF"></div></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td width="65" align="center" valign="middle" bgcolor="#4CACFF">&nbsp;</td>
 <td height="31" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#4CACFF"><hr align="center"></td>
 <td width="120" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor="#4CACFF">&nbsp;</td>
 </tr>
 </table>

The missing tag is <img src="stars/4star.jpg" alt="4 Stars Overall" width="120" height="90" border="0"> at line 19.

[Philosopher]

Yes, Norton will not only block the image, but will actually REMOVE the code from the page before it's rendered to your screen.

[inveni0]

Disabling Norton has no effect. What else could cause this? The router? I've now tested at a different physical address that uses the same ISP, but all images appear as they should.

[encyclo]

>> Disabling Norton has no effect

But it is Norton, it's not going to be anything else. Is the page you're viewing a static file? If so, disable everything in Norton, clear the browser cache and view again - the image will reappear.

One other trick is to change the declared image size by one pixel - Norton's filtering is dumb so it just blocks certain image sizes without analysis. Change the markup to this:

<img src="stars/4star.jpg" alt="4 Stars Overall" width="[b]121[/b]" height="90" border="0">

You will see no visible difference in the image, but it won't be blocked. This if fact is the only long-term solution, as even if you remove Norton completely from your machine then you still have to deal with all of your users still running the program.

[edited by: encyclo at 5:34 pm (utc) on April 29, 2006]

[jimbeetle]

120 x 90 is a standard IAB ad unit so it probably was Norton that blocked it. Even though you've disabled Norton the page is probably still in your local cache. Close your any current browser sessions, flush your cache, give it another try with Norton disabled and see if the graphic shows this time around.

<added>encyclo beat me by a whisker</added>

[inveni0]

Ahhh, so it was simply in the Cache! I will attempt the 1 pixel change and let you all know the outcome.

UPDATE:

Yup, that did it. Stupid Norton. Luckily, I'm transforming that site to be PHP based, so I'll be rebuilding the pages anyway. Just seems strange that they block image sizes instead of developing a better method...like image source. Ad makers could just change the size of the ad anyway, right? Then what would Norton do? Stupid Norton.

I'm staging a one-man boycott....after my subscription expires.....