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Cookies required to use Google Search?
Senior Member from US
joined:Oct 5, 2001
posts:5801
votes: 93
Lately I've been unable to use Google Search without having cookies allowed. Not always, just occasionally. Today it seems to be consistent, no cookies, no clicking thru from the basic G search results page.
Is that new, or just some kind of testing?
When this happens I can still click thru to maps and then click thru to the ecom site I wanted to visit.
Any idea whats up with that?
(I have been using search without cookies enabled for a long while with no issues like this. I only allow Google cookies when logging into Google WMT or AdSense.)
Senior Member from US
joined:Oct 5, 2001
posts:5801
votes: 93
A little more digging around and I find that if I have cookies disallowed and disable javascript when searching I can click through from the SERPS page.
So it seems like I have to enable cookies or disable javascript.
Senior Member from GB
joined:Jan 30, 2002
posts:4864
votes: 13
Sounds like a bug?
Senior Member from US
joined:Apr 9, 2011
posts:13838
votes: 485
There's a parallel thread in which a couple of different non-US users found they couldn't access google.com with cookies disabled, but were bounced back to their own country's google. This sent me scurrying to a different browser to switch off cookies and javascript and verify that they'll still let me in. Both google.com (I'm in the US) and a randomly chosen other country.
:: looking vaguely around for Moderator to consolidate proliferating closely related threads ::
Senior Member from US
joined:Oct 5, 2001
posts:5801
votes: 93
There is a thread in the firefox forum that seems to be talking about the same issue.
[webmasterworld.com...]
That thread went live while this one was still waiting for a mod to approve it.
Senior Member
joined:Apr 28, 2002
posts:3444
votes: 1
[webmasterworld.com...] even earlier ;)
Senior Member from US
joined:Oct 5, 2001
posts:5801
votes: 93
>> even earlier ;)
Not sure that's the same issue.
Seems like a different cookies related issue.
This thread may be more of a cookies/javascript/maybe-Firefox issue.
Senior Member
joined:Apr 28, 2002
posts:3444
votes: 1
nah I think its the same, that change happened 2 days ago
Full Member
joined:Mar 22, 2011
posts:339
votes: 0
Also, this thread: Google SERPS redirects fail if user doesn't accept cookies [webmasterworld.com]
--
Ryan
Senior Member
joined:Apr 3, 2002
posts:2579
votes: 0
I wonder if this accounts for some of the reports of traffic reductions despite unchanged rankings.
Senior Member from GB
joined:Nov 16, 2005
posts:2649
votes: 85
This should be combined with my thread (the one rlange links to above) which discusses the same issue.
It appears to be a Firefox 10 issue, and a bug. The Javascript throws an error:
Error: uncaught exception: [Exception... "Security error" code: "1000" nsresult: "0x805303e8 (NS_ERROR_DOM_SECURITY_ERR)"
That means you do not get the JS redirect.
On the other hand, if you have JS off, it never runs, and you fallback to the http-equiv refresh within the noscript.
Why is it taking Google so long to fix this? Why did neither Google nor Mozilla spot this in an FF 10 beta or RC? QA is obviously weak all round.
Senior Member from US
joined:Oct 5, 2001
posts:5801
votes: 93
It appears to be a Firefox 10 issue, and a bug. The Javascript throws an error:
Not just FF 10. This machine is running a much older FF version and having the same issue.
.
Senior Member from GB
joined:Nov 16, 2005
posts:2649
votes: 85
So its not Mozilla's fault.
I had not even considered the possibility that Google would put a Javascript on search that has not been properly tested with even a single recent version of Firefox.
Either testing procedures are inadequate (i.e. do not cover all major browsers with cookies off) or someone took a shortcut. You can automate this sort of testing and run it with every single change.
Senior Member from US
joined:Oct 5, 2001
posts:5801
votes: 93
The confusing part of this is that it is not consistent.
It happens randomly. Sometimes I can get hit on computer "a" and yet the same search on computer "b" within seconds clicks right thru.
Both computers with the same cookie/js settings (cookies disallowed/js on). One with FF 10 and the other with an older version.
Random testing ot a bug?
Senior Member from GB
joined:Nov 16, 2005
posts:2649
votes: 85
Google randomly inserts the redirect links. This has been the case for a long time (since I first noticed them). I assume that this is because they do not need to track every click, just a valid sample.
Junior Member
joined:Sept 8, 2009
posts:95
votes: 0
thats a bug. because most of old mobile devices have no cookie enabled ..
Senior Member
joined:Dec 27, 2004
posts:1889
votes: 56
I've seen this couple of month ago, where on work pc "G Search" wouldn't run without JS in FF(NOScript by default) and then at home would be just fine. I spoke with bunch of developers at work and some had the same issue and some did not. So we switched to another "search engine".
"Temporarily allow google.com". Ye right, let me recharge the batteries in my pointing/clicking device first. The JS Redirect is annoying as...
Senior Member from US
joined:June 12, 2003
posts:735
votes: 30
Google said they just fixed the bug. Can you confirm?
Senior Member
joined:Apr 28, 2002
posts:3444
votes: 1
I can still not change to google.com with cookies of
Full Member
joined:Jan 5, 2003
posts:202
votes: 0
I was able to complete a search just now with cookies and/or javascript turned off.
Senior Member from US
joined:Oct 5, 2001
posts:5801
votes: 93
Google said they just fixed the bug. Can you confirm?
Assuming you are asking about not being able to click thru from the serps page when cookies are disallowed and js is on,
yes
it seems to work at the moment.
[this is on a serp showing the redirecturls/tracking/whatevertheheckallthatstuffis.]
[I'm on my machine with the older version of FF and have cookies disallowed and js on.]
Senior Member from GB
joined:Nov 16, 2005
posts:2649
votes: 85
Works on FF 10 now.
Senior Member
joined:Apr 28, 2002
posts:3444
votes: 1
I think they have changed something so you are forced to use cookies, at my place with cookies of it dont work on IE and firefox, I also see sites that use google serps, but blocks the tracking dont work ether. I think this has something to do with there latest data collecting plan.
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