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MG MGA - E Bay problems

Hi Guys - has anyone had recent trouble making a bid, or even making a search on e-bay? Every time I try to type an entry, the alpha-numerics that appear are not what I'm typing (clearly no problem with my computer, or this entry wouldn't work!) I can't enter my password, or even contact E-bay to enquire about the problem - the message just appears as a jumble. I know it's not strictly an MGA question, but I can't bid on any MGA parts.
Hope someone knows how I can correct this problem.
Regards
David
D Jacobs

It's working perfectly for me just now...
N McGurk

David - just tried now and everything seems OK for me.
Cam Cunningham

Thanks for your prompt replies. any idea what I can do to resolve problem?
David
D Jacobs

I would run several of the online virus/hijack/trojan checking programs to see if you have a virus or if you computer/browser has been hijacked? A virus or trojan can see where you are browsing and may only affect certain web sites. It also might be a good idea to use another computer and change your Ebay password.

Could also just be a corrupted system file on you computer. There are lots of different ways web sites can talk to your computer, so just because many web sites work and one won't, that does not rule out a problem on your computer.
Jeff Schultz

David,

Fixing mysterious computer problems is not unlike taking on one of those perplexing problems with the car. The difference is that if your MGA breaks it may dip into your wallet, but it won't try to steal your bank account.

Try one thing at a time. My suggested first step shut down your computer or at least disconnect it from the Internet until you have taken the next steps. I would then try eBay from another computer and change your password. Do the same for your PayPal and other sensitive accounts. Don’t forget to change email account passwords as well. Begin monitoring your bank and credit card accounts. My best guesses are either you are pointing to a rough web site that looks like eBay.UK but is trying to capture your account information or you have a computer virus. Either way your personal information is at risk. This is a giant pain the @(%)+^* and will be time consuming.

Going back to your problem computer, while it is still disconnected from the Internet make sure you have a good backup of your working files. If you have any sensitive files that are not encrypted remove them from the computer. Ok now reconnect to the Internet, but do not try to log into any sites with your new passwords until you have pin pointed and resolved this problem.

Did you use the same computer to post to the MGA BBS? Are you having this problem with any other web sites? If not try directly typing the UK eBay address directly into your browser. Try accessing the US or Australian eBay sites (http://www.ebay.com.au/ or http://www.ebay.com/ ). Uninstall any browser plug-ins, particularly those free “tool bars” that keep trying to install themselves. Update your browser to the newest version. Make sure your PC operating system, browser software and internet security software have the latest patches. Run a security scan from a well-known vendor web site. If nothing turns up with these steps you will need to start tinkering under the hood.

Try fully uninstalling the browser then reinstall. Next might be installing a different browser. Even if a different browser works, you should still try to figure out why the old browser is not working properly. Try web security scans from different vendors. Uninstall and reinstall your internet security program. Uninstall your internet security program and install a different one. Most of the vendors offer free or trial versions. Never run two security programs at once. If you are using an older version of your operating system, consider upgrading to the latest version. An even safer approach would be to wipe the hard drive and reinstall everything.

Let us know what your operating system and browser version are if you need further assistance.

John
jbackman

I don't know if it's at all related, David, but the US eBay site had javascipt problems most of the past week. They appeared at least on Macs using the OS 10.4 operating system. They were mainly expressed as unresponsive mouse-clicks on various radio buttons (e.g., <enlarge>). The problem was resolved yesterday as suddenly as it had appeared, indicating that the developers hadn't implemented a very robust testing program for their latest coding updates. I hope that your problem is as easily resolved.

Ken
Ken Korey

Not a technical issue with Ebay, but I've had great problems listing on Ebay Worldwide. e.g. I normally list items on Ebay Australia, tick as Worldwide, and they appear on Ebay USA at least. Now Ebay have changed their systems, and any MGA item I list on Ebay Australia does not appear on EBAY USA Car Parts...for some strange reason, it appears on the Ebay USA "All Categories", but DOES NOT show on the car parts section...very, very strange, and God knows how many times I've explained this to Ebay Australia (based in Thailand or India or somewhere)...they can't sort it out either! So what I have to do now is list direct to Ebay USA, as this is a bigger market.
Gary Lock

David

I have been having strange happenings on my laptop in the past week or 2 ever since AVG upgraded itself to version 12 and also a Win 7 update. My laptop eventually crashed, as did 2 friends' laptops with similar symptoms. I managed to restore and reloaded Win 7. On another friend's advice I binned AVG and installed Microsoft Security (free). During the first full scan it found a trojan called Hiloti. Read about it and it does not look all that good. The Microsoft Security antivirus got rid of it, whereas AVG had not even picked it up.

Food for thought.

Steve
Steve Gyles

David..whenever one of my main sites goes gobbledygook I clear all vestiges of the site from my pc and start again and it ususlly cures it ( but not always ). I go to Internet Options and do the following....
Clear all cookies,browing history etc etc .
Go to Security and clear ebay sites from the secure site list...
Shut the PC down and restart.
Go the Ebay site on Explorer and log on and hope..
Good luck.
Neil Ferguson


Gary,
this sure is a change of systems from ebay, I'm having the same problems since a couple of month. Still didn't find a easy way to get other markets than germany.
Siggi
Siggi

Hi Guys
Thank you all for your detailed responses. I managed to send a message to e-bay by typing my problem onto a word document, also my password, and then copying and pasting these onto the e-bay help site.
They responded pretty quickly and like Neil, also suggested clearing browser history and cookies. Then after restarting my computer it seems to have resolved the problem.
I'm also using AVG, and have also noticed strange messages since its recent update. Maybe I should follow your advice Steve and use the Microsoft security system you suggested.
If problem returns, will keep you all posted with solution.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm happier tackling the problems of my MGA Coupe restoration than coping with the mysterious world of computers - at least some satisfactory results can be acheived by clouting it with a 2 lb hammer (MGA, not the computer!)

Regards
David
D Jacobs

David..i paid for and used ZoneAlarm, Macafee,etc etc in th past and then my son told me about the Microsoft sutem about a year ago. It is simple, free and works well...no problems at all...
Neil Ferguson

I agree with Steve and Neil. I used AVG for many years. Many months ago I changed to Microsoft Security Essentials mainly because AVG had become bloated and slow. I have been very happy with the change and it also found some things on my computer that had not been found by AVG.
Jeff Schultz

Hi Dave, I am not that sure I want to hit my mga with a 2lb hammer, but certainly have days where I would like to hit the computer with one. might not fix it but I would feel better.

Ross
Ross McIntosh

This thread was discussed between 19/11/2011 and 22/11/2011

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