249406 - schwab.com - "Content Frames" lock up and do not update the portfolio page correctly.

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Tech Evangelism Graveyard :: English US, defect)

Description

[William J. Adams]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7) Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.9.1
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7) Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.9.1

The Charles Schwab brokerage site uses pop-up windows it calls "Content Frames"
to update your stock portfolio after each investment transaction.  These lock up
in Firefox 9.0 and 9.0.1.  This is a Clients Only page.

The issue can be corrected by setting docshell.frameloadcheck.disabled to true
in about:config as advised in the known issues.  This filing is to report the
web site as requested in the Known Issues lising.

Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Log in to Brokerage Account
2. Click Preferences tab
3.

Actual Results:  
Pop up Content Frame appears and hangs.

Expected Results:  
Content frame should display any new securities transactions and allow the user
to accept them as updates to their portfolio positions.

This appears to relate to the Known Issue:
We have made some changes to fix security problems involving one site targeting
links and form submissions into a frameset created by another site, however
these changes may cause problems with some sites. If you encounter problems
where sites are trying to use this capability legitimately and you need them to
work, you can use about:config  and set docshell.frameloadcheck.disabled to true
 to disable the security check. Please file bugs on the URLs that are
problematic, if you encounter any.

Following these instructions corrects the problem.  However, I am concerned as
to whether I have now opened a security vulnerablility, since seem to be
defeating an intended security check.

I am reporting the web site as requsted in the Known Issue listing.

Comment 1

[(not currently active) Ted Mielczarek]

Can't confirm since I don't have a login, but -> Tech Evang

Comment 2

[Chris Lawson (gone)]

William, is this still a problem? Their "browser info" page now says:

"Web Browsers and Operating Systems

Schwab websites work best using one of the following web browser and operating systems configurations:

Windows

    * Microsoft Windows® XP Security Pack 2 or Microsoft Vista®

     AND

    * The latest (non-beta) version of either  

    * Microsoft® Internet Explorer
    * Mozilla Firefox®
    * Netscape


Mac

    * Mac OS X
      AND
    * The latest (non-beta) version of  Safari®


Other operating systems and web browsers may work, however older browsers may experience technical difficulties. Upgrading to one of the configurations above will provide you with the best online experience."

It sounds to me like they're actively supporting and testing the above configurations, and since it's been nearly four years since this bug was filed and Schwab's site has been through multiple redesigns since then, I'm going to mark this FIXED.

If you're still seeing lockups with Firefox 2, please feel free to reopen this bug (and also let Schwab know about it!).