136697 - onlinebank.com - gfbank.com - bank hosting service blocks Mozilla

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Tech Evangelism Graveyard :: English US, defect)

Description

[Drew Hintz ( http://guh.nu )]

Guaranty Bank's website blocks Mozilla (along with a host of other browsers). 
Here's their error message:

Upgrade Your Browser
In order to provide you with the highest level of service and security, this
service requires you to have one of the browser versions currently supported.

Browser versions currently supported:

Windows

    * Netscape Communicator 4.7
    * Netscape Communicator 4.78
    * Netscape Communicator 4.79
    * Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0
    * Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
    * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

(Note: This service supports AOL 5.0 as an Internet Service Provider only with
the use of one of the Windows browsers listed above.)

Macintosh

    * Netscape Communicator 4.78
    * Netscape Communicator 4.79

To upgrade your browser to the newest version supported, please click one of the
following links below:
  

Thank You! If you have questions or comments, please call us at 877-441-2810.
Copyright © 2002 Guaranty Bank

Comment 1

[Brant Gurganus]

Confirmed
2002040903/WinXP

Contact on page is:
877-441-2810 for technical questions
800-288-8822 for product questions
no email given

Comment 2

[Kai Lahmann (is there, where MNG is)]

we still aren't listed in the list of supported browsers, but we don't get any
deny any more

Comment 3

[Bob Clary [:bc] (inactive)]

*** Bug 174632 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 4

[Bob Clary [:bc] (inactive)]

A win here will fix all banks hosted with this service.

domain register to:

http://orcc.com/

Online Resources Corporation     7600 Colshire Drive
Suite 600
McLean, VA 22102
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Uses Forte WebEnterprise Server from iPlanet/Sun

Comment 5

[matt]

Bell Com Credit Union <http://www.bellcomcu.org/> also contracts with these
people.  Very frustrating.  And I'm still blocked, though I do think there was a
time I wasn't.

It seems to me their programmers are fairly naive; the actual browser sniffing
is done by a client-side JavaScript which seems to be based on Netscape's old
browser sniffer code.  Once you've actually managed to get to the login page, no
further checks are done.  I currently use uabar to get around the login page. 
The service works perfectly once in the site; or at least the areas that I use
(account information and transfers).  I imagine anything further could be fixed
up easily.

ORCC has a demo site up at <http://www.bluestreamfinancial.com/>.  You can visit
a login page by selecting "Retail Banking", "Go" from the bottom bar.

Comment 6

[Jacob Steenhagen]

To test their client-side JavaScript I used the Mozilla Evangelism sidebar at
http://mozilla-evangelism.bclary.com/sidebars/ to change my UA String to
Googlebot (one of the last ones listed).  The onlinebank site then let me see
the login screen.  Immediately after downloading the login screen, but before
submitting my username/password I reset the UA string to be the default and the
site worked fine for everything I tried to do.  This site also works fine if
accessed running Mozilla on linux instead of win32.

As I mentioned in the bug that got marked as a dupe of this one, I tried to call
them once (the website support, not my Credit Union) and got nowhere.

Comment 7

[matt]

Interestingly, they seem to have deployed a new code update that permits
Mozilla-based browsers if not on Windows or Macintosh, which is, to say the
least, exceedingly strange.  You can grab the code at
<https://global1.onlinebank.com/javascript/browser.js>.  I thought they'd fixed
it, since I use Mozilla on Linux, but then I actually read the JavaScript code
mentioned above.

The message center after you log in also says this:

Netscape 6 Series
Netscape 6, 6.1 and 6.2 are not recommended for use with this service because of
incompatibility issues. If you have downloaded one of these versions and are
experiencing problems, you can go to the link below and click on Netscape
Communicator.

These people are in desperate need of a beating with a large clue stick.

Comment 8

[Jacob Steenhagen]

Actually I can recall being able to access the site fine from Mozilla on linux
but being blocked with Mozilla on Windows long before I filed the bug that got
duped to this one, so I don't think this is a recent development.

I just called them again, but as to be excepted when it's midnight on the east
coast there wasn't anybody there who really knew what I was talking about.  They
did tell me that if I called again tomorrow that there'd they could transfer me
to a more "techie type person" (their words) so if I get a chance I will try that.

Comment 9

[Nick Bebout]

SPAM: New Components

Comment 10

[Jacob Steenhagen]

We can probably mark this one fixed now... I'm not sure if pressure from this
had anything to do with it, but they added a button so you can ignore their
warning and continue on anyway. We may still want this open to try and get them
to not warn about Mozilla at all seeing how it works fine, but at least us users
of a real browser can also be permitted to have money.

Comment 11

[chris hofmann]

one of the best references/recommendations I've found for encouraging financial institutions to support firefox is located at bankers on-line web site 

http://www.bankersonline.com/security/security_browserthreat070204.html 

It was written in 2004 during the download.ject attack, but much of it still applies today.  This is a good link to send when contacting banks.

Comment 12

[Chris Lawson (gone)]

Site has moved to

https://onlinebanking.guarantybank.com/Guaranty/Login.aspx

which appears to work fine (with invalid login info) in both Camino trunk and Firefox 2.

FAQ says:

Which web browsers can I use to access Guaranty's Online Banking service?

We recommend using the following browsers:

      Windows Users:

      Firefox 1.5
      Firefox 2.0
      Internet Explorer 6
      Internet Explorer 7
      Netscape 8.0
      Netscape 8.1
      AOL 9.0

      Macintosh:

      Firefox 1.5
      Firefox 2.0
      Netscape 8.0
      Netscape 8.1
      Safari 2.0

FIXED.