Ridiculous Error Message 404.4
Firefox gives a ridiculous 404.4 error message for the URL WDRBMedia.secondstreetapp.com/og/811a69fc-5ccf-4eb3-8730-9b302433cdd7/referrals/65d5a623-d73b-45e8-ba6e-f31117b71cc5
The error message seems to blame the problem on the website's server, BUT that same URL displays correctly in Chrome, Opera, and even Microsoft Internet Explorer -- only Firefox has any problem displaying the site
HTTP Error 404.4 - Not Found
The resource you are looking for does not have a handler associated with it.
Most likely causes:
The file extension for the requested URL does not have a handler configured to process the request on the Web server.
Things you can try:
If the file extension does not have a handler associated with it, add a handler mapping for the extension. Verify that the handler associated with the file extension is properly installed and configured. Create a tracing rule to track failed requests for this HTTP status code. For more information about creating a tracing rule for failed requests, click here.
Detailed Error Information: Module IIS Web Core Notification MapRequestHandler Handler ExtensionlessUrlHandler-Integrated-4.0 Error Code 0x8007007b Requested URL http://wdrbmedia.secondstreetapp.com:80/og/811a69fc-5ccf-4eb3-8730-9b302433cdd7/referrals/65d5a623-d73b-45e8-ba6e-f31117b71cc5 Physical Path D:\Websites\CoreFrontEnd\og\811a69fc-5ccf-4eb3-8730-9b302433cdd7\referrals\65d5a623-d73b-45e8-ba6e-f31117b71cc5 Logon Method Anonymous Logon User Anonymous More Information: This error means that the Web server does not recognize the file extension of the requested resource. A module handler is not configured on the Web server for this extension. If the file extension being denied is required by the Web server, add the appropriate handler for the file extension.
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All Replies (17)
I had no problem using the link.
Let's start with,
There is security software like Avast, Kaspersky, BitDefender and ESET that intercept secure connection certificates and send their own.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-cant-load-websites-other-browsers-can
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-and-other-browsers-cant-load-websites
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/secure-connection-failed-error-message
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/connection-untrusted-error-message
Websites don't load - troubleshoot and fix error messages
Security software here is Kaspersky which would equally apply in the other three browsers each of which open the site correctly.
Just to satisfy you I turned off Kaspersky and Firefox still gives the same ridiculous error message
And, of course, the error message that Firefox is giving isn't consistent with security blocking the site or a certificate substitution issue.
n4aof said
. . . I turned off Kaspersky
Good, now we can move on to other things.
Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link}
A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?
When I test, your original link gives me a "301" (Moved Permanently) redirect to:
Is that what you see as the eventual destination address in your other browsers, but not in Firefox?
I would say 2 or 3 out of 6 tests opening in a private window gave me the error page you got; the link worked every time in regular windows.
You can remove all data stored in Firefox from a specific domain via "Forget About This Site" in the right-click context menu of an history entry ("History -> Show All History" or "View -> Sidebar -> History").
Using "Forget About This Site" will remove all data stored in Firefox from this domain like history and cookies and passwords and exceptions and cache, so be cautious. If you have a password or other data from that domain that you do not want to lose then make sure to backup this data or make a note.
You can't recover from this 'forget' unless you have a backup of involved files.
If you revisit a 'forgotten' website then data from that website will be saved once again.
FredMcD said
n4aof said. . . I turned off KasperskyGood, now we can move on to other things.
Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link}
A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?
Problem remains unchanged.
Only Firefox has any problem accessing the URL. Chrome, Opera, and even Microsoft Internet Explorer all open the website correctly.
jscher2000 said
When I test, your original link gives me a "301" (Moved Permanently) redirect to: http://wdrbmedia.secondstreetapp.com/Hometown-Rising-2019/referrals/65d5a623-d73b-45e8-ba6e-f31117b71cc5 Is that what you see as the eventual destination address in your other browsers, but not in Firefox? I would say 2 or 3 out of 6 tests opening in a private window gave me the error page you got; the link worked every time in regular windows.
Interesting to see that Firefox is giving you a different error message when failing to reach the same URL.
And, yes, the initial URL is intended to be redirected, the final URL would be http://wdrbmedia.secondstreetapp.com/Hometown-Rising-2019/ but the whole point of the initial URL is to that it is a contest "referral" URL which records which entrant provided the referral.
The URL shown in the error message you received redirects to the same final URL, although I can't begin to guess if it would credit the proper referrer.
Oddly enough when I used a Firefox "Private Window" to access the URL, it opened the site correctly the first time I tried a "Private Window" but gave the same ridiculous 404.4 error message on the second attempt to reach the same URL in a new Private Window, then opened the site correctly on the third and fourth tries. At that point I quit playing with it.
cor-el said
You can remove all data stored in Firefox from a specific domain via "Forget About This Site" in the right-click context menu of an history entry ("History -> Show All History" or "View -> Sidebar -> History").
Forgetting the site has no effect whatsoever on the problem.
n4aof said
jscher2000 saidWhen I test, your original link gives me a "301" (Moved Permanently) redirect to: http://wdrbmedia.secondstreetapp.com/Hometown-Rising-2019/referrals/65d5a623-d73b-45e8-ba6e-f31117b71cc5Interesting to see that Firefox is giving you a different error message when failing to reach the same URL.
A 301 redirect is not an error message, just the technical explanation for how the first URL got redirected to the second. The original URL worked most of the time for me, as noted earlier.
The inconsistency is puzzling. Perhaps there is some kind of restriction on the server side for the number of referrals to reduce click fraud??
I greatly appreciate all the effort people are making to provide suggestions, but it does appear that all the suggestions so far have been random cure-all suggestions not related to the specific error message that Firefox is reporting.
Please understand that I don't give a damn about getting Firefox to open this URL. I have accessed the URL using other browsers. My only interest at this point is to enable the developers to figure out what is wrong with Firefox that causes it to refuse to properly process a perfectly valid URL that opens correctly in every other common browser.
I'm willing to continue to play with this issue a bit, but my interest is waning.
jscher2000 said
The inconsistency is puzzling. Perhaps there is some kind of restriction on the server side for the number of referrals to reduce click fraud??
The problem doesn't seem to be any sort of limitation at the server side in that I was able to immediately reach the same URL using other browsers and have been able to continue to duplicate the same performance multiple times (other browsers process the URL correctly every time, Firefox gives the 404.4 error every time in a regular window but only randomly when in a private window).
I have to suspect that the key to the problem in Firefox is somewhere in the "Detailed Error Information" that Firefox is reporting, but what that is is beyond me.
Modified by n4aof
n4aof said
I have to suspect that the key to the problem in Firefox is somewhere in the "Detailed Error Information" that Firefox is reporting, but what that is is beyond me.
Post that Error report here so we can see what that information is.
n4aof said
My only interest at this point is to enable the developers to figure out what is wrong with Firefox that causes it to refuse to properly process a perfectly valid URL that opens correctly in every other common browser.
Firefox is sending the URL, and the server is responding with the error page. See attached.
The inconsistency in server response with this link -- sometimes I get a redirect, sometimes I get the error -- is very puzzling. I don't think Firefox is doing anything different in making the requests that work and the ones that don't.
the-edmeister said
n4aof saidI have to suspect that the key to the problem in Firefox is somewhere in the "Detailed Error Information" that Firefox is reporting, but what that is is beyond me.Post that Error report here so we can see what that information is.
It was quoted in the original post (although it loses formatting in being copies & pasted). The original post also includes a screenshot showing the complete error message.
It seems that Firefox is reporting what it thinks is some sort of IIS error message from the server, but that doesn't make any sense when every other browser has no problem accessing the same URL.
jscher2000 said Firefox is sending the URL, and the server is responding with the error page. See attached. </blockquote>
If the server doesn't have any handler for that request, why does EVERY OTHER browser process the same URL with no problem. This error occurs ONLY with Firefox. So, either you are telling me that Microsoft IIS is detecting Firefox and choosing to randomly send out false error messages when Firefox accesses the server, or Firefox is doing something making some sort of mistake.
Modified by n4aof
n4aof said
So, either you are telling me that Microsoft IIS is detecting Firefox and choosing to randomly send out false error messages when Firefox accesses the server, or Firefox is doing something making some sort of mistake.
I'm telling you if I send the same request to the server 10 times, the server sends that error page back instead of redirecting several of those times.
But since you mentioned "detecting Firefox", I tried two forms of impersonation:
Default identification:
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:68.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/68.0
(A) Outright identifying as Chrome (first screenshot)
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/75.0.3770.142 Safari/537.36
(B) Inserting "like" before Gecko (second screenshot)
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:68.0) like Gecko/20100101 Firefox/68.0
Both forms of impersonation were successful, leading to the final URL you mentioned from Chrome without the referral part. So it does appear that the server treats Firefox and Chrome differently.
Want to try the experiment?
(1) Triple-click to select, and then copy the following text
general.useragent.override.wdrbmedia.secondstreetapp.com
(2) In a new tab, type about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.
(3) In the search box above the list, type or paste usera and pause while the list is filtered
(4) Right-click a blank area of the page, click New, then click String. This should open a small dialog where you can paste the above string. Then click OK
(5) Type this instruction for replacing Gecko with like Gecko:
Gecko#like Gecko
and click OK
Then try the site again.
OK, this has gotten even stranger....
I just tired that same URL using the same four browsers, on the same computer, but from my grand-daughter's account.
Again three browsers open the URL just fine and only one fails. Again the one browser that fails, gives the 404.4 error
BUT this time, the browsers that opened the URL correctly were Opera, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Firefox, while the only browser that consistently threw the 404.4 error was Chrome!
I give up... this has gone beyond my understanding and way beyond my level of interest in any more effort trying to resolve it.