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Links in Google Search will not open

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I received an email and my practice is not to open links in emails. The link was from Bed Bath and Beyond. I searched for Bed Bath and Beyond and got this URL https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi1xvXC-NSAAxXykloFHUgzAJIYABAAGgJ2dQ&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuNemBhCBARIsADp74QQznb8iH59pv0wRyjGRO4F2u3BCLCFN5wLnICvobs8wZizFvugIjzkaAjGVEALw_wcB&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESauD2_nc6dMVeEHYVGwflfbexMnAE3HOMV2sVmt1JRptWGi8nNcESdzKw4HPrcf9Q8fDAHENpm6rtMoAupgWXY3qw8KD7WPccsNuuSzG41vCoKK7d4j8eeU0Hou9aU-BSp1czBDDnEMhGAvE&sig=AOD64_2tVufyv3ivTfWScwK-WyCpRmIW3g&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwiY5e7C-NSAAxXORjABHX0YChwQ0Qx6BAgNEAE FireFox would not open the link but Microsoft Edge did. Is there a potential security problem that I am not aware of or a problem with FireFox?

All Replies (8)

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Hi Bill, that's a paid ad URL. Do you use any add-ons that block ads or ad domains?

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Not that I am aware of. I have the same add-ons installed on Firefox and Edge. My security software will block unsafe web sites, but it has not blocked anything since July.

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Will it open in a private window? For example, right-click > Open Link in New Private Window

(Private windows do not share the web content cache or saved cookies with regular windows, and some add-ons may not run in private windows if you haven't allowed them to do so.)

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When I selected open in private window it opened. What does this tell you. Remember I only have two add-ons and they are both in Edge and Firefox, and Edge works.

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I just checked both add-ons are in the private windows.

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The other things that are different about private windows are cache and cookies.

(1) Clear Firefox's Cache

See: How to clear the Firefox cache (only select Cached web content, don't clear all cookies and site data)

If you have a large hard drive, this might take a few minutes.

(2) Remove the site's cookies

While you're still on the Settings page, click the "Manage Data..." button that's just below the "Clear Data..." button.

Here should should be able to remove cookies for googleadservices individually without affecting other sites.

Any difference accessing the ads after that?

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I remove the cache and the same problem occurred. I removed, I think, the google cookies. googleadservices was not listed.

I discovered that the search presented me with the following URL

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwib5L3Yv9WAAxVFq4QIHfLGA5wQFnoECBAQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bedbathandbeyond.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw00GHiYj8oJJ-PJOGX6RLiU&opi=89978449

This URL goes to the same site and it worked.

Does this make any sense?

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Thank you for the update.

Google's machinations are very complex, so if they don't seem to make sense, that feeling is completely normal!