# little red x on a website **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2007, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999 "2007-09-13T01:32:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999/1 "2007-09-13T01:32:06Z")
On my laptop computer at home, which is relatively new, on some websites the pictures won’t show. There will be a box with a little red x in it. Or there will be a blue circle with a white exclamation point and a message that says the website declined. I know there is some setting I can change but I don’t know what it is. Does anyone know what it is? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999/2 "2007-09-13T02:06:36Z")
Can you fill in some details? Operating system? Browser? Security software? Off the top of my head, it sounds like IE’s security settings, but obviously, that may not be the case. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999/3 "2007-09-13T02:58:22Z")
The X means the picture isn’t on the site. It was coded so there was a space for the picture, but if the graphic is removed, you get the X. You also sometimes get it when the picture hasn’t displayed. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999/4 "2007-09-13T04:29:42Z")
Sounds like someone configured it to be tolerable on dial-up and they turned off the pictures. If you right-click the X and choose “Show Picture” do you then see the picture? If so, the fix is easy: Head up to the main menu bar, and click on Tools, then click Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab, and find the “Show Pictures” line and ensure there’s a checkmark in its box. At the bottom of this window, click Apply, then OK. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999/5 "2007-09-13T07:25:22Z")
I haven’t seen the little red X for years - back in the days of slow connections, it was quit common if a timeout prevented the image from being downloaded, but heck. One thing it _could be_ is a cache problem on a proxy server at your ISP - some ISPs still set you up to access the internet through their proxy servers (not sure why - maybe they skim the data to target you with ads or something). Have a look in your internet connection settings - in IE6, it’s Tools\>Internet Options\>Connections - then Settings (if you’re on dialup, or something that resembles it), or LAN Settings (if you have an ethernet connection to a router) If the ‘use a proxy server’ option is checked, try unchecking it and see if that helps. Make a note of the proxy server address settings before you do this, in case they disappear after unchecking. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999/6 "2007-09-13T10:03:07Z")
Long shot: If you use Opera, it means you pressed the G key when the browser had focus, but the focus wasn’t in a text box. If that’s the case, just select from the main menu: View|Images|Show images. ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999/7 "2007-09-13T16:13:39Z")
Thanks, I’ll check these things when I get home. FYI, when I try to go on ebay it is covered with little red x’s so I don’t think the pictures aren’t there. I’m sorry I can’t remember the details of my computer. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999/8 "2007-09-13T18:34:33Z")
On some pictures, I can right click on the red x and then click on Show Picture and it will show. But on some, it doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-red-x-on-a-website/418999/9 "2007-09-13T18:54:36Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I haven’t seen the little red X for years - back in the days of slow connections, it was quit common if a timeout prevented the image from being downloaded, but heck. [/QUOTE] It could still be a timeout problem. I get them from time to time when I’m having connection problems with the DSL. The text comes through nice and fast, of course, but pictures do not. Could it be a broken link? Either someone hotlinking to an image or something linked wrong on the site?