# Snopes crashes my PC - WTH\* **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130 "2004-05-14T16:15:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/1 "2004-05-14T16:15:25Z")
- WTH = What the Heck, as this isn’t The Pit (although I thought about putting this there for a moment). Bear with me for the background, if you will. OK, so my mom’s not the most computer-savvy person. Neither am I, truth be told. But at least I know enough not to forward old internet chestnuts like the one about Bill Gates and the chairman of GM and if cars were made like PCs… She sent me this one this morning, so I politely responded (she is my mom after all) about how it’s an old joke and how Snopes is a good place to go to learn about these internet stories. And I wanted to give her the URL for the Snopes page on this particular item, in the hopes that she’ll see the value in the site and learn to research this stuff for herself. Twice I went to the page and twice paging down made my comuter crash (memory dump). So **the question is** : Is it only my computer that does this? Anyone else out there brave enough to try this site out and see if the same thing happens to them? Is it an evil plot by MS programmers to keep us from seeing this “joke” at Bill’s expense? The site is at: [http://www.snopes.com/humor/jokes/autos.htm](http://www.snopes.com/humor/jokes/autos.htm) but **WARNING!!!** it may make your PC crash (well, duh!). ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/2 "2004-05-14T16:17:45Z")
It didn’t make my machine crash, but I did get the Google toolbar “A popup has been blocked” message, so maybe it’s something about the popup ads on that page that are causing you to crash? Just a theory. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/3 "2004-05-14T16:20:08Z")
I’m not even going to click on that link because I’ve also experienced the exact, same problem on Snopes, using Windows NT. It’s due to some horrific way they coded their pages and adverts that is linked to a horrific bug in IE that is linked to a horrific bug in Windows. So there’s lots of places to point the finger of blame. I was never able to get NT to not blue screen on me on some pages, so I stopped going until I got to XP. ---
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/4 "2004-05-14T16:20:32Z")
Good theory, **MsWhatsit**. We’ll see if anyone else checks in. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/5 "2004-05-14T16:24:32Z")
Well, I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’m still running NT, so perhaps that’s the source of the problem. Thanks, **Una Persson**. I’ll be more careful with what else I have open/unsaved when I go to Snopes. Although WHY it hapens (only w/ NT?) is interesting. ---
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/6 "2004-05-14T16:32:04Z")
> [@wireless](#): > > Although WHY it hapens (only w/ NT?) is interesting. And now, on re-read, I see that **UnaPerson** _did_ answer that question. :smack: So sorry and thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/7 "2004-05-14T16:56:39Z")
> [@wireless](#): > > Well, I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’m still running NT, so perhaps that’s the source of the problem. Thanks, **Una Persson**. > > I’ll be more careful with what else I have open/unsaved when I go to Snopes. > Although WHY it hapens (only w/ NT?) is interesting. Why don’t you download the Google toolbar and make sure? If it doesn’t crash when you have it blocking popups, then stop it from blocking them and reload the page. If it crashes after the reload, then you can be pretty confident it’s the popup. And the solution is easy; let the toolbar continue to block popups. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/8 "2004-05-14T17:02:54Z")
Well, I’m running NT, and Google Toolbar, and when I open that link, I _still_ get a popup ad window, but our corporate censor -excuse me- filter blocks it’s contents. No crashes. And running NT isn’t anything to be embarrased about. If you are on NT, I guarantee you didn’t get the Sasser worm. The guy in the next cube was running NT on an identical IBM NetVista machine as mine, and IT decided he needed an upgrade to XP. His machine was down for two weeks, while they figured out how to make it work. (No, they aren’t dummies, just used to doing clean installs and not upgrades.) I decided I’ll keep using NT until they bring me a new box. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/9 "2004-05-14T21:24:05Z")
> [@bughunter](#): > > Well, I’m running NT, and Google Toolbar, and when I open that link, I _still_ get a popup ad window. I get one too. It seems the bastards have found a way around the Google Toolbar, once the best pop-up stopper around. And so it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/10 "2004-05-14T21:32:37Z")
> [@wireless](#): > > - WTH = What the Heck, as this isn’t The Pit I think the letter _F_ is allowed in thread titles, even in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/11 "2004-05-14T22:49:45Z")
I’ve been having this problem too – only I’m running Opera 6 and Win2K Pro. No blue screen – just “Opera has encountered errors and will shut down.” Lately I’ve just been making sure to go to Snopes only when I don’t have any windows open that I want to keep. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/12 "2004-05-15T00:08:25Z")
I had this problem with IE on Windows NT as well. Not often-but any page that would crash it, would crash it every time I hit it. Freaking Blue Screen of Death ™. I’m using Opera 7 on Windows XP now, and I’ve never had that problem. But there’s always a first time … ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/13 "2004-05-15T03:22:41Z")
Snopes crashes your computer? Hm. I thought that was just an urban legend. Looks like I’ll have to write all my friends and warn them of the danger. With lots of exclamation points. With a plea to have them send it to everyone they know. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/14 "2004-05-15T05:47:18Z")
Firefox user here, on WindowsXP, had no probelms at all at snopes - no pop-ups either. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/15 "2004-05-15T06:48:30Z")
Mozilla & Win 98. No probs. No popups either. I will check shortly using IE & see if the result is the same. [Bookmarks the "reply page & saves the text above to a TXT file] [Checks] Well, no problems noted, and IE actually seemed to block the pop-ups, too (I did once have the Google toolbar, but uninstalled it when I discovered that it seemed to act as a spyware-type program.) –SSgtBaloo ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/16 "2004-05-15T06:49:21Z")
NT with IE5 here. It loaded the page okay, then when I closed the Snopes window I discovered a popup window hiding in the background with a message box asking if I want ActiveX controls to run. My security settings (in Tools-\>Internet Options) are set so that it prompts me before running an ActiveX control. I promptly hit No and closed the popup window, and it didn’t crash. So that’s a possible solution. FWIW, the strangest things can cause NT to BSOD - with me it’s MIDIs. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/17 "2004-05-15T12:01:51Z")
Sounds like an internet legend to me. ---
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/18 "2004-05-15T13:39:56Z")
Thanks for all the info, everyone. And, **Hey you!** , funny! Just one clarification: the crash doesn’t happen when I _go_ to the Snopes page, only when I _page down_ towards the bottom. I just tried it again: went to the page, closed the pop-ups (Einstein & IQ something), waited a bit to make sure it wasn’t a time-related issue, then paged down and, sure enough, on the 4th hit of the “page down” button, BLINK! And memory dump. I guess I’ll never know how the story ends! 😉 (Oh, and I’m using IE and NT.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-crashes-my-pc-wth/245130/19 "2004-05-15T14:59:14Z")
I run Win2K with IE 6.0 & Norton Internet Security 2004. I have the Norton ad blocking dialed up to max and most of the IE settings fairly moderate. For me, often after I visit Snopes my browser quits working. No matter what URL I give it, the answer is always “DNS error or server not found”. I can ping & nslookup and … all over the net no problem, my email still works, but IE is dead, dead, dead. The only cure is a reboot. Just doing a logoff / logon won’t fix it. Mind you, this only happens maybe 1/3rd of the time. Other times I can hit snopes pages all day with no weirdness at all. I have another machine with NT , IE6 & Norton 2000. It never has a problem at snopes. Totally weird.