Strange web browsing issue - any theories?

[britechguy]

Someone I know in one of the blind-tech centric groups just sent me this, privately:
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When my wife presses a left mouse click or enter on a link to open it she's getting the following message with both Edge and Chrome. She's sighted, but this happens whether Jaws is running or not. She is making sure that she's clicking or pressing enter on the first letter os the search link.

This site can’t be reached
The webpage at might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.
ERR_ADDRESS_INVALID

But, I can press enter on a link and it'll open normally, but if I do a left mouse click I get the same error above. This all started about a week and a half ago and I can't figure out what's causing it.
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I have asked for a number of clarifications, so also know the following:
1. This is on one machine, using one Windows user account.
2. When you say "left click" you mean a literal left click for your wife, and a screen reader emulated left click for yourself.
3. The only instance where you are successful in loading the page(s) is when JAWS is on, you have focus on the link, and you use Enter to activate it.


This is the strangest situation I've ever heard of, as hitting enter on a link that has focus is the logical equivalent of clicking on it. Why it would load only with either a hit of Enter or an emulated left mouse click, but not for a real left mouse click, is a complete head scratcher.

 

[Mick]

I don't suppose they've somehow managed to swap the mouse-buttons over, have they? Doubtful, as I would expect them to see a context sub-menu fly out if so, rather than the error message you've quoted..

 

[britechguy]

@Mick: No, definitely not a hardware issue of the sort you describe.

This is just a really, really weird one. I can't fathom how activating a link using the screen reader versus doing a usual left click on it would differ. And what's even weirder is that both real left click and emulated left click are triggering the error condition.

Causing a link to be followed and loaded should not, ever, have a different result (barring internet or other connectivity issues) no matter how you do it!

 

[phaZed]

Would it be possible to remove the screen reader just to determine if it fixes the issue? It's as if some program is intercepting the keystroke and injecting something improper, instead.

 

[britechguy]

@phaZed: If you mean remove, as in uninstall, the screen reader, not likely.

It's already been removed from the mix in testing, with the wife doing what she does like most of us with sight do, and her husband doing things like most screen reader users do. And only one of the two things screen reader users typically do, and the more common one of hitting enter on a link with focus, is working.

The probability of this being a JAWS issue, while not impossible, is so small as to be zero, in my opinion and my experience in working with several different screen readers. All the more so since what's not working is not working when there is no screen reader running at all.

I agree that something "viral" seems to be going on here, but I just don't know what.

 

[seashore]

Remote in to see if it's the same when using your own left button.

 

[britechguy]

Remote in to see if it's the same when using your own left button.

That's in the plan. It just hasn't happened, yet.

I've also suggested that they create a temporary local user account and see if the same issue occurs when doing the same things in that account as in his wife's existing account.

At this point I'd really love just to tease out "at what level" the issue starts. I've also asked them to clear browser cache "for all time" to see if that fixes the issue.

 

[britechguy]

Update: The JAWS screen reader has been removed entirely from the offending machine, and the issue persists. Before it was removed, I asked that the spacebar command to activate the link be used instead of Enter, just to see if there would be a difference. There was. Spacebar gave the same error message as conventional left click did.

This is something very, very odd, and I've suggested that they create a local Windows User Account just to see if the behavior would be present under it. I suspect this is some sort of profile/account based infection of some kind. What the infectious agent actually is I have no idea.

 

[phaZed]

Bizarre! This is a strange one.

 

[NviGate Systems]

What website? I wonder if it's a script that is reacting, like how some sites use no right click deals.

 

[britechguy]

The statement, which I have no reason to doubt, was *any* website. I can ask if it was only one in the list returned by a search, which was kinda-sorta implied.

Regardess of what it is, there is no logical explanation for a left click, emulated left click, and spacebar activation for a specific link to fail with the previously noted error message, but an Enter activation for the same link to work.

 

[nlinecomputers]

What Anti virus is installed? Is the proxy settings blank? Using any VPN software? This sounds like some kind of proxy that has broken.