I CAN NO LONGER DOWNLOAD NOW

If I go into your setup and choose additional information, and click on the product's website directly while still logged into CNET, I can download using my Internet Explorer Version 8.0.6001 with no problems.

I have been downloading from your site for my other products, but I get around the no activity on Download Now, by choosing to visit the site listed in your MORE INFO/Additional Information, which is the product/vendor's website.

I have not tried, tucows or brothersoft, but I will test it out,

Thanks,

I can download from DELL, from NORTON, FROM Microsoft, HP, just not CNET or BROTHERSOFT.

What did I change to cause the downloads to stop working?

Thanks,

I've tried all I can think of. I am running Vista, Win7, and XP on three different machines, and none will let me download on cnet. I can use a Linux computer running Firefox with no issue. I had to save the .exe file to a flash drive then install on the other computer. Is it blocking a re-direct or something? I've tried to tweak the settings, reboot, etc. still nothing.

WIN XP SP3 FIREFOX 3.6 Avast Hit Downdload Now ....just cycles and reloads same page Downloads good from any other site

I've had the same problem and tried the same remedies.
How can we get some moderator assistance on this.

download a product from Download.com with FF?

We are looking into this but I need some specific information to pass on to the Download team to investigate.

I'm running FF 3.6 and XP 3 and was able to download AVAST and AVG with no issues, but then again, I'm within our corporate firewall.

Any additional symptoms or details would be helpful.

Thanks!
-Lee

After clicking on the download now link, the page reloads. I have tried with FF 3.6 and IE 8.0 both the Avast and SS Pro pages. Haven't had a problem downloading before and can still download from other sites. I haven't changed any settings on my network.

I have noticed errors reported on the firefox error console.

Thanks for the help.

Hey everybody!

We're trying to determine where exactly the problem is, and we think it may have something to do with the cookies in your browser. We have had cases similar to those described here that were fixed by removing corrupted cookies from the browsers.

In some cases, cookies needed to be removed from all the browsers on the machine, not just the default browser. Instructions for removing cookies from the various browsers can be found online. Here's the Mozilla support article for deleting cookies from Firefox: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/deleting%20cookies

I hope this info helps. Please report back if this remedy solves the problem.

Thanks for using CNET Downloads!

-Aaron

...was JAN 31, 2011 XP SP3 FF 3.6 and IE Cleared Cookies ...cleared temp files...cleaned registry...still nothing. Click DOWNLOAD NOW ( bottom script indicates much transfer activity) the download now page reappears and bottom script indicates...DONE

There is an active ad on the right sidebar that is something new ( I believe) I don't recall it...it is near where the save file window would display. Any chance it could be causing a problem? Just a thought.

Just got a new laptop, running Windows 7 64 bit. Installed Firefox 3.6.13 & set it as default. Also turned pop-up blocker off. Yet, for some reason, Firefox won't open certain hyperlinks. The most notable are links here on c-net for downloading software. I click the green download link, and it just reloads the page. Google Chrome works fine, and IE 8 was able to download as well.

1.) Could you post the link to the page on which you're clicking the download link, and also the page that loads after you click the download link? (Even if it looks like the same page, the URL may be slightly different.)

2.) What security software do you currently use? Some have mistakenly blocked CNET Downloads in the past, so I'm wondering if there's a common connection there.

3.) Do you get to a page that states "Your download will begin in a moment?" If so, can you download the program if you follow the "click here" link in the "No download?" section?

4.) Do you block referrer information or redirects through your browser, natively or with an extension?

5.) Do you use a download manager, either within your browser or a third-party program?

6.) Does it make a difference if you are logged in or logged out when you attempt the download?

I have some hypotheses regarding the issue, and hope the answers to the above offer some more clarity as to the cause.

Thanks!
John

1)original page, via cnet search:
http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10019223.html

page after clicking on odwnload now:
http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10019223.html

2)nortoan 360

3)that is not the page that appears

4)through browser (firefox3.6 and ie

5) firefox's built in download manager
or no dl manager with ie8

6) no difference

I have also noticed on occasion with web surfing in general that urls get redirected to a random page or i get a warning message that the url is invalid.

I have reported the page problem to mozilla as well thinking it may be a problem with their app.

I will try a reinstall of firefox. (although the problem has occurred in internet explorer as well)

Thanks John!

Regards
Paul

1.) Reinstalling Firefox likely won't make a difference, though creating a new profile might. You can press WINKEY + R and enter firefox.exe -p (with the space) to open the Firefox profile manager. From there, you can create a new profile with all default settings to ensure none of your own settings, extensions, etc. are causing an issue.

2.) When you mouse over the Download Now link, the full URL should appear in the status bar at the bottom. (Likewise if you right-click the link and select Copy Link Location.) Does it look something like this? http://dw.com.com/redir?edId=3&siteId=4&oId=3000-2239_4-10019223&ontId=2239_4&spi=4dd9b768bf2c2411f03fbb3263bac27b&lop=link&tag=tdw_dltext&ltype=dl_dlnow&pid=11678243&mfgId=85737&merId=85737&pguid=02i82woOYJIAAH3959kAAACk&destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.cnet.com%2F3001-2239_4-10019223.html%3Fspi%3D4dd9b768bf2c2411f03fbb3263bac27b

3.) Does the download begin, or do you at least see the "your download will begin in a moment" page, if you visit the following? http://download.cnet.com/3001-2239_4-10019223.html

In short, CNET uses a couple different redirects, one for tracking downloads on CNET and the other for the download itself. My first thought is that you have something either blocking redirects or creating its own, which could cause the random redirects and invalid URL issues. That would lead me to:

4.) Download/install alternative security software, such as Avast (hopefully the link in #3 works), and temporarily disable Norton 360 to see if that eliminates the issue.

5.) Use a Firefox extension such as HttpWatch to watch the requests Firefox is making, which would include any redirects that give a clue as to what's happening behind the scenes. (You can start HttpWatch just before you click a link, stop it after the page fully loads, and then right-click->Copy all rows to share the output for review if desired.)

6.) Download/run HiJackThis just to verify that the source of the random redirects and broken URLs is not malicious in nature. (Again, you can copy the log file's content for review.)

Let us know about #1-4 and, if you want, you can post the results of #4 and/or #5 here. You're not alone is experiencing this issue, and it would be nice to figure out the cause as it really should be a simple 'click here' procedure to download.

Regards,
John

Uninstalled AVAST and retried.....same results!

Nothing found...same results "...it's not me, it's you" - George Costanza

Ok if you look at the fourm http://forums.cnet.com/7723-7574_102-516164.html?tag=nl.rCOMBINED The same issue was in there. Keep posts going in here..

If you uninstall firefox the re-install that should work.

For IE8 all I had to do was install IE9 and that worked as well.

Of course these are definitely work arounds to the problem, not the real solution. The Solution would be to find out what the heck is wrong in the registry.

I have done every thing in the above suggested posts. INCLUDING Making a new profile. None worked (which is why I strongly feel the real problem is somewhere in the registry).

Be sure to completely uninstall firefox and reinstall. If you are using firefox. Or just install chrome or some other browser. I will post again when I reload IE8 and let you know if it is still working.

I get to Number 3 above "Your download will begin in a moment"... the open or save option does not appear.
I am running Win 7 Pro without SP1, IE9 Beta and MS Security Essentials.
It is only this site that I cannot download from.
I have deleted Cnet cookies, and checked the hosts file.

Rod

See this post from the Download.com Team in the Sticky thread here;
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-12543_102-518175.html?messageId=5096338#message5096338

Mark

Actually, I'm going to lock this thread so the discussion can continue there, now that the Download engineering team's investigating.

John

Note: This post was edited by forum moderator on 03/09/2011 on 1:10 PM PT