Has Family Search been hacked? Server down?
Pages quitting unexpectedly. Contributions marked with server error messages.
Lots of different anomalies that dont respond to commands within the actual pages.
I say they have been hacked and are still trying to fix.
Why do I say so? 10 Years of experience in web hosting tells me this.
Hope that it is not a ransom that is holding back the techs from fixing the problems.
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I have been having issues with slow loading and the Source Linker not responding. Hope it is fixed soon. (Acworth, GA)
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I've not had any problems today, and I've been on the site for several hours - both searching in records and accessing the tree.
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LUCKY YOU. Cant open most of the records /sources that are attached to my contributions.
Same blank page indicating a server error
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Same experience that I am having. Cant open any pages to review the records/source that I added yesterday never mind last month or before that.
At least some of thee page commands are working now - zoom wasnt working yesterday
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Mine is better today thankfully.
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Have you tried the usual troubleshooting - using a different browser and/or clearing your cache and cookies in your preferred browser?
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Yes did all the usual troubleshooting. Things seem to be resolved today. Thanx.
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Still not working for me. It is the website. Browsing and shopping banking on other websites no problem.
When I cant review my recent contributions or go to the actual page where the record is because it wont open- just scrolling for seconds then an error message- it is the website not the user
Been happening for a couple of days. Server Problems? DDOS? Who knows?
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@carstone1, the behavior of other websites doesn't say anything whatsoever about the reasons for the misbehavior of a different website.
The usual cause of such errors on FS is a corrupted saved file or cookie. The easiest way to test this is to try a different browser, because obviously it'll have its own cache and cookies, so the corrupted file shouldn't affect it. If it works in the other browser, then some housekeeping in the original browser should fix the problem: delete the FS-related saved files/cookies to force the browser to download and save fresh, uncorrupted copies.
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So an entire range of more than 3200 images in a group that doesnt open a single image from the FS website is a corrupted cookie?
The link to a range of more than 3000 images wont allow any image to open in that group.
I have tried to open the group of images from F by going back to the main search page. no luck
Also seeing server error messages for the last few days
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Yes, possibly
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I am minded of a Hungarian saying: nemakarásnak nyögés a vége "not-wanting ends with groaning".
The recommended test and fix are simple and painless. Disbelieving and rejecting our help is highly unlikely to result in any change, but it sounds like you'd rather just have FS continue to be broken for you.
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I was having some very weird errors and anomolies the last few days.
I deleted my browser cache and rebooted and it seems to have gone away,
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Dear Julia
I am reminded of another Hungarian proverb that perhaps you can relate to but I cant.
Ha nincs ló, jó a szamár is.
Your Disrespectful disparaging and downright rude comments are not appreciated nor are your comments as "helpful" as you seem to think . I have experienced anomalies over the last few days. Anomalies are events that are considered not within the normal pattern of a user's experience. I am not the only one to have experienced these anomalies and it is a cause for concern when links to pages of records of more than 3000 images doesnt work.
With much delight I can report that things are back to normal. I did absolutely nothing that you suggested and today everything on FS is working properly. Sending 4 messages is not the definition of "groaning" .
Are there any servers hosted in Hungary? Asking for a friend?
So I conclude that either a server that may have gone offline was "rebooted", or someone plugged it back in properly after a knees up lol or a catastrophic DDOS was averted. LOL
Have a great evening.
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@carstone1 , I am not taking a stance on whether any particular comment was "rude" or "disrespectful". But consider that no user (myself included) that has participated in this discussion is a FS employee. We are all ordinary users volunteering our time to help one another.
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Great thanks for your comment. However I did not appreciate the Hungarian proverb that alluded that I was groaning or complaining.
4 messages does not equal complaining.
My first message asked if FS had been hacked as they had previously reported that they had been.
Furthermore, I did not ask for help and if someone’s idea of assistance is a poorly disguised jab and a poorly worded proverb then who needs their assistance?
So far this week FS is working properly.
All is well that ends well.
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What the saying actually means is that when someone needs something, but doesn't really want it, then of course he will not get it. (Or if he needs to do something, but doesn't want to, then of course the thing will not get done, or not get done well or properly.)
I apologize if it came across as rude; I should've added a "wry grin" emoji (if I could find one). But it really did seem to me, from your comment about being done with the topic, that you'd asked for advice and then rejected it, along with any future offerings. You've also expressed disbelief about our advice, without apparently trying any of it. These come across to me as not really wanting to fix the thing you're asking about.
FS is unquestionably prone to intermittent glitches. As was said upthread, most of these can be traced to corrupted temporary/saved files: cookies and cached data. Sometimes the cookies or temp files expire fast enough that the errors essentially fix themselves, but sometimes, the browser needs a thwack, or the process can be speeded up with such.
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Sadly your expressions may not move well into English if they require such tedious translation/explanation.
At no time did I ask for assistance. Having been more than once part of a team that thwarted multiple DDOS at a DC, I thought I recognized some troubling signs. My IT skills are well above a basic level.:)
I have agreed to help a family member to research their ancestors and I have a very limited time scope so every day counts. Things were going well in September and through most of October until last week.
When I encountered several anomalies over the course of a week or so, I asked the community if they also were experiencing the same. I wondered "out loud" if FS had been hacked and thought if they had I would abandon the search for a few days or a week or so until things calm down.
Your jumping in to"help" was appreciated but not the jabs about groaning.
Enjoy your experience on FS.
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While you may not have explicitly said "Please help me!" you did ask a question. And, in this group, when someone asks a question, we do our best - as volunteers - to provide a useful answer.
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Thanks for the prompt response. I thought I was clear in my questions. Perhaps not.
Always good to know that the FS community is quick to help.
I will keep this in mind for the future.
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I'm new in this particular area, but with decades of experience in Family Search and computer safety. I love your willingness to share your observations. I would like to also make one minor suggestion for those of us who might meet a challenge at time with images on Family Search. If you are noticing slow loading there is one possible solution you should check........Drop down to the bottom right of your computer screen and scroll over your "cloud" icon. Is it possible your computer is busy uploading a good bit of data and trying to sync with your "cloud"? If so this is going to make it harder for your internet bandwidth to provide you with the kind of easy breezy experience you want to have on Family Search. It is possible to "pause" your cloud experience and get down to business at a faster pace...........We never had this problem at our house until Covid and so many were working at home that the bandwidths in our neighborhood began to crunch. I discovered that if I paused my syncing then Family Search worked the way I wanted it to work!!!
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Di you see the message that FS will be "down" for several hours today.
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The message does NOT say the site will be down. It specifically says some features may be unavailable. That is standard wording. Usually, I can work right through a maintenance period with no problems.
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Thanks Lisa for the insightful comments
No bandwith issues for me although it is a common complaint now with WFH or remote working.
Lots more anomalies today again - server not responding when I try to link a record.
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