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"You are a bot"

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  • Last reply by TikvahCo

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Suddenly NY Times links think I am a bot, or there is a java problem, or I am clicking too fast (huh?), and I am being blocked. This started around the same time as the last update. Help! Thanks.....

Suddenly NY Times links think I am a bot, or there is a java problem, or I am clicking too fast (huh?), and I am being blocked. This started around the same time as the last update. Help! Thanks.....

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Hello,

Could you please try creating a new Firefox profile and see if the problem persists there?

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Ohhhhhh, with my luck lately I am afraid it will do something unexpected to my current profile. 😳

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(2) If this is helpful, it is only happening with links to NY Times articles. (I had a prob with them once before, they said it was not them, and after fighting about it for weeks, the problem suddenly disappeared). Yesterday I connected to an article once, and then got "you are a bot." Same thing a few minutes ago. This is through their "The Morning" newsletter that I have been getting for YEARS with no problem except for the glitch a couple of years ago, and now this, which started occurring right around the time of the last update. And it does not happen with their mini-crossword. No problem with that link. 🤦‍♂️

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Thank you for giving more details. The problem is, that our team has trouble reproducing this issue (and, therefore, further investigating it). It seems to affect a limited group of users, and there are too many possible causes. One of the users, however, has managed to fix the issue by creating a new profile, and it would be extremely useful to know if that is a universal solution.

Creating a new profile will not affect your current one in any way. Basically, Firefox just creates a new folder and uses it when you choose to launch the new profile. All you have to do:

  1. Go to about:profiles
  2. Click Create a New Profile and then click Next in an opened window.
  3. Enter any name you want (e.g., "Clean profile") and click Finish.
  4. Click Launch profile in new browser under the created profile.
    • A new window will open with a clean profile.
  5. Check how the NYT behaves there.
  6. Close the window (and, if you want, remove the created profile).

During the whole process, your current profile (with all the tabs, windows, data etc.) will stay available and untouched – so there's nothing to be worried about :)

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Thanks for the addtl info. I'll give it a try. 😳

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