Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER") - What is going on?

[Nicolae Fieraru]

Hi All,

I try to use Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER") in a script and I
discovered it doesn't work as expected.
I use XP with SP2 and I created a link on a web site which points to an asp
page which should show the referer.
I placed a link on www.eleader.com.au/linkref.html and there is a link
pointing to www.monitortest.net/referer.asp
When I use my computer with XP SP2, and I click on the first link, I get no
referer. But when I use my XP SP1 computer from the same location, I get the
referer URL.
What is going on? Does the SP2 strip the referer information? Why? How are
we supposed to identify the referer in this case?

Regards,
Nicolae

 

[Patrice]

This is to be taken as "for your information". User agents are free to
provide or not this information.

Patrice

 

[Nicolae Fieraru]

I tried with three different browsers (IE, Netscape, Opera) on the system
with Win XP SP2 and none of them passed the referal information. It isn't
the user agent which behaves badly. On the system without SP2 (and without
Norton Internet Security in case it maters I can see the referers.

Regard
Nicolae

 

[Patrice]

Do you try tro solve this in particular case ? I wanted to point that this
is an optional information and that you'll liekly run into problems if you
expect this information to be always available...

Try for example :
http://wordpress.org/support/topic.php?id=23942

In your particular case, I believe I've seen earlier in this group that
shutting down Norton solves the problem (and the link above seems to state
so also)...

Patrice

--

 

[Nicolae Fieraru]

Hi Patrice,

Thank you for your reply. I used in the past HTTP_REFERER to find out what
web sites link to mine.
Today I was implementing the function in a script and I've been unable to
make it working and this is why I start checking what is going on. Is there
any way that an ASP script located on the web server can identify the web
site who refered a visitor to a web page on the web server? A friend of mine
told me he checked the links I provided and he got the referer using XP SP2.
So it could be some other program installed on my computer which prevents
sending the referer information.

Regards,
Nicolae

 

[Patrice]

Did you tried to shutdown Norton ?

Register this info but in some cases, it may be missing...

Patrice

--

 

[Nicolae Fieraru]

Hi Patrice,

I tried to disable NIS2005 and it still does the same. But I know from
experience that even if I disable NIS2005, there are still modules that
remain active (for example the popup blocker). It would be good to identify
what program strips off the information, but it isn't seem to be a simple
task. I would have to remove the programs that start up at startup (or maybe
to startup in safe mode with networking and see if it is actually Windows or
other programs).

Regards,
Nicolae

 

[Mark Schupp]

Most likely candidate would be Privacy Control. Is it disabled?

 

[Mark Schupp]

More specifically:
NIS: Privacy control - configure
Advanced button
Global settings tab
"Information about visited sites"
If blocked (this appears to be the default) then HTTP-REFERER is wiped out.

 

[Nicolae Fieraru]

Wow Mark, you solved it. Congratulations!
That was the problem, the privacy control. I didn't check all the features
of NIS and once I read your first email I went straight there and disabled
it, and after that it worked. I will follow your later instructons, only to
disable that specific part from privacy control.

Best regards,
Nicolae