[conspire] ... bank doesn't like Iceweasel

[Michael Paoli]

> Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2016 23:25:57 +0000 (UTC)
> From: Paul Zander <paulz at ieee.org>
> To: Conspire List <conspire at linuxmafia.com>
> Subject: [conspire] bank doesn't like Iceweasel
>
> For some time, I have been used to bank websites telling me that I  
> should be using Firefox. I just ignore it and proceed with my  
> business.
>
> Now I have encountered a bank that will only let me access my  
> account if I use Firefox, Chrome, Safari or IE.

Some sites are stupid, and rather than going by appropriate standards, try to
insist upon such-and-such browser(s) only.

But they don't *know* what browser one is using - they just (mostly) "believe"
what the browser tells them.

E.g. hit same kind of crud some years back assisting a friend set up their
AT&T basic cheap DSL with Linux ... AT&T only supported(/supports?)
Microsoft Windows and OS/X ... but they don't *know* what operating system
you're using ... they just blindly believe what the browser tells them.

Adjust what the browser tells 'em, and you're off and running ... e.g. bit
I posted about that earlier:
http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/sf-lug/2010q1/007451.html
Only other bit needed for that ISP setup was "translating" their Microsoft /
OS/X specific technical setup instructions (e.g. email, etc.) into  
configuration
information for Linux - otherwise basically easy peasy - though it sucks that
they don't "support" Linux - and even effectively "reject" it (okay, so they
don't want to support yet another operating system ... whatever).  But again
they don't *know* what operating system is being used.

> How can I run Firefox under Debian?
>
> /usr/bin/firefox is a script that re-directs to iceweasel.
Not if you're up to current stable.  That changed recently,
as has also been pointed out further along this thread.

> I tried downloading the tarball.  It unpacked to more than 40 files.
Yeah, you don't wanna do that ... for reasons also well explained
further along this thread.

> Just trying to execute the main file did not work:
>
>    $ . ./firefox
>    bash: .: ./firefox: cannot execute binary file
I addressed that separately ... ah, and *there* (above) the text
didn't get mangled ... thought that was in fact what you'd
done/attempted.

Standards are good.
https://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/
Annoys me when sites don't work with lynx - if they don't work with
lynx, they typically suck on the accessibility front, and effectively lock
many users out.