Problem displaying of full-size images in a post

[xairbusdriver]

Safari (Mac) 13.0.5, macOS 10.14.6

Here is the url generated by the forum software by clicking on one of the images in the "Noise Reduction..." thread by Peterj:http://redirect.viglink.com/?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=6188846&u=https%3A//ibb.co/xYhfPrLThe actual url is,https://ibb.com/xYhfPrlwhich I can tease out of the "redirect", but that is somewhat tiresome...

In the browser, I have javascript enabled, all cookies are allowed, photoshopelementsandmore.com and redirect.viglink.com have content blockers OFF and pop-up windows allowed. I can find no settings in the forum software controlling anything about links or accessing off-site images.

No difference with or without AdBlock (1.22.0) installed, paused, uninstalled, the above domain and PSE&M are white-listed.

Of course, Firefox 73.0.1 works fine... :headbash:

I assume I am doing something wrong or have not set things up properly... again!
Thanks for any constructive suggestions, settings, etc. (other than using Windows  )?

[xairbusdriver]

I am using the free, Mac version of AdBlock from "AdBlock".  I'm not sure where I got it, there seem to be several extensions with the same name, some of which are not as "transparent" about who actually develops them. I've d/l's a version of "AdblockPlus" and added PSE&M. I'm being called to provide some taxi service and will add the imgg and the redirect domains later today. 

Driving duties completed...

I've added the forum site with "/imgg" also. However, I would think the extension should allow any path starting with "https://photoshopelementsandmore.com". But that won't be my first misteak uv thee yeer or even the munth!

BTW, I've also disabled the different "AdBlock" extension.
BTW #2, AdblockPlus shows "disabled" on this site, which should indicate the white-list is working.
BTW #3, Same as above on the redirect.viglink.com/ blank page. I am beginning to think it may be Apple's too aggressive stance on http vs https, even though I visit some "not secure" sites that include links to off-site images which seem to work just fine.

So far, I don't see any difference even after Quitting Safari.

[Tpgettys]

Thank you for your diligence in reporting what you are seeing xairbusdriver .

I believe the redirect through viglink is innocuous; it is imgbb's way of tracking hits on their site.  You should see the full-size image when you click on it, nothing more.

If you observe any unusual behavior we appreciate you notifying us!

[xairbusdriver]

Is PSE&M (or ProBoards) related to imbb.co in any way? I notice that it is basically a javascript, a 'platform' not known for security and often used to insert mal/adware. There are also numerous hits when searching for imbb.co referring to virus. All in all, not a very reassuring experience.

Also not sure why PSE&M uses VigLink, "a San Francisco-based, outbound-traffic monetization service for publishers, forums...". Do they pay PSE&M any fees? Is this system a part of the ProBoards system?

[Tpgettys]

xairbusdriver ,

Thank you for being diligent, for being concerned and asking your questions.

We are not affiliated with imgbb in any way.  It is used by a free plug-in that we use to give our members a means for easily incorporating images into their posts.  There are other methods for sharing your images in your posts, just not quite as easily as using the Add image button.  Please see the FAQ's Board for a description of those other methods.

This forum is hosted by ProBoards.  They allow anyone to setup a forum for free and customize it (up to a point).

Neither PSE&M nor ProBoards uses VigLink; it is used by imgbb.  FYI: We receive no money from any source; the PSE&M forum is strictly a volunteer labor of love.

Thanks again for being here and a valued PSE&M member!

[Tpgettys]

Hi again. It seems I was incorrect about VigLink being used by ProBoards. Here is their explanation:

What is VigLink and why does ProBoards use it?

VigLink is a company that helps ProBoards earn money from links to online merchants. When you click link to a website outside of your forum, VigLink checks to see if that website is a part of their affiliate program. If it is, VigLink will make sure that ProBoards gets credit for visitors that have clicked on the link. This means that if a purchase is made through the linked website, ProBoards may earn some revenue from that purchase. We believe this is a good experience for both ProBoards members and ProBoards itself because the process is seamless and does not involve adding any extra banner ads to the forum.

Why am I seeing every link on my forum as a VigLink link?

If you are using an ad-blocker or script-blocker, we detect that and automatically fix the links on the page to ensure we get credit for them going through VigLink. ProBoards makes money from advertising, so we appreciate if you can disable your ad-blocker or script-blocker while on our site.

We get the forum and support for it for "free", but it has to be paid for somehow.  Now I know how!

[Andy]

To confirm some of the other posts on the thread - ProBoards uses VigLinks to make a little money. VigLinks is legitimate and should neither interfere with accessing a link nor redirect the link anywhere else.

[xairbusdriver]

I can view full-size images in posts with Firefox on my Mac, Safari on my iDevices and Safari on my mac mini and MBP. There must be some setting in my iMac that is causing the problem. I do thank you for your patience, suggestions and info. I know what it's like to volunteer on forums and I appreciate your work that makes this site so useful! 

[xairbusdriver]

Problem solved, I think (hope). I've been using a VPN for nearly a year and the only (other?) problems I've had with it is that Comcast doesn't "like" some of the servers it uses; it will not send an email unless I temporarily disconnect the VPN. Fortunately, I have found a couple of servers that Comcast "likes". 

Since every other device I'm using works fine with displaying external images, I tried to come up with what was different about the Mac's System. Finally, today I DISconnected the VPN and went to a post with a linked image. WHALA! There was the full-size image with all its PSE work! I need to report this stuff to the VPN devs...

Thanks, again, for the suggestions and help and patience with this old codger!!