Orkut Logout Embedded Script Bug – Workaround.

Yesterday a friend of mine told me a problem he was facing with his Scrapbook in his orkut account whereby, he or anyone accessing his scrapbook was being logged out as soon as any link was clicked or even if the page was closed.

After having a close look at the source code I found that it was a simple HTML Tag inserted in the scrapbook which had the link to Logout orkut.

http://www.orkut.com/GLogin.aspx?cmd=logout

This was the link embedded in the scrap.

What this does:

• As soon as you open your scrapbook the link is accessed.
• It logs you out at that very moment when you opened your scrapbook. As the logout link is accessed.
• You still see your scrapbook but in the background you are already logged out.

What it NOT does:

• It does not compromise your account in any way. Like changing password or tampering with any data related to your account like Scraps etc. So your safe!! Do not panic.
• It is a plain HTML Code which calls the logout link. Thats it.

So be it you or your friend or anyone accessing your scrapbook. He/She is logged out at that very moment.

I found a quick workaround to it and his life was saved!! Damn I must say people are so addicted to Orkut. They feel as if they stop breathing when they cant access Orkut

Pre-requisites:

1. You should be facing the same problem.
2. This work around is based on FireFox browser on Windows (XP/2000). I have tested this on Windows XP Professional SP2. I mean you can fix this problem by using the Browser FireFox and later switch back to whatever browser you were using. You can download it from here : www.getfirefox.com
3. Install FireFox.

Steps for the workaround:

1. Open Notepad. Copy paste the following:
   

   @charset “utf-8″;
   /* CSS Document */
   /* block embedded orkut logout hack*/
   embed[src*=”http://www.orkut.com/GLogin.aspx?cmd=logout”] { display: none !important }

2. Click File–> Save As. In “Save As Type” drop down list choose “All Files”. Then in “File Name” enter the file name as: userContent.css
3. Goto C:\Documents and Settings\[YOUR WINDOWS Administrator USER NAME]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxx.default\chrome\
4. Copy paste the file in the above folder.
5. Open FireFox.
6. Access your Orkut Scrapbook and delete that Scrap!!..

References:

• How to disable sound in Firefox? – Arve Bersvendsen

This is not a bug fix. But a temporary work around to save you from your hassle. While I tested it. I do not guarantee it will work in your system neither can I be held responsible for anything that is a result of this work around. So USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK [Just to be safe from n00bies ]