Author: Ian.thomson
Description:
For some reason, I cannot log into Wikipedia through AT&T, and any system that I attempt to log into starts loading Wikipedia slower and slower until it stops loading, unless I go through some hoops (given below) to reset everything. After going through those hoops or getting on a fresh computer, when I click "log in," it can take up to five minutes for the page to load (if it does at all), and then it takes longer (again, if at all) to load other pages.
My laptop is a Dell Inspiron with a quad-core 2.5 ghz processor and 8 GB ram, running 64-bit Windows 7, using up-to-date Firefox to browse (with Adblock and NoScript on full blast by default, Wikipedia exempted), with Avast and Microsoft Security Essentials for routine protection and Malwarebytes and Combofix (the legit one) for occasional scans. I'm on a DSL line, and my laptop usually manages to hog 250-500 kb/s of the house's bandwidth.
I've cleared my browser cache, purged server caches, and flushed my DNS. I've restarted my browser, laptop, and router in different orders. I've checked multiple antimalware programs (all up to date) and found no problem. All other computers, laptops, tablets and wifi-connected smartphones in my house can open the main page and articles -- but start slowing down and locking up when I try to open the login page and other "special:" pages. This trouble is only coming up on Wikipedia.
I've tried mobile and desktop, with no benefit (unless I log in on my phone through Sprint's data plan instead of my AT&T internet over Wifi). Checking the recent contributions page, I see that other accounts are still going just fine. I've checked with a friend who is also on AT&T. He's noticing that the site is running slower than usual, and it started lagging when he logged in. He doesn't have nearly as many contributions or as large of a watchlist, but he is otherwise able to continue loading pages.
The only possibilities left for me are either that AT&T owes me a big apology or some sort of bug is preventing select users from logging in. Can't contact AT&T right now, so I can't make any decision on that end yet.
Version: unspecified
Severity: major
Whiteboard: aklapper-moreinfo