USPS.com Website Browser Changes Coming 4/30/18

[berserkerplanet]

Ran into this today while checking some tracking at USPS.com

For most of you it will be a non-issue, but I'm going to have some big troubles I think. In their blind quest for "Internets Security" they are no longer going to support "outdated" browsers.

This isn't about security for the website infrastructure - it's about security on the client side and transport, and it should be my choice to take my chances, but they had to go whole nanny-state.

Windows XP users can't use any of the Firefox, Chrome, or IE versions, and neither of the listed Safari versions run on Windows at all. Opera browser isn't even an option on the list. Probable that Opera Mini on my Windows 10 phone won't work, and unknown if Edge on the phone will.

From what I see there the rest of you are going to be forced to use latest and greatest versions.

It looks like they might be going to a TLS 1.2 minimum protocol based on the browsers listed, but many older versions of those browsers also support 1.2 (but maybe not all the cipher suites), so we shall see how limited it is in a few weeks.

Also remains to be seen what "some features" means. It would be absolute idiocy to bar all least common denominator browsers from checking tracking numbers, looking up simple info, getting a rate quote, or downloading notice123.pdf and other USPS document, but makes a bit more sense to apply more stringent security when using a credit card to purchase stamps or shipping labels (but should once again be my choice - it's my credit card that might get compromised by pretty much nation state level hackers sniffing and brute force decrypting my SSL traffic)

https://www.usps.com/browser-check/

[slippinjimmy]

Microsoft ended any support for XP 4 years ago, XP is a 16 year old O/S.

XP market share under 4% worldwide and under 2% in the USA, do you really think they should continue to support such an outdated O/S?

[berserkerplanet]

They don't have to "support" anything. It takes next to nothing to leave an existing fallback security protocol in place.

[ed8108]

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@berserkerplanet wrote:
They don't have to "support" anything. It takes next to nothing to leave an existing fallback security protocol in place.

That would seem to make sense. 

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[richard1rst]

There is a "test" button on that page that you click and you will instantly be told if your browser will be compatible. If it is then you do not have to do anything.

[berserkerplanet]

There is no test button in any browser I possess, only the fail page as shown in the original image above.

Not in Firefox 31 where I'm typing this and do my eBay, PayPal, and FedEx stuff that doesn't work in FF3.6.24, and where I do 99% of my online banking, bill paying, DMV, other state and Federal website interactions, and online purchasing - and it's good enough for those entities).

Not in Firefox 52.2.1ESR

Not in Firefox 52.7.3ESR (the very latest 3/27/18 update and last Win XP version so far)

Not in the very last version of Opera Mini on my 18 month old Windows 10 Smartphone

Not in the latest Edge browser update on that phone either (Edge is a smoking pile)

Your comment led me to look at that USPS page source and it looks like that page is more than just a badly done info page. It appears (I'm not going to try to decipher the 1000's of lines of JS to see) it is probably doing an automatic gross browser version check - likely via browser user-agent - on page load and throwing up the fail screen as seen in the original image I posted for "older" browsers. I assume from looking at the page DOM that for browsers that pass that first gauntlet it displays the button and may do some more in depth checking (cipher suites, etc) to make a final determination.

(I'm going to speculate a lot from here on out here based on pretty much a total lack of information. Why isn't there anything on the internet about this? Why no howls of despair on Amazon, Stamps.com, and other seller and shipping forums? Something doesn't seem right.)

It looks like Windows XP is hosed. No options at all other than an OS upgrade (or going really wild, trying to run Win 7, 8, or 10 in a VM under XP if it's even possible)

What about iPhone, iPads, and Macs? Can IOS on anything but recent devices run an acceptable version of Safari?

How about Android devices? Can/do they run anything that will be acceptable? All? Some?

Windows Vista users only choice will be to run pretty much the shiniest new Chrome or Firefox Quantum versions (IE 11 and Safari not an option)

Win 7, and Win 8 users will have use IE11, run the newest Chrome or Firefox Quantum versions,  or hack Edge onto those using virtual machines (apparently doable, but not cheap or easy)

Only Win 10 users appear to be clearly at this point in the clear.

(I leave the Apple, Android, Kindle, and other device and Linux browser compatibility research to others)

Unless I'm totally off base here, this looks bad (and I'd love for someone to tell me I'm not thinking straight and I'm delirious). It looks like USPS, pretty much without warning (a month?) and with no information published anywhere that I can find, unilaterally decided to "fix internet security" with what I'm seeing is a consequence of locking out a lot of people from being able to access whatever (so far undisclosed) website functions that are going to fall under this change (presumably anything financial, or possibly even logins to USPS).

A friend's small business also uses XP machines and presumably won't be ably to print any Click and Ship labels starting 5/1. I don't know what his iPhone will be able to do (if anything) but certainly not create, purchase, and print and international shipping label. So the office is going to have to rely on the Windows 8 laptop which isn't usually even in the office.

XP is 17 years old, obsolete, unsupported, but it works for everything else on the internet. IRS, DMV, Bank of America, Walmart, Comcast, Amazon, eBay, Newegg, Home Depot, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, AOL, Youtube, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and every other (of thousands) of websites I've visited.

I welcome any information to show I'm interpreting this incorrectly.

I'm screwed, but I think a lot of others may be too, and are going to be forced to update to browsers they didn't want to use and possibly OS's they didn't want to upgrade to just to access whatever USPS functions are going to be denied to them otherwise.

I'd be interested to see results of visits to that USPS page, and what OSs/Browsers pass and fail.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@berserkerplanet wrote:

There is no test button in any browser I possess, only the fail page as shown in the original image above....

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 When I click on the "Read more" button or on the link at the bottom of your first post, I get a notice that my current browser is "up to date" even though it's Safari 10.1.1 on a Mac, which is inconsistent with the info in the image you posted above, which specifies Safari 10.1.2. So perhaps that page you got isn't actually a fail message.

[justforposting_1960]

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@berserkerplanet wrote:

"There is no test button in any browser I possess, only the fail page as shown in the original iage above."

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Look at the lower left hand corner of the image you posted in you op. There is a link right there that goes to the USPS browser check. I tested it and it even works to click on it in the image.

[berserkerplanet]

From looking at the structure of that page (via the source) it certainly looks like it's the fail display version of the page(there are a couple of div elements - one containing pass and one fail. One gets hidden and one gets displayed -  depending on the results of testing done by one or more of the dozens of scripts that load with the page and controlled by one of them.

I have nothing that will show me the pass view (and I'm not going to take the time to dissect the scripts to try to force it). I didn't see any button code anywhere in the DOM, so it may be buried in the scripts. Anyway, I'm seeing a fail I'm sure since it's the same across 7 browsers I checked.

Your Safari pass may just be sloppy wording or coding on their part.

[berserkerplanet]

I pasted that link in below the image to provide people a way to visit the page - it isn't a part of the screenshot.
(guess I need to start putting borders around my posted images again to prevent these types of confusions)

There is nothing below what shows on the screen shot but a half dozen lines of footnote text - disclaimers about trademarks, USPS isn't the browser maker, etc, and the standard USPS page footer. No buttons, nothing. In all 6 browsers I tried.

Since you passed - what browser and OS?

[ymeagainlord]

The link is the "read more" at the end of the red banner.

[dhbookds]

When I click your link..... I get this

I presume the read more will give more info if the browser doesn't work, but can't test because it does.

I am using uptodate ff....

I have sympathy for you, I actually cried when Netscape died......  but time marches on and most people are going to adjust by getting more uptodate software.....   You don't see too many horses/buggies (tho actually we do, here in PA)........

[chrysylys]

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@dhbookds wrote:

I have sympathy for you, I actually cried when Netscape died...... 

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Netscape hasn't died.  It was rechristened Mozilla Suite and then SeaMonkey.  Still the best on the web.  Until the G Monster bribes more sites to force assimilation to theirs and only theirs.

[a_c_green]

I would hope (without any supporting evidence, though) that the only inaccessible features will be for secure transactions such as Click 'n' Ship or ordering supplies. I use the site daily for tracking lookups and such, things that don't require a login of any kind and are basically Read Only.

If they want to block XP boxen from doing secure transactions, fine; I can understand that. I'd just hate to have to replace perfectly functional hardware due to security updates in areas I never visit anyway. Oh, well, it's bound to happen sooner or later. (We just passed the fourth anniversary of the official discontinuation of XP support, didn't we? And yet the machines just keep on going...)

[rainbowcolorz]

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@justforposting_1960 wrote:

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@berserkerplanet wrote:

"There is no test button in any browser I possess, only the fail page as shown in the original iage above."

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Look at the lower left hand corner of the image you posted in you op. There is a link right there that goes to the USPS browser check. I tested it and it even works to click on it in the image.

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Yes ... the link in the OP's post that says "browser check" ..... I clicked and thank goodness mine is up to date.   I have WIN 10 but my computer guy made it look like I'm using WIN 7 because I did not like WIN 10.