Can't Get to Certain Websites

If you could try out one of your computers, with another internet service provider, the outcome will give you, some clue to your problem.

Curious.

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You could try reaching it on Chrome or Opera browsers.

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You could try reaching it through a free proxy server.

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Check your security settings on your browsers.

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What changes have you recently made? Are all affected computers networked?

Just tried Chrome--didn't work.

All three computers are in my house. They are not networked, but they all work through the same router. Two are wireless, one is directly connected over Ethernet.

Maybe I'll take a laptop to someplace that has free wireless and see if it works with a different ISP.

Something was changed with the router, sometime before you noticed this website problem?

That would seem to be the most probable scenario.

If you didn't make any changes to the router, is there anyone else around who might have?

Nope. Nothing has changed. I've been to those sites a zillion times.

I like your original suggestion of trying a different ISP. Guess I'll try that next. After I vote.

You can try to connect through a proxy server without changing physical locations.

Here is one (of multitudes).

Just type the web address into the bar near the top of the web page and click 'go'

That worked!

What does that mean? Is the problem with Mediacom, my ISP?

Revisit post #1. I told you so in the beginning.

As soon as I vote, I will go do that.

I'm glad that at least one of my answers was good enough to be of assistance. I suppose there is some merit to a shotgun approach.

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OK. So the main thing that proxy does for you is it lets you access the websites until the problem can be corrected.

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As far as what it means...

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It tells you the websites are indeed functioning and can be reached.

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It suggests the problem is not in your computer, but probably in your router, modem, or with your ISP.

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Another scenario in which you would not be able to reach the websites normally, but could through a proxy, would be if the websites had banned your for some reason. So, the question needs to be asked....have you or anyone using your connection do anything that might have gotten your connection banned from accessing those sites?

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By the way I forgot to ask earlier, is your wireless connection secure and password protected?

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Assuming that you committed any ban-worthy flaming at those websites, the best thing to do at this point is contact your ISP, which you already planned to do.

I went to lunch (after voting), got on their wireless, and accessed the sites.

So there is nothing wrong with my confuser or internet browser. It must be either the router or Mediacom.

I'll start with resetting the router.

Thanks everyboy.

Block or allow cookies from specific websites

1. Click to open Internet Explorer.
2. Click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
3. Click the Privacy tab, and then move the slider to a position between the top and bottom so you are not blocking or allowing all cookies.
4. Click Sites.
5. In the Address of website box, type a website address, and then click Block or Allow. As you type, a list of webpages that you have already visited will be displayed. You can click an item in the list and it will be displayed in the Address of website box.
6. Repeat step 5 for each website you want to block or allow. When you are finished, click OK.
7. Move the slider back to the position it was originally in, and then click OK.

Interesting function. I'll use it to block some annoying sites. Alas, "allowing" those two sites didn't work.

Thanks.

By the bye, both those sites are in the UK. I can get to other sites in the UK, though.

I'm out of ideas. They come up for me in both Slimbrowser and Chrome. I can't help but think that it has something to do with cookies. Both sites have a cookie message on top.

Maybe your cookie jar is full.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Delete-your-Internet-cookies

Just tried that. No luck.

Thanks again.

I've had that happen when trying to log onto CR4 before. No rhyme or reason. I'll try later, and everything works fine.

Try going to internet options>privacy>advanced

Check the box that says override automatic cookie handling. Then check the box that says always allow session cookies.

If you can open those sites, you will have narrowed it down to a cookie problem.

I don't have "override Automatic cookie handling" on this laptop. But I restored all the standard default settings just in case something has gotten screwed up. Still no luck. It keeps saying "Oops! Internet Explorer could not connect to www.controlengeurope.com"

So I'm not even getting to the cookies anyway, right?

The mystery deepens.

I took a laptop to a restaurant with wireless, and got onto both sites. That means there is nothing wrong with my laptop, browsers, security settings, cookie settings, and so on.

I reset my router at home. No help.

I called Mediacom, my ISP. They got on both sites. I guess that means Mediacom is not blocking the sites.

Mediacom sent a command to change the Internet address of my modem, thinking that maybe my address had something to do with it. Nope. Still doesn't work.

This is not a catastrophe, since I can get to the sites via a proxy server--but whatinhell is wrong?

Is your wireless secured and password protected?

Have you logged onto your wireless router as the administrator to see if anything has been changed?

No. Not sure even how to log in. When they set it up it had a password (network key), and according to Security Properties it's still there.

Besides, the PC that's directly connected via Ethernet has the same problem. But I'll check it...somehow.

If you have a separate modem, you could try taking your router out of the chain. Go direct to one of your computers from the modem.

You can reach the router's interface using a browser on any computer on your network.

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Simply open the browser and type 192.168.0.1 into the address field and hit enter. That is the common address used by many routers. If that doesn't work then try 192.168.1.1

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A couple routers do not use either of those addresses, but those are the rare exception.

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My question about the password could have been phrased more clearly. Does your router require a password in a new computer, say a visiting friends laptop, tries to access the internet through your wireless?

This may sound dumb but...have you tried rebooting the router AND the modem?

Goto the command prompt and type

C:\Users\Owner>nslookup www.controlengeurope.com
Server: UnKnown
Address: 10.0.1.1

Non-authoritative answer:

Name: www.controlengeurope.com

Address: 193.104.168.43

Then try http://193.104.168.43 in your browser

I can't reach it either and it doesn't ping, but in my case it's not a name server problem. It might be on their end.

Have you got an Apple router by any chance?

I had a similar problem, seems the routing table can become corrupt and it blocks sites for no reason, google will show a few suggestions

With things like this, I've also had success by returning the computer to a restore point from before the problem started happening.

I didn't do nuttin'--but now I can get to the sites.

I appreciate all the comments, advice and suggestions, and I learned a few things.

My suspicion: The Mediacom rep who couldn't fix the problem turned in a service question to the "boys in the back room" and they found something and fixed it. But that's just a guess.

Or, since I wasn't the only one who couldn't get on, maybe there was something wrong at the two sites and they are related somehow.

Thanks, guys.

I can access the one I tried earlier too.

Too bad the tracert tool is mostly broken in Windows. When I had Cygwin installed, I could use the unix/linux tool and that usually worked. Something was probably messed up getting there or the websites itself had problems.

Because others could access the sites, it was probably one of the major Internet providers.