One web site inaccessible.

[Panama Red]

A friend called with a problem that I've tried to T/S over the phone without success. He has one web site that he can not access. He can get on at work and I can access it from my computer. He just can't get to it from his home computer. I've checked his Security Settings and find nothing amiss. He thought he may have received a virus or trojan from opening mail on this site so I had him do a scan at Trendmicro. It found 4 Trojans and they've been removed but the problem still persists. He's using XP SP2, fully updated and IE6. Any ideas?

[rcvalencia9]

Did he try to access the website through another Internet Browser? He can reinstall/repair IE and try again.

[Stuey]

If he's behind a router, he might have to reset his router and modem (but not a factory settings reset). I've endured similar issues before and simply unplugging my router and modem and plugging them both back in. If he doesn't have a router, the culprit may be something else, but it's worth a try.

[glc]

Check his hosts file.

[Panama Red]

Thanx g, I'll have him give it a look tomorrow.

[Panama Red]

His hosts file had a number of entries. Saved them to a separate notepad and deleted them from his Hosts file. No change. Still can't access his site. I suggested he email them and see if they have him blocked for some reason. Since he found Trojans on his computer that he suspected came from a malicious member of is site, I'm wondering if he unknowingly passed it on and they blocked his IP.

[Statica]

It would depend on what the error message is that he's getting. And whether he can ping it. A 403 error on his browser would mean that they've blocked out his IP/ISP. Has he tried getting to the website through the IP address and not the domain name?

[Panama Red]

Ok, here's the latest. He contacted the site in question and they assured him that nothing is blocking him on their end. I picked up the computer from him today so I can test it at my place and wouldn't ya know it, it connects fine from my network. I'm more convinced that somehow his IP is being blocked by the site; perhaps without them even knowing it. He's on Comcast cable. Any way to change the IP?

[nocturnx]

hmm couldnt you use a proxy server to show a different IP and see if that lets him in. Would this work?

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131899

[Panama Red]

Looks like a possibility, nocturnx. Thanx!

[azscary]

It might help to post the URL of the website in question. I have Comcast cable and could possibly help troubleshoot it.

[Panama Red]

Give it a shot, az.

http://www.reasons.org/

[azscary]

Opens up just fine with Firefox 1.0.4 and with IE 6 so it isn't the browser. Has he been flagged as a spammer by mistake?

I am behind a router if that matters.

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by azscary Opens up just fine with Firefox 1.0.4 and with IE 6 so it isn't the browser. Has he been flagged as a spammer by mistake? I am behind a router if that matters.

We don't know if he was flagged. The site reports that nothing is being done to block him on their end. Now that you mention router, that reminds me. He had a router installed as a NAT firewall but it failed and was sent in under warranty. He's been running the XP firewall while connected directly to the cable modem. I think the lack of access started after the router was removed. And he did try FireFox too with the same lack of site access.

[azscary]

Perhaps the XP firewall has blocked that site. Possibly the cookie for that site was blocked or has gone corrupt.

[Panama Red]

Problem solved! I installed the new router tonite. Config went perfect and we got right on his site. Must have been something to do with removing the router. Not sure what but it works now! Thanx for the ideas all.