Okay, so I've had this problem for maybe at least 2 years. There's this one website that will not ever load on my desktop. Doesn't matter if I use Firefox (regular, and in it's 'safe mode') or IE. The thing is, every other desktop in the house can connect to it, and my netbook can get there, too.

I'm at a complete loss as to why the site will not load. It is not part of my filters, adblockplus, or anything browser-related as far as I can tell. I'm not super computer savvy, so maybe I haven't tried everything with the browser to see what could be wrong. I also don't know what else I can do on my computer to try to figure out the problem.

If you have any ideas, suggestions, or advice, please tell me!


The site is the website for sciencenews. They store a lot of their articles up on the site, free to view, and I've used them a few times when doing research. We get the magazine in print, but we don't keep the issues for ever and ever, so sometimes I also like to re-find an article that's stored on their website.

Possibilities:

-blocked on router level by a parental control targetting just your computer (don't ask me how it got there

-blocked in your hosts file for some reason (don't ask me how it got there)

-corrupted entry in your DNS cache

-Blocked by your software firewall (don't ask me how it was added)

-Blocked as a malicious site by your Internet Security Suite

Solutions:

-Log into your router and snoop around for any filters in place

-open your hosts file (run "%windir%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts") and look for any related entries

-open the command prompt and flush your DNS (ipconfig /flushdns)

-Disable your firewall

-disable your Internet Security software

Occasionally malware can corrupt certain settings related DNS and/or modify the registry to connect through a proxy. I hate Javascript... I occasionally get infected because ads on sites have infected javascript components that automatically load files. Usually its a simple fix as long as you don't reboot the computer. Once rebooted the infection is much harder to eliminate, especially the damn rogue antivirus type malware.

DNS one is true, but Firefox wouldn't be effected by a proxy in the registry AFAIK.

Also: NoScript/NotScript (depending on your browser) would be able to keep those rogue javascripts from loading.

Okay, thanks! I'm not sure if I have my own firewall. My dad has it set up so that all our computers go through one firewall. We connect to our wireless lan (???) with one of those linksys things. And, uh, I'm not even sure what a router looks like. :shame:

I guess I could try to flush the DNS and see what happens. I'm not sure how much I can do from my desktop, and what would need to be done via the computer dedicated to running our internet and firewall. Is there any information I can access via my computer that would help narrow down possibilities?

EDIT: flushing the DNS (but not rebooting the computer. Do I need to do that?) did not resolve the problem.

Your using a linksys router? Check your dad's computer for any software with Linksys or CISCO in the name. His comp should have the Linksys/Cisco software used to manage the router, and you can check to see if there are alterable parental controls there. Though he could be keeping you off the site with that firewall, which should also be manageable from the same computer that manages the router.

And what site are you trying to visit anyway? Anything unmentionable on the forum?