What are some websites I can check to see if my website has been blocked by a filter or firewall? I want to make sure one of my websites is not being blocked by security firewalls for the wrong reasons. Have had it happen a few times in the past and it really messes up our traffic flow.
Sorry if this is in the wrong place!
Thanks,
Jeff
Anyone?
Thanks!
Hi Nuclear:
Try a few simple tests:
1. Go to the website, using different browsers.
2. In DOS, do a ping <website>. You want to see 100% or so response.
3. In DOS, do a tracert <website>. You want to see a full trace from your PC to the web site
4. If you need help on Ping or Tracert, do ping/h or ping/?. This brings up the help screen; the same for tracert.
5. If you can't read the entire help screen, or want it for future reference, do ping/h > pinghelp.txt. This will create a text file. You can then read it in a word processor, such as Notepad or Word. The same applies to tracert; don't forget to put in tracerthelp.txt as the filename, though.
6. There is a web site, www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com, that will tell you if the site is up.
7. Also, don't forget to run a Google Banned checker tool! You can find that by running a web search.
Maybe I wasn't clear in my question. I don't have an issue with my firewall. I'm talking about programs that schools, organizations and companies use. I want to make sure those firewalls systems have not blocked my website stupidcelebrities.net for the wrong reasons. As in, make sure we have not been flagged as a porn website or something like that. Is there any way to do a bulk check?
Thanks,
Jeff
Hi Jeff:
If I were you, I would look into how my site is rated at things like SurfSafely. Register your site with them and ensure the badge is displayed on your site.
I would also search to see what other companies are out there and register with each one of them, then put their badges on your site.
While I don't have a lot of experience with this kind of thing (my ex took the kids before they started surfing the web), it is my understanding there are at least two versions of blocking/filtering sofware:
- A "bad boy" list of banned sites
- A "good boy" list of permitted sites.
While you may be able to avoid being on the "bad boy" list, I don't know how you can get on a list of permitted sites.
John
Ping is the right solution for this ,
Thanks @AccurateAG
i love the way AccurateAG describe about it. nice way. But i am confused between them.
Hi Mukes:
Let me see if I can clear up any misunderstandings. I have been working with PCs for so long, things that are intuitively obvious to me are very confusing to others.
The original poster wanted to see how his website is rated; in other words, was it on a banned list with one of the "parental rating" companies. Their purpose is to keep R and X-rated sites away from kids.
There are two basic versions of this:
- A "banned list" of sites that are inappropriate for children
- A "permitted list" of sites someone on a company network can go to.
To ensure he is not on the "banned list", I told him to register his site with the various parental rating companies, and display their badges on his site.
I do not know of a way to ensure a web site is on a permitted list for a company; those are usually company confidential.
My original post did not address this, but addressed how to see if a web site is accessible through your company's web service. I can think of several:
1. Try to go to the web site. If one browser does not work, try another; I would use Firefox, IE, Chrome, and any other browser you may have on your system. I personally have a vendor website that is only accessible through IE.
2. Try some DOS level utilities, Ping and TraceRT. To use them:
- Go to a DOS prompt (or make one). To make one,
right-click on the desktop,
New
Shortcut
Where it asks you to put in the file, type in C:\windows\command.com
This makes a DOS prompt.
In DOS, type in
- ping <website>. This defaults to 4 attempts. If you can get to the web site, it will return 75% or 100% good attempts; if not, it will tell you 100% loss.
- tracert <webiste>. This will tell you how your data gets from the website to your PC. You want a complete trace.
DOS commands are finicky, so you need to learn how to use them. To do so, type in the command /h or command/?; for example, ping/h or tracert/? The problem, in many cases, is the help screen is very complicated. To make it easier to read and understand, do
tracert/h >tracerthelp.txt or
ping/? >pinghelp.txt
This puts the help screen into a text file that you can then edit and review as needed.
Finally, there is a web site, www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com, that will tell you if the web site is not working, or your access to it is blocked.
Hope this helps
John
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