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Why can I NOT get to the URL: https://www.ftb.ca.gov/
I used to be able to. All 3 of my browsers timeout. Tried safe mode, turned off firewalls. My laptop has no problem accessing. If I use my VPN I have no problem getting to it so something on my machine is blocking it. Any suggestions on how I can trace this down? Tried clearing IP, Cache, etc. Driving me nuts! I can ping the base site with a command window. All I get is “The connection has timed out”. HELP!
What browser are you using? Have you looked at the security settings?
What add-ons do you have? Are they possible blocking it?
Have you tried a different browser?
It worked for me in FireFox 100 using AdBlock Plus, Disconnect, and No Script.
The result of the tracert?
cheers, Paul
Site working like a charm
I’m currently in CA. I can reach that site easily using Brave and my usual security settings. But when I ping ftb.ca.gov there’s 100% packet loss. By using a tracert in a command prompt all of the hops time out. That suggests to me that the CA state IT guys have blocked ping and tracert.
Human, who sports only naturally-occurring DNA ~ oneironaut ~ broadcaster
Soul Rider: Commands require the [ www ] prefix. Browsers insert it when needed.
Aaron: A couple or 4 things to look at, although mysteries abound.
1 – Router: In the “Parental Controls” area, for the problem computer is there a ‘specific site’ URL block?
2 – In the file [ C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts ], does ANY (non-blank) line NOT have a prefix of the pound/hash character [#] ? (But when I subvert this URL, I get a ‘not found’ error instead of a time out.)
3 – Is there a chance that an anti-virus program is interfering?
4 – Also delve into your Windows Firewall details.
Hmmm… similar issue with a single site, awma.org started about 3 weeks ago. The site is up; I can access it on my PC if I connect to a Xfinity wifi hotspot. It does not work thru my home Xfinity internet unless I use a VPN. All PCs on my home internet have the same problem, so it’s not a PC config issue. Tracert works until it gets to Baltimore.
At about the same time I started to be unable to access epa.gov/casac but could access the rest of the epa.gov site. As above, I could access it using a different internet connection. But this site started to work after about a week, and I didn’t do anything.
Everything else works fine, multiple users in the house. Go figure.
To check if a site is down or up use : https://www.isitdownrightnow.com/
This sort of problem, where you can’t connect to a site via your ISP’s connection but can either via VPN or an alternate connection such as a cell phone, is “typically” caused by either a outage somewhere between your local ISP and the destination, a DNS lookup error, or an incoming IP block on the receiving end.
Notes:
Each different type of connect will use a “different” route to get to the destination so, if there’s an outage somewhere in your ISP’s route, tracert can “usually” pinpoint it (it’ll time out once it hits the outage location.)
Each different type of connect will use a “different” DNS server to convert the Domain name (i.e. www·askwoody·com) into the equivalent IP address (i.e. 5.161.102.154) that your PC actually requires to make the connection.
So it’s possible the DNS server being used for your ISP connect is either currently not on-line or it’s “host record” for that particular Domain Name is invalid/corrupted.
Each different type of connect will also originate from a “different” IP Address so, if your ISP connection’s IP address is being blocked, it’s unlikely the others will be.
The only way to overcome such a block would be to contact the Administrator for the site in question and request your IP address be unblocked.
BTW, Windows “remembers” prior DNS to IP Address conversions (so it doesn’t always have to look up a Domain Name) so one thing you can do to try and fix this sort of problem (especially if it’s only happening with one of your PCs) is clear the DNS cache.
From either a cmd or powershell prompt (run as administrator), enter ipconfig /flushdns and try connecting to the site again.
Then it probably was your ISP and they have fixed whatever was broken.
cheers, Paul
Each computer has a separate connection through the ISP and if their system is broken it may affect just one device…
cheers, Paul
Each computer has a separate connection through the ISP and if their system is broken it may affect just one device…
That’s not always true.
If your devices connect to the internet thru a router, each device will have its own separate connection to the router, but they’ll all share the router’s ISP connection to the internet.
share the router’s ISP connection
That is a very different thing to a “connection” to a site. Each connection must be separated and managed by the ISP so that the correct data goes to the correct machine in your home/business. This is where trouble can arise if the ISP gets something wrong / equipment fails.
cheers, Paul
Wrong!!
The actual connection to a web site is an “end-to-end” process that’s established/maintained by the local S/W you’re using on your device and the S/W the web site is using.
It works like this:
You enter the Domain Name of the site you want to view (i.e. www⋅askwoody⋅com) and your browser sends a request to whatever DNS server your PC is set to use asking for a translation of that Domain Name into an IP Address.
The DNS server responds with the appropriate IP address (i.e. 5.161.102.154) and your browser then sends a connection request packet to that address.
When the site located at that IP address receives your request, if your incoming IP address is not blocked or otherwise restricted, it responds with an acknowledgement packet, opens a connection for your browser, and sends the main page as a series of data packets.
As long you’re viewing that site, there’ll be a continuous stream of data packets going back and forth between the site and your browser that maintains the connection.
Other that possibly providing their own local DNS servers (which can always be replaced with your own “preferred” DNS servers if you wish), your ISP has absolutely nothing to do with this process.
They simply provide a connection path from your local equipment out to the nearest entry point for the internet.
You have omitted NAT performed by your router, which your PC knows nothing about. This effectively provides a separate connection through your ISP, but using the same IP address. This is still something that your ISP has to manage, just like other network data.
cheers, Paul
I didn’t include NAT (Network Address Translation) because I wanted to keep the explanation of how things work as simple as possible.
But, since you brought it up…
NAT management is handled by the router not your ISP.
NAT translates the “private” IP addresses being used by individual devices into the single “public” IP address used by the router.
Because all the data packets sent back-and-forth between your router and your ISP only contain the “public” IP address used by the router your ISP sees all that traffic as originating from a single device (your router.)
The router itself “remembers” exactly which device initiated the request to connect to a particular site and it ensures any incoming data packets from that site go to the device that requested them.
NAT effectively isolates all your internal devices from the rest of the internet, including your ISP.
Anything on the “public” side of the router (i.e. router ⇒ ISP ⇒ cloud) can neither detect nor directly communicate with the individual devices connected to the router unless a particular device actively initiated the connection request… or you’ve set a device up as DMZ but let’s not go there! 
I had a weird issue once when one of the ISPs dns servers had different information than the rest. Talk about a cluster to get straight. I think I was at about a level 30 support tech before he “understood” what I was explaining, saw the issue and finally corrected it.
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