No Pprune at the library
 

I'm on dial up, so if I want to upload large file pics or watch vids I go down to the library to use the broadband connection there. I used to be able to type in wwwpprune.org, and get straight into Pprune, but now I get sent to something called Bing, which I assume is some sort of search engine. However I have never been able to access Pprune. I keep getting the following,

ERROR CODE 64 HOST NOT AVAILABLE.

THE GATEWAY OR PROXY SERVER LOST CONNECTION TO THE WEB SERVER.

1/20/10 10.32.29 AM GMT.

SERVER libpn-isal.sbclibpn.gov.uk

SOURCE REMOTE SERVER

I have tried getting in via Google, but it just doirects me back to the Bing site.

The staff at the library have no ideas as to why I can't get onto Pprune.

Anybody have an idea of how I can get into Pprune on the librarys computer?

Having looked at MS tech support there are work arounds but they involve registry hacks of deep setting changes, not something you can do in the library. You could try inserting 67.201.16.181 instead of ppr......org thus bypassing the dns server, might work.

You could add an entry to the hosts file - IP address followed by pprune.org but you might be breaching a few library rules in doing so.:E


or is it "by doing so"? Where's the spelling police when you need them? :*

Chuckle!
My son who works for M$oft, snootily told me the other day to wash my mouth out with soap when I talked of Googling. Bing is M$'s best-kept secret... their rival to Goog; snag is no-one much seems to like it or use it.

I must send him your definition, Dan; he'll enjoy 'seems to be some sort of search engine' (not)

It looks like there is a MS ISA server acting as a proxy server somewhere in the path between the library PC and pprune.

This does seem to have an alarming propensity for c**king things up - if the number of hits for "Error code 64: Host not available" pointing to ISA server are anything to go by.

Unlikely that using the IP address directly would get around it - that would indicate a DNS problem.

SD

You're a man of few words . . . why don't you just leave it out altogether? :}

Between your library client computer and the internet there is on the library network a piece of software installed which channels all requests to the internet (probably for security reasons). You probably can't do much about it yourself.

• Try accessing pprune via direct IP-address (in case it's a problem with the domain name system, but I get a redirect to the DNS-address doing that):
  http://67.201.16.181/
• Best solution: Get your problem known to the person responsible for the library computer network

Thanks for the help. I tried copying the address from my own computer on to a stick drive, then trying that, but that wouldn't work either. I'll try that direct IP address thingy, and if that doesn't work, I'll see if their techy chaps can do anything.

Still no joy at the library, tried some of the tips mentioned and asked the library to look into it. They suggested that I perhaps wasn't typing in the two "p's"', in pprune?????, or that the site is down. Since I usually try to access pprune betwen 9.30 and 10.30 GMT, is the site down for maintenance or whatever between those times daily?

No, the site is up 24x7.

It's definitely a fault at the library or the proxy they use.

SD

*sigh* ISA... InSecurity and Annihilation. The low-performance dog proxy of choice for system administrators who know nothing about computers or how they work.

If they're stuffing you through a proxy, transparent or otherwise, titting around with host files is futile. Addressing the site by IP address would be the best strategy, and you might also consider using https (instead of http) as ISA can't proxy encrypted traffic. PPRuNe supports https, which is nice.

Shunter,

Why would using the IP address be any better through a proxy than the URL? It's the client that resolves the host name to IP address before sending the get request, not the proxy.

Https is a good idea, worth trying.

Dan, are you able to get a command prompt at the library, such that you can do ping www.pprune.org

SD