Having stable Internet browsing is key in an increasingly digital world. We can never be safe from some type of incident , including service outages, provider crashes and other problems beyond our control. However, sometimes the whole problem will be at the local level and, if we cannot access some web pages, we can easily solve it by configuring the router or using other access routes to them.
As usually happens, there is no single reason why we cannot access a specific website, so the first thing we should do is try to find out the reasons why you cannot open a web page or access an Internet service. .
To do this we can start by performing simple checks such as loading the web page on a mobile phone or another computer connected to the same network to check if they work there or not. In the event that any device is capable of resolving the URL address, the incident would not be in the router. You can also try to access with another browser in case the problem is simply in a program in question.
Ping via command prompt
Other more advanced techniques would be accessing the command prompt or CMD to ping the domain in question, typing ping followed by the URL address. If it doesn’t respond, it’s usually a problem with the end server or some intermediate node. Once we know that the problem is “on our side”, it’s time to try to fix it.
Change DNS
When you can’t access some Internet pages, the browser shows you error codes, especially in Google Chrome. There we can quickly see if it is a DNS-related error.
DNS error in Chrome
DNS servers are the servers that are responsible for translating domain names to IP addresses and vice versa. Sometimes you may not be able to access a URL, but you can through its IP address. It could be an indication that the DNS you have configured on your computer cannot resolve some domain names.
The most common in these cases is to opt for Google DNS (Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8/Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4), MyDNS (Preferred DNS Server: 208.67.222.222/Alternate DNS Server: 208.67.220.220) or some of the best alternative DNS.
Temporarily disable antivirus
Security solutions may be the cause of restricted access to a particular website. Generally it should warn you that it is taking care of stopping access, but it may not. If you suspect that the antivirus is blocking a website and you trust the security of the website enough, you can disable the program and try to access the web, trying to activate it again as soon as possible.
Check blacklists
Whether due to the content that is included on a website or due to the potential risk of a security breach, operators can disable access to a URL from their side .
Malware warning in Chrome
Tools such as Domain Health Report or Blacklist Check allow us to see if that domain has been included in a blacklist, a reason that may be preventing us from being able to access it normally.
Proxy Access Attempt
We can try to access via proxy. For example, using the Startpage search engine that incorporates a proxy function next to the results. This allows us to use a proxy server to enter and thus bypass the possible block.
Use a virtual private server or VPN
Another alternative is to use a virtual private server or VPN with a function similar to a proxy that will connect us to the domain from a different country, possibly without censorship on that domain. You can get a VPN for free and check if pretending to access from another place we get the expected result.
Reboot the router
Sometimes the simplest solutions can be the most effective. As can happen with any electronic device, there may have been some error that is interrupting traffic to certain web addresses.
Performing a router reset allows it to reload its configuration in case something has been misconfigured. Unplugging the power cord and waiting a minute before plugging it back in should bring everything back to normal.
If none of these alternatives continues to allow you to access a specific web page, it may be time to call your operator’s technical service so that they can come and check if the device is definitely damaged.