When I’m having access problems, I first check routing by pinging an easy to remember Google DNS server:
$ ping 8.8.8.8
Next, ping the public-facing gateway provided by your ISP (WAN.)
Next, ping my home router’s gateway which is often your PC’s IP address with the last octet set to 1; e.g., 192.168.1.1
It’s not uncommon to have DNS failures while still having routing capabilities.
Ahem...
What exactly does “pinging” mean? I really, really am a techtard. I will copy all this but I don’t know how to do it.