Perplexing browser problem "Page not available" errors on good links <vanity>

self

[HairOfTheDog]

In answer to your earlier questions, which I forgot to answer... I did the upgrade to XP from 98. Not a clean install... I have never been involved in a reformat that did not go very very wrong, so I don't do it to a perfectly good machine with a little problem.

I have used Zone Alarm as firewall, no firewall, and XP's firewall, no real difference between the three. The errors happened under all of the above.

Bush2000 let me know via FReepmail that he has the very same trouble with AT&T... and my brother also suspects the trouble is just as likely related to AT&T as my computer, so I am not going to risk breaking my computer over it until I know it is not a DNS issue with AT&T...

FYI Bush2000, My brother Ramius was able, in a test, to ping FreeRepublic and other addresses in the command prompt and get wrong answers on the IP address... Which suggests a DNS issue unrelated to my browser.... Does it not?

[Bush2000]

FYI Bush2000, My brother Ramius was able, in a test, to ping FreeRepublic and other addresses in the command prompt and get wrong answers on the IP address... Which suggests a DNS issue unrelated to my browser.... Does it not?

Correct. I'm seeing the same thing. My guess is DNS at AT&T. But of course, if you're sitting behind a firewall/router, they won't support you.

[HairOfTheDog]

When I went up to the Tier 2 and 3 guys at AT&T, they did explain the firewall thing a bit... The tech support people ask you to turn off the firewall so that they can see you to work on it... But something got lost in the translation in the training, and many took that to mean the firewall was the problem, not just an obstacle to support.

So in other words, the guys up the ladder said AT&T does not actually frown on firewalls, they only ask that you turn them off when calling.

[HairOfTheDog]

With that said, they still claim to not have any trouble with incorrect DNS routing, and I quote: "because if they did it would be against the law" When I pointed out that the mere fact that there may be a regulation about accurate DNS routing did not in itself mean it couldn't happen, I was told "Yes it does".

[Ramius]

Is it still error free today? Or has some bad DNS juju come back?

[HairOfTheDog]

Bad DNS juju this morning - better this afternoon without doing a lot to fix it. Just left it alone for awhile, and now it is fine.

Let me tell you... I got a little wigged when FreeRepublic shuffled all the cards this morning! Egads! - Now I am other people?