I don't like PragerU, but really? My ISP has apparently IP-blocked their website.

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[–][deleted]  (46 children)

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    [–]magnora7 6 insightful - 2 fun6 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 2 fun -  (8 children)

    What ISP is it?

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (7 children)

    I didn't really want to say, for privacy concerns: I don't want anyone contacting them unsolicited. That's what I'm mostly afraid about. I really don't want anyone harassing them or anything. If I just post it for everyone to see, being the internet, someone will inevitably attempt to contact them — and, being the internet, it won't be a constructive interaction. I don't see why I should take that risk.

    All I'll say is that it's not Comcast, they don't even provide service where I live.

    [–]magnora7 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

    Well, no one can really do anything about any of it unless they know the name. It's like there's a murderer loose but you won't tell us his name, so we don't know who to avoid

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    I don't want to be responsible for someone harassing them. I'll probably be more public eventually, since I don't think they're going to work with me, but not right now.

    [–]Jesus 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    Harassing them? Okay.

    [–][deleted]  (3 children)

    [deleted]

      [–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

      It's rare, but it does have a name. It matters because I don't want anyone harassing them. If that happens the ISP can point to my post and blame me for it — and it's not the corrupt CEO who has to deal with all the messages, it's a working person, probably working for minimum wage or not much more, who just wants to get a paycheck and go home.

      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

      [deleted]

        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

        Thanks for understanding.

        [–][deleted] 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

        My internet connection cut for a few minutes right after posting this. It was probably just a coincidence, but don't be surprised if I suddenly disappear from the internet.

        [–]Algebruh 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

        Have you thought about a reputable VPN for getting around this shit without resorting to tor? My old ISP would throttle the shit out of the most random websites and even Proton's mediocre free tier cut Steam download times in half. Hopefully your ISP gets some competition in the near future.

        [–][deleted] 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

        I actually have Proton's free VPN because I already had a ProtonMail account and that was the easiest one I could test with. All the blocked websites work over ProtonVPN, though there are two issues: 1. some websites don't function properly, and 2. I don't know how safe VPNs are for passwords, so I only use it for websites I don't need to login to (such as prageru.com).

        I find it unlikely there will ever be broadband competition, and satellite internet (which we do have here) is total shit, because you're paying double the price for half the speeds. Perhaps we may get a wireless ISP sometime eventually, but I don't know how effective it would be — and I live in a small town so we're often ignored.

        [–]Algebruh 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

        That's a damned shame. I get some competition in my small town because of some of the orgs here. Have you considered something like https://calyxinstitute.org/ ? I don't know how good it is but I've considered it as a backup, some dipshit is always digging up or knocking down lines.

        [–]Staf 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

        Pretty sure if they're doing stuff like that they can lose they're 230 protections. Also why are you using ISP DNS and not a 3rd party?

        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

        Blocking websites is entirely legal since net neutrality was repealed. Section 230 isn't even enforced: they let Twitter, Facebook, and Google do whatever the fuck they want with no repercussions, so why would they do anything about an ISP?

        And don't assume I'm using my ISP's DNS server. I hate it when people assume things about me, especially when all you had to do was open the link I provided and see I tested out multiple DNS servers. My primary DNS server is DNS.watch, though I've used OpenDNS, Google's DNS, Cloudflare's DNS, and Quad9 as well.

        Just, please, stop assuming things about me without actually looking into the issue at hand. It really, really pisses me off. It's the number one way someone can frustrate me. Yeah, I know you don't want to open the post, but if you don't want to read it then don't assume you know what it says.

        [–][deleted]  (25 children)

        [deleted]

          [–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (24 children)

          I usually use DNS.watch, but I haven't been able to get through with OpenDNS, Google's DNS, Cloudflare's DNS, or my ISP's default DNS. I use the DNS specifically on my computer, not the router, but setting it on the router has no effect either.

          [–][deleted]  (19 children)

          [deleted]

            [–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (15 children)

            It still shows the IP addresses for my manually-set DNS: DNS.watch. I checked on my laptop (which doesn't have it manually set), but it's Linux and I don't know how to find the DNS server IP there, so I just used whatsmydnsserver.com which lists 3 addresses: 1 from my ISP, then 2 from Google. I went back to my main computer and tested that website and it lists two: 1 from my ISP, then the primary server I manually set.

            [–][deleted]  (13 children)

            [deleted]

              [–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

              I'm able to access it over my laptop with these settings, but not my Windows computer. Perhaps this has to do with how Linux and Windows handle DNS servers? Perhaps Windows is less secure, thus my ISP can view what's being requested?

              [–][deleted]  (5 children)

              [deleted]

                [–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (4 children)

                After talking with asterias, I was able to install a client to encrypt my DNS traffic, which allowed me access to every blocked website, including prageru.com. This reveals that this is not an IP-block, but rather much worse: my ISP has been looking at my unencrypted traffic.

                Thanks a lot, though, man!

                Original comment

                [–][deleted]  (3 children)

                [deleted]

                  [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                  I tried this with different DNS servers (DNS.watch and Quad9) but they won't work on my laptop, which is odd since Google's DNS worked on it (though not on my Windows PC as I said earlier).

                  [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

                  Sorry for the spam but I did some more testing and while Google's DNS temporarily allowed my Linux Laptop access that is no longer the case.

                  [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

                  I've noticed that right after I restart my modem I'm able to access blocked websites for a very short period of time. So it probably has nothing to do with the OS or DNS server.

                  [–]asterias 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

                  Maybe your modem has been attacked through some vulnerability? Maybe its DNS settings have been hijacked? Can you login into its settings and see the DNS values?

                  Concerning your ISP, maybe it's not some wrongdoing on their part but a case of hacking. Maybe you could ask at their technical support desk if there's something wrong with your modem.

                  [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

                  I checked their default DNS servers and they're both owned and operated by my ISP. Also: the issue persists when I use other DNS servers, even when I manually set them on my PC.

                  [–]hajamieli 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

                  Google will be spying on you if you use their DNS servers. That's also one way how they find out about new sites to index, if they're not linked to from elsewhere. Use 1.1.1.1 instead, it's faster and unaffiliated and they won't spy on you.

                  [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                  [deleted]

                    [–]hajamieli 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                    Unaffiliated with Google and other indexing purposes, they provide the service as an advertisement of their server capacity.

                    [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                    [deleted]

                      [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                      I don't have any hosts entries for them. I added one temporarily, but it didn't fix my issue so I removed it.

                      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                      [deleted]

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                        They host their DNS servers themselves, so I won't give the IP addresses over security concerns. (I really don't want anyone contacting them because I don't want to be blamed for some kid sending death threats or some shit)

                        [–]sproketboy 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

                        I don't want to complain that much about it

                        Then you're a coward.

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

                        I just don't want my saidit activity to be constant bitching. It's not like complaining about everything on some social media website will solve anything. But you know what will? Not bitching and actually doing something. The cowardly option would be to bitch all day long about this and that, under the protection of anonymity, and never get off your ass.

                        [–]sproketboy 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

                        Phone your ISP and complain you chickenwit.

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                        I can't do that if I'm talking to you.

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                        https://www.smartydns.com/knowledge-base/how-to-hide-browsing-history-from-isp/

                        A VPN is the best solution, but not free. A proxy is free, but will likely only obscure traffic from the ISP (meaning if they put enough effort into it they can mitigate to a degree). If you wish to know more, I can provide some links.

                        [–]YouBowIPiss 8 insightful - 8 fun8 insightful - 7 fun9 insightful - 8 fun -  (4 children)

                        USA internet service is worst. Pricey,shitty service and these censership. It is like you are paying 100 bucks for macdonald's.

                        [–]LittleBrownHouses 2 insightful - 4 fun2 insightful - 3 fun3 insightful - 4 fun -  (0 children)

                        😮

                        [–]superbug 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

                        u/Hongkongphooey likes McDonalds!

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

                        Well the french fries taste good despite being deep fried in industrial poison

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                        This 100%. It's because they're monopolies and there's no real competition (largely because they're enabled by the state, but also because they're natural monopolies that can't function properly within a free market). I heard that in Europe they have to share the lines(?), so that makes competition much easier, and thus service much better.

                        [–]Aureus 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (5 children)

                        Send the ISP a letter asking about this (and the other websites that were blocked) and saying that you might cancel if the issue isn't fixed.

                        [–]Canbot 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

                        Definitely get it in writing that they are blocking the website. Then talk to lawyer. They may be willing to work on contingency. Zero risk or cost to you. Let the lawyers get some money and split it with you. There is no legal justification for them blocking that website. You are paying for access to the internet, not for curated content.

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                        They give no guarantee of service. That's mostly so they aren't liable when like there's a storm and it goes down, but they also use it to screw people over. Furthermore, blocking specific websites is entirely legal since net neutrality was repealed.

                        [–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

                        My ISP has a monopoly so it's not like I can go somewhere else, and they know that, so they'll just call my bluff. They also have no guarantee of service. That's mostly so they aren't liable when like there's a storm and it goes down, but they also use it to screw people over. Furthermore, blocking specific websites is entirely legal since net neutrality was repealed.

                        [–]SaidOverRed 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

                        This is why cutting red tape and promoting competition is necessary for a functioning marketplace.

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                        I think that it's necessary to regulate the market, but when regulations impede upon the market's ability to function properly it might be time to repeal some.

                        I'm not a free-market type, rather a Corporatist, but I do agree that the current regulations hurt normal people and only serve the rich.

                        [–]zyxzevn 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

                        You can still access sites via TOR or IPFS, if they enabled it.

                        Here is IPFS explained:
                        https://www.corbettreport.com/declare-your-independence-with-ipfs/

                        https://ipfs.io/

                        [–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

                        My ISP blocked torproject.org, but little do they know I just used a mirror. I mean, I already had it, but I needed to update it. TOR works just fine.

                        IPFS, though, I know nothing about and that podcast talks about too much unrelated stuff for me to justify watching it.

                        [–]zyxzevn 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

                        It is just a website that is a gate-way to other sites..
                        Here is the corbett report on IPFS.
                        https://ipfs.io/ipns/QmNqHuSVuufkBKK1LHtoUmKETobZriC1o5uoiXSoLX2i3K/

                        https://ipfs.io/

                        [–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                        Oh, well, ipsf.io is blocked too.

                        [–]ANIKAHirsch 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                        Expect more of this. They're upping the censorship.

                        [–]asterias 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (10 children)

                        Can you use your own DNS settings?

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (9 children)

                        Yes, I can configure it manually for each computer (which I do with my main computer and raspberry pi), and I can also configure it for the whole network. This has no effect, however, regardless of what DNS server I use. I primarily use DNS.watch, but I've tried OpenDNS, Quad9, Google's DNS, and Cloudflare's DNS and none of them can get through.

                        [–]asterias 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (8 children)

                        You also said that ISP blocked torproject.org and ipsf.io, all this sounds like something that would happen in countries specifically targeted by the West for violation of citizen rights. It really sounds more and more spooky.

                        Probably they employ DPI or an extensive list of IP blocking. Maybe you could set up your own private VPN on a rented VPS?

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

                        I'm pretty sure I live in the United States, but maybe my whole life is a lie, lol. What's weird is that they DNS-block some websites (like my website for some reason) and IP-block others (like prageru.com for some reason). But the weirdest part is that they somehow block third-party DNS websites from operating correctly. Aren't the requests encrypted? It can't be the case that every single one I tried wasn't encrypted?

                        Perhaps they could have just gotten a list of spam websites and didn't check? But then again, why would they go out of their way to prevent third-party DNS servers from indexing them? That's what's most suspicious. What's DPI? I can't for the life of me find what that abbreviation stands for.

                        I could perhaps rent a VPS if I decide to take the monetary route, but I don't have the money right now. Also: how can I trust who I'm renting the VPS from?

                        [–]asterias 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

                        DPI stands for Deep Packet Inspection. It means your ISP spends considerable resources to block certain sites.

                        DNS requests are encrypted only when you use DNSCrypt. See if this page is of any help:

                        https://www.privacytools.io/providers/dns/

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

                        I used Quad9's DNS (which is listed there) and it can't get through and I tried using Firefox which has DNS-over-HTTP but it couldn't get through either.

                        [–]asterias 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

                        Regarding Quad9, did you also use a DNSCrypt client (further down the page)?

                        In Firefox, have you checked https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-dns-over-https for possible further hints?

                        But DNS is still only part of the problem. If your ISP uses DPI, it won't help you much. VPN is the way to go.

                        I'll make another suggestion at your other replies.

                        [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                        I installed one of the clients and I can access every blocked website just fine! Thanks a lot! So it seems that it's not an IP-block, but rather that my ISP is instead analyzing unencrypted DNS requests, which is actually a lot worse. I'm still pissed off that they're blocking websites, but I can actually access them now, which makes my life 100x easier.

                        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                        [deleted]

                          [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                          I'll call them out eventually if the issue isn't resolved, but at this time it's not worth saying. I want to at least see what they have to say, even though I'm fairly certain of what they're doing at this point.

                          [–]beyoncepaddock 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

                          welp, i guess you can't handle the truth.

                          [–]Jesus 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

                          What? That scary muslims are attacking are freedoms even though it is Jewish Zionists.

                          [–]beyoncepaddock 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

                          well, i havent heard much from muslims lately so im assuming that play is currently on ice from the JZ-MSM

                          [–]Jesus 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                          People caught on to the mythological enemy. They will either overtly or coverty employ their agendas. Today, it is ideological subversion, smf perception management.

                          The neocons today are very much playing the pro-constitution anti-leftist crowd. They are shapeshifting to the heros against the scapegoat leftists.

                          [–]Jesus 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

                          WHO CARES.

                          Your ISP is probably Zionist owned and PragerU lies about 9/11.

                          [–]Jesus 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                          I agree, Yin. But it starts with understanding the creatures behind the censorship. We must build new systems.

                          [–]Crad 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

                          I never even knew about this site but they have some cool videos.

                          [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

                          It's a YouTube channel, you can watch their videos on YouTube, but they've been age restricted.