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Certain websites won't load in OS X but they will in Windows

A

areusche

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 24, 2008
168
1
Hello everybody I'm in need of a little assistance.

I've had my MBP for about 3 weeks now and everything seems to have been working ok. I installed all of the programs I needed and I have a 50gb partition for Windows XP to enable me to use all of the tools for my job.

About a week ago I noticed that the student services link for my college would not load. https://homerconnect.ithaca.edu/

When I would click the "Log in Now" i would get an error saying that the page was unable to load. I thought it was a problem on their end so I called their IT staff and they said it was working. I went through the process of clearing my cache, changing DNS servers, etc but to no avail i still got the error.

Fast forward to yesterday I tried to go onto www.newegg.com and I got the error. I then tried slashdot.com and MacOSXhints.com and still couldn't load the page. Frustrated I logged onto XP and I could immediately visit those pages with no apparent errors. I can also ping the sites as well and it returns with a successful response.

I did a quick search and noticed I wasn't the only one having a problem
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/363891/

The problem is also prevalent in Safari and Song Bird.

I just did a router factor reset, but it didn't work either. The router is a WRT54G.

I'm at wits end here :( Nothing has worked! Could anyone help me fix this problem?
 
I think this is something to do with your trying to load secure web pages (https) is that correct?
Try using firefox to load the same pages.
At my school I can't use Safari to access outlook web access page or facebook.
 
I mentioned I use both firefox and safari. The problem is seen in all of the browsers I have tried.

This has manifested itself more after the 10.5.4 update so I'm reinstall it now. I don't know what I'll do if it keeps giving me problems.
 
I had this trouble for a while at my school. They were using ActiveX which (to my knowledge) only works in IE. Thankfully they fixed that a few months ago.

Ignoring internet standards. That's M$ for you.
 
This isn't a "Windows Proprietary" issue!


OS X refuses to connect to certain websites. I can't even get Software Update to work. If I go to www.apple.com it gives me a failed to connect error.

Does anyone know the cure for this?
 
areusche said:
This isn't a "Windows Proprietary" issue!


OS X refuses to connect to certain websites. I can't even get Software Update to work. If I go to www.apple.com it gives me a failed to connect error.

Does anyone know the cure for this?
Click to expand...

Fail to connect? You do have a broadband connection, right? (You mentioned a router...) Those web pages seem to load fine for me. Did you trying clearing your cache and deleting your cookies already?
 
Hmm..
Actually it's not a error.

Some sites deploy a 'user agent' in it's client or htaccess script.
in this script, they can specify which version of the user client (browser) to be allowed, or in this case disallow - usually it's only used for site protection, due to bot attacks, or protect it's content from certain plug-ins.

Every browser on the market has a unique identification tag and version number giving site designers the option to ban, block or limit the site from user clients. Take for example the following, they won't allow you to access them, unless your using IE on a Windows platform:

We're sorry, your operating system is incompatible. To provide the best download experience, we can no longer support Windows 98, ME or NT. Please visit again after you upgrade to Windows 2000 or XP. Visit our Help section for complete system requirements information.
Click to expand...
source: http://downloads.walmart.com/swap/


This site can only be viewed on PC's with Internet Explorer v4 or Higher, with Javascript enabled.
Click to expand...
source: http://www.how-did-i-do.co.uk/
 
clevin said:
it IS an error

OP was talking about www.newegg.com apple update.

UA detect also is only part of the story, as somebody mentioned above, activex is another.
Click to expand...

Loads fine on FF3...
What browser are you folks using?
And where's the said error?
 

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Many organizations (esp. schools that don't have a lot of money to pay for web site development) don't spend a lot of time testing or trying to support Safari. If you find a site that doesn't work in Safari, try Firefox. But even then, a school may not even support Firefox, esp. if they rely on active-X. In that case, your only choice is using IE either in BootCamp or VMWare/Parallels.
 
Sorry for the lack of a reply. I was at work.

I have a cable modem attached to a Linksys WRT54g wireless modem. When I try to go to the websites that I listed above it gives me an error saying I cannot visit them (error connecting). When I ping the websites I get a successful response. Also when I boot into my Windows XP partition I am able to view the websites that I couldn't normally access in OS X.

I cleared the cache and cookies, I've also reset the cable modem to a factory reset. I've disconnected the wireless router and the problem is still there.

This issue is definitely with OS X. Short of reinstalling the operating system what can I do to fix this?
 
Also here is the error that is being given to me in Firefox as well as Safari:

Failed to Connect

Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at slashdot.org.

Though the site seems valid, the browser was unable to establish a connection.

* Could the site be temporarily unavailable? Try again later.
* Are you unable to browse other sites? Check the computer's network connection.
* Is your computer or network protected by a firewall or proxy? Incorrect settings can interfere with Web browsing.

That's the error :(
 
YES!

I found out the problem. I was running peer guardian and it was blocking certain out going connections. I turned off Peer Guardian and now I am able to connect.

Phew I was really worried for a second :)
 
I'm having the same problem.

Sites I could go to yesterday morning I am no longer able to get to on this Mac.

Examples; google.ca, google.ca, yahoo search result links, macrumors, ebaums world etc etc but I can get to apples site, ebay, kijiji etc.

Strange.

I too have Peer Guardian installed. I'll uninstall it this evening and see if I get my network back.

I to am connecting to a cable internet connection. 16mb via ethernet to Dlink N via wireless bridge to Linksys WRT54Gs via ethernet to my Mac Tower. It was working in the AM and not working in the PM.

I plugged my wireless bridge into my new iMac and tested the setup thinking the Linksys might be to blame (age it must be more then 5 years old). Things worked just fine.

OS: 10.5.4
Computer: Mac Pro Quad
Network: Ethernet/Wireless Bridge 95% signal 0 lost packets
ISP: Cable Internet
 
It is peer gaurdian. Just disable it and you'll be able to run it properly again. Reconfigure the blocks lists also.
 
UltraNEO* said:
Hmm..
Actually it's not a error.

Some sites deploy a 'user agent' in it's client or htaccess script.
in this script, they can specify which version of the user client (browser) to be allowed, or in this case disallow - usually it's only used for site protection, due to bot attacks, or protect it's content from certain plug-ins.

Every browser on the market has a unique identification tag and version number giving site designers the option to ban, block or limit the site from user clients. Take for example the following, they won't allow you to access them, unless your using IE on a Windows platform:


source: http://downloads.walmart.com/swap/



source: http://www.how-did-i-do.co.uk/
Click to expand...
Hi,

FYI, there is a plugin to "fake" some browser
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/59

but it doesnt work on all sites ;)
 
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