Web site errors

[Algernon Goss-Custard]

Just in the last couple of weeks I am getting a lot of errors when trying to access some websites that previously I've not had a problem with.

The error message is "The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading". In the past when I have occasionally had this message I could get past it by reloading the page, but now that doesn't help. The websites are simply not available to me.

Another unrelated problem seems to be to do with something called Cloudflare. With some websites (not the above ones) I get a message stating something like "Error 520 Website is returning an unknown error ... Browser working ... Cloudflare working ... Host error". This too has only arisen in the past couple of weeks.

Anybody got any clues?

[N_Cook]

Is what I get with an old browser that does not have the appropriate (s) bit of https handling, though was browsable when the site was http protocol previously.

[Bert Coules]

It seems that Cloudflare is a company which offers web security services:

[SH]

try downloading opera web browser and turning on the VPN within opera.... try the problematic websites again and report back to us......

[The Natural Philosopher]

Cloudfailure.

They have blacklisted me for no reason

[The Natural Philosopher]

[Andy Burns]

I though websites had to pay to be front-ended by cloudflare as a DDoS prevention measure?

[Chris J Dixon]

Me too, apparently. I can't see any real option for contacting them if you are not a customer. :-(

Chris

[Steve Walker]

If your router is normally left on for months at a time, it is worth rebooting it. Memory can become clogged - especially if there is a firmware problem that causes "memory leaks" - and some sites can then slow sufficiently that they time out and reset. Typically that starts by needing a second attempt, but can then progress further.

[Algernon Goss-Custard]

What are these new protocols? Have they just been introduced?

[Martin Brown]

Could you be any vaguer about what OS platform and browser version you are running and which websites in particular are causing you problems.

Misconfigured HTTPS at the server or browser failing to understand some recent improvement or other is a fair candidate for glitches. Sometimes it can just be an overloaded popular site server with particularly bad content management which basically just croaks at busy times of day.

Most often that load problem manifests as images that never load.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Not only that but when my old router could not keep up with the modem we were using it seemed that the page reset occurred as things got awfully confused, a new up to date router fixed this straight away. Cloudflare, there was something mentioned about that on a tech neews site something to do with overlays from another address or something. Brian

[N_Cook]

The security (s suffix) coding-decoding handshake algorithm of old browsers handling https is considered too crackable these days by dark actors. Fair enough for banking stuff, but why any crooks would be interested in the details of my casual browsing I don't know.

[The Natural Philosopher]

So they know what to sell you. remember these days all commercial consumer marketing is run by crooks.

[#Paul]

They do not care that you are you. "They" only care whether they can exploit you: perhaps defrauding you, hacking your pc via a browser exploit or malware download, perhaps running ransomware, that kind of thing. You are not special, you are merely a potential target, you are just one entry on an automated list. Knowing your interests can make it easier; as does knowing that your browser uses outdated and/or flawed security.

I'm baffled by this "but no one cares about me" defense. Do pickpockets only select people by name? I think rather they only care how easy the wallet is to lift, and how much might be in it.

#Paul

[Chris Green]

Yes, but I don't keep any wallets in my PC (yes, I know some people do but I'm careful not to).

A pickpocket will generally only target someone whom they know has something valuable in their pocket. Similarly car thieves are much more likely to break a window and steal something if they can actually see it on the seat.

Pickpockets *don't* generally root around in the pockets of everyone in a crowd, it would be counter-productive because it would hugely increase their chance of being caught.

[SH]

but a cyber pickpocket can cyber-attack your PC for personal cyber-gain....

[N_Cook]

So is it a double-bluff, the business of police putting up a notice in a notorious place, saying "Beware pickpockets are acting in this area" Then pickpockets hang around , knowing that a lot of people on seeing such a sign, pat the pocket where their wallet is. ( Like the people on seeing a sign saying "Beware, wet paint", go up and touch it to check.)

Then police hang around the pickpocket site , to nick the dips.

[Chris Green]

But there's no cyber-money in my PC.

[SH]

but there could be personal data shuch as usernames & passwords, names, addresses, dates of birth, PDFs of bills & wage slips etc potentially on your PC hard drive?

Can still do quite a bit of damage.....