# internet/website access problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 29, 2012, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-website-access-problem/614330 "2012-02-29T09:20:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-website-access-problem/614330/1 "2012-02-29T09:20:53Z")
My wife told me that yesterday she was unable to access [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/) and [citicards.com](https://creditcards.citi.com/). I checked on my laptop, and I couldn’t access them either. I did everything I could think of, including deleting the cookies, rebooting the router, resetting the router, closing and reopening the browser, trying different browsers, and rebooting the laptop - and several combinations of the above. After I reset the router, I am able to keep Amazon up for about 15 minutes, then it gets a connection reset error. Citicards now works fine. I am running Windows 7, and we’re located in Israel (although that shouldn’t matter). I did have a neighbor check to see if she could get on the sites, and they worked fine for her. Also, we’ve not had any other problems accessing any other websites. I work for a client in the U.S., and have not had any problems accessing any of my work websites. Any ideas how to fix this? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-website-access-problem/614330/2 "2012-02-29T09:40:06Z")
It sounds like you might have an issue related to DNS. [This article](http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9020261/Fix_your_DNS_problems) goes over a few things to look over, but in particular try this bit: > [@](#): > > **Flush your DNS cache** > The problem might be related to your DNS cache, so flush it out. To flush the cache, type _ipconfig /flushdns_ at a command prompt. (Assuming Windows) To get to where you need to type that command, go to the “Start” menu, click on “Run” and type “cmd” and hit \, then type in what it says to above and try going to the website again. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-website-access-problem/614330/3 "2012-02-29T09:54:10Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > It sounds like you might have an issue related to DNS. [This article](http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9020261/Fix_your_DNS_problems) goes over a few things to look over, but in particular try this bit: > > (Assuming Windows) To get to where you need to type that command, go to the “Start” menu, click on “Run” and type “cmd” and hit \, then type in what it says to above and try going to the website again. Thanks, I tried it and it didn’t work. Still get the same “the connection was reset” error. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-website-access-problem/614330/4 "2012-02-29T10:06:54Z")
Try going to [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) (just to make sure it isn’t working this instant) then type this into the address bar: 72.21.211.176 [SIZE=1]…and see if that works. That’s Amazon’s IP address. They probably have many, and you probably even hit a different one from Israel, I imagine. [/SIZE] ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-website-access-problem/614330/5 "2012-02-29T10:32:49Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Try going to [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) (just to make sure it isn’t working this instant) then type this into the address bar: > 72.21.211.176 > > [SIZE=1]…and see if that works. That’s Amazon’s IP address. They probably have many, and you probably even hit a different one from Israel, I imagine. > [/SIZE] That didn’t work either. I tried pinging it, and that didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-website-access-problem/614330/6 "2012-02-29T11:03:46Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > That didn’t work either. I tried pinging it, and that didn’t work. Must not be a DNS issue then. Maybe some sort of routing issue with your ISP. Does your neighbor that wasn’t having any problems have the same ISP? If not, I’d try calling your ISP and see if they’re aware of any issues. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-website-access-problem/614330/7 "2012-03-01T00:20:20Z")
To rule out DNS, try manually setting one of your DNS servers to 4.2.2.2 and see if you can get to Amazon then.