# Why do large swaths of the Internet seem to vanish sometimes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563 "2022-09-14T14:45:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/1 "2022-09-14T14:45:23Z")
At the moment I can’t access any pages I try that end in .edu (I tried about a dozen at different schools), though the ones I’ve tried that end in .com (such as this one and many news sites) seem fine. This happens from time to time. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/2 "2022-09-14T14:48:38Z")
That doesn’t happen to me. Sounds like maybe a DNS lookup issue. Who is your internet provider? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/3 "2022-09-14T14:49:29Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Who is your internet provider? It’s a small local telephone company. I wouldn’t be surprised if their stuff was acting up. More specifically, it’s Armstrong Telephone, of Butler PA. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/4 "2022-09-14T14:49:53Z")
Someone in Vietnam just complained about this in another [thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-access-some-education-sites-from-my-house/971381), and, while we have not gotten down to the bottom of it, a workaround was to access the sites through Proton VPN. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/5 "2022-09-14T14:51:00Z")
You might try setting your DNS servers in your network properties to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Those are free public DNS servers operated by Google. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/6 "2022-09-14T14:52:18Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Someone in Vietnam just complained about this in another thread That could be a state-run firewall getting in their way. A VPN might be their best bet in that case. I doubt that a local company in PA would be operating some sort of restrictive firewall. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/7 "2022-09-14T16:12:46Z")
I can access my university this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/8 "2022-09-14T20:58:06Z")
They’ve all started working again for me. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/9 "2022-09-15T08:21:42Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > You might try setting your DNS servers in your network properties to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Those are free public DNS servers operated by Google. This is the easy way out. You only have to make the change once and it will work forever. I always have them set as my DNS servers. In Australia ISP blocking of sites is common due to government demands, so I haven’t used any ISP’s DNS for years now. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/10 "2022-09-15T08:58:54Z")
ISP provided DNS is often quite flaky. It is also a regular issue in private company networks. If you want to explore the world of Public DNS servers, here is a list. All the big names are there. Some provide useful filtering and privacy guarantees. > **[The Best Free and Public DNS Servers (January 2023)](https://www.lifewire.com/free-and-public-dns-servers-2626062)** > > A list of the best public and completely free DNS servers, plus how to change them. This DNS server list was last updated in January 2023. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/11 "2022-09-15T10:39:50Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > You might try setting your DNS servers in your network properties to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Actually, I’ve already had these set this way for years. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/12 "2022-09-15T20:21:48Z")
This happens to me occasionally. Often resetting my modem lets it connect to an updated DNS server and clears up the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-large-swaths-of-the-internet-seem-to-vanish-sometimes/971563/13 "2022-09-16T07:02:47Z")
It’s a bit of an eye-roller. People who don’t partake wouldn’t even know anything is blocked, people who do just change their DNS and also don’t know what’s being blocked. But while it keeps the suits out of our browsing habits, I’m all for it.