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Why is this forum no longer accessible from Croatia without a proxy?

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 3:59 am
by teo123
For the last few weeks, I am only able to access this forum using a proxy server (such as Kproxy, which has a server in Germany) , I can't access it directly here from Croatia. If I try to, I get the "Server not found" error. Can you find out why?
I am using the Croatian Crisis Connection ISP, if that helps.

Re: Why is this forum no longer accessible from Croatia without a proxy?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 2:19 am
by brimstoneSalad
It's probably your DNS or something. I'm not aware of any internet censorship in Croatia.

It's possible that your IP range was automatically blocked by our server in response to some kind of attack, but I don't know anything about it.
Try changing your DNS and let me know if that helps.

Re: Why is this forum no longer accessible from Croatia without a proxy?

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2019 3:57 am
by teo123
I suppose. The forum is, I've found out right now, accessible from the cellular network, which I can connect my computer to using Bluetooth. However, cellular data is quite expensive and slow, I am better off using a proxy.
How can I change my DNS actually?

Re: Why is this forum no longer accessible from Croatia without a proxy?

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 1:36 pm
by brimstoneSalad
teo123 wrote: Wed Jan 09, 2019 3:57 am How can I change my DNS actually?
It's part of your computer's settings. Google your operating system and "change DNS" or something and you can find instructions on how to locate it.
Usually you can find it by poking around in internet and network settings if you know what to look for. It's different on different operating systems so I can't tell you where to look on your computer.

Re: Why is this forum no longer accessible from Croatia without a proxy?

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:52 am
by teo123
Changed my DNS. Yes, I can access this website now without a proxy, but, as a whole, the Internet seems to be even slower than it used to be.

Re: Why is this forum no longer accessible from Croatia without a proxy?

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:19 pm
by brimstoneSalad
teo123 wrote: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:52 am Changed my DNS. Yes, I can access this website now without a proxy, but, as a whole, the Internet seems to be even slower than it used to be.
What DNS did you change it to? You may have a slow one, or one in a distant country. A more local DNS might be faster.
A DNS is basically what your computer connects to for every website to convert www.whatever.com into a server IP address (which it then connects to).

Another option is to have your computer override your default DNS for the forum and take you directly here, but I have not done that. This may be of help: https://nlnetlabs.nl/projects/unbound/about/

I'm not much of a tech person.

I'd probably try to find another free local DNS that works first. Unfortunately DNS problems can be common outside North America and Western Europe... Japan and South Korea probably have things working pretty well too, but a lot of countries have issues.

Re: Why is this forum no longer accessible from Croatia without a proxy?

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 2:20 am
by teo123
Now I have configured my router to use the Google DNS (8.8.8.8), and it works, but it's slow.
I've first tried to configure it to use the CloudFare DNS, but it didn't work, because I couldn't even connect to it. If I try to just PING 1.1.1.1 (the CloudFare IP address), I get the "connection timed out" 7 out of 10 times or so.
How exactly do I search for local free DNS servers?

Re: Why is this forum no longer accessible from Croatia without a proxy?

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 3:11 am
by brimstoneSalad
teo123 wrote: Sun Jan 13, 2019 2:20 am How exactly do I search for local free DNS servers?
Search "DNS croatia", or look for free DNSs, and look at where their servers are located (usually there will be a country name). Try to find one as close as possible (it doesn't necessarily have to be in your country), then test to see if it's fast.
Unfortunately, you might not have much luck, or might have to compromise speed a little.

Making your own exceptions or just doing the look-up locally with a special tool (again, haven't done this myself) may be your best bet for fast + open.