So last week I was staying at a Sheraton in our fair capital and idlily went online to check posts and was denied access to the EA because it was a porno site. I asked about that on checkout, pointing out that I was not going to a porn site. It took a couple of calls back to talk to the GM as given a generic answer that probably just a glitch and their IT will review the firewall. Anybody else have that happen outside of very conservative Arab countries?

I was in the hospital last year after my sublingual orchiotomy because of complications and their internet did the same thing I'm having surgery Thursday in another hospital and am curious if it's going to happen there also.

Happened to me 10 years ago in the hospital for a week. Drove me nuts.

Jesus A. and I ran into this at a motel at one of the MOM Events. Don't recall which one, but EA was blocked on their end. I'd imagine that some software probably scans sites for certain words and phrases, then blocks what it's set to find.

I wish I could get it on my I-Pad since I don't like to tote my laptop and it is kind of hard to access the site on someone elses desktop.

At least an app that could be downloaded to use the site on the i pad

Three words: Virtual Private Network (VPN). Ends most of these problems.

I just simply don't use wifi. Never had a problem with my cell service data blocking sites. But there are times when I have no signal to be sure. and then I'm sort of roped into the wifi game and just hope for the best. Not sure if it's the puritan thinking or corporations attempting to limit liability from law suits or gov't investigations.

I travel a lot internationally and always use a VPN. EA is blocked in Bahrain but no issues with VPN. If you are on WiFi, it’s administrator can see where you go so if you want privacy and security set up a VPN. I use Nord VPN but there are many. Some are better as some will “leak” enough info to track you.

JessicaH (imported) wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2020 10:11 am I travel a lot internationally and always use a VPN. EA is blocked in Bahrain but no issues with VPN. If you are on WiFi, it’s administrator can see where you go so if you want privacy and security set up a VPN. I use Nord VPN but there are many. Some are better as some will “leak” enough info to track you.

A VPN will get around all those issues.

HOWEVER after setting up your VPN:

1. With your VPN off find the IP address and DNS servers assigned by your ISP (this is the "real you") Just Google How to find your IP number

2. Change your DNS servers to a public DNS server Google's public DNS Servers are DNS1 8.8.8.8 and DNS2 8.8.4.4 The Public DNS servers for OpenDNS are DNS1 208.67.222.222 and DNS2 208.67.220.220 Depending on your operating system and its version changing your DNS Servers will be different but, well worth it. Even with your IP number hidden, your leaking DNS from your ISP isn't smart. I like google's DNS because they work really well. OpenDNS does not log and they have over 90million users on at any moment.

3. Turn on your VPN. Check your IP and your DNS. They should not be the ones assigned automatically by your ISP. They should be the IP number coming from your VPN and the public DNS you set up.

4. You are not quite yet done. WebRTC is a problem. WebRTC is what makes peer to peer voice and video communication possible. Facetime is a good example. To make that magic happen your computer might be broadcasting the one given to you by your ISP and not the one given to you by your VPN. You can use the google machine to find websites that test for WebRTC leaks. The better VPN services have a buit in tool to check for WebRTC leaks. It's an important check. After going to all the trouble to hide your IP and DNS, you don't want to be broadcasting your real IP via WebRTC.

5. Masking tape. Yup, really and very seriously. Put a piece of masking tape over the built-in camera on your tablet, monitor or laptop. Some come with a visor built in that lowers when you want privacy.