We all know computers are great except for when they are not working and if they are going to stop working Murphy’s Law tells us it will occur at the most inconvenient time possible. So, perhaps being forewarned about the most common issue QiQ clients face will help you be prepared the next time your digital mire next hits the fan.
The most common issue clients face is attempting to either visit their website or access their email only to find neither accessible. The initial response is to think the server is down though with QiQ’s uptime being over 99.9% this is actually quite unlikely. A quick check of our status page or is it down right now will confirm if there is an issue with the server.
The most likely cause of not being able to view your site or access email is because your IP address has been blocked. This is where computers are quite sneaky. If a computer believes it is under attack, perhaps because a password has been entered a few times incorrectly either in an email application or FTP client then it actually hides the keyhole! The computer will take a look at the attacking IP address on the internet (the unique IP address provided to you by your ISP such as BT or Telstra) and block it. It won’t matter how hard you try to access the server from that address, you won’t be able to.
Most times an IP address is blocked correctly, for instance when when an IP addresses in China, Romania or other such exotic countries tries to access your site with less than honourable intentions. Sometimes, however, the server will be a little too enthusiastic and will block your attempts at reaching the server. So, checking to see if the server is working for everyone else will confirm if it is just you blocked or everyone.
But what happens if you are blocked? Well there are three simple solutions to this problem:
a. Restart your modem/router
Simply turning your modem/router off and on again will most likely resolve the issue. The reason this works is most ISPs will provide you with a new IP address when you restart your modem/router
b. Login to our IP Unblocker
You can simply login to QiQ Support and unblock any blocked IP address yourself using our unblocking tool.
c. Contact Support
If you are still unable to access your site, contact QiQ Support and we’ll get you up and working.
The next time you can’t view your site or access your email remember it may well not be down for everyone, but just you. It sure is inconvenient but it is done with your very best interests in mind to protect your email and web content. Without such mechanisms in place, a hacker would have unlimited attempts to simply guess your password and therefore gain access to your content.
So remember, the next time you have a problem it may well be that the server is not down – we’ve just hidden the keyhole!