Firefox Problem With This Site

[sol-survivor]

I'm having trouble accessing this site on three of my computers. I get a 403 Forbidden message when I try and Firefox will not load the content. Cloudflare is the only other word on the message but I don't know what that means. I wonder if anyone else has the problem. I use Firefox for my default browser and for the most part I don't have any problems with it. I currently have one PC and four laptops. That's a lot, I know, but the two oldest laptops are gradually being phased out. The one I am using at this moment is my second oldest (about 8 years old and originally came with Windows 8) and has a damaged hinge for the lid but I have no problems getting here with it. Currently it is the computer I use the most but my newest laptop will be replacing it eventually. My oldest laptop (about 12 years old and originally came with Windows 7) was the first to get the 403 Forbidden message a few months ago. My PC (about 5 years old and came with Windows 10) and a laptop I bought a year and a half ago (came with Windows 10 in S Mode but I switched out of that) started having the problem this week. That particular laptop started having the problem today after I had to reset the computer when it started refusing to connect to the internet no matter what I tried. A laptop I bought in April of this year has no issues with this site, at least to this point considering the problem seems to be spreading. It was also switched out of S Mode. The two older laptops are Toshiba, the PC is an HP, and the two newer laptops are Lenovo. They are all running the latest version of Windows 10. All the laptops have the same Firefox version and settings and add-ons (I have them synched) and they all used to have no problems accessing this site. If a Windows Update is having trouble playing nice with Firefox I would think they should all be having the trouble. I have not had any issues with other browsers but I want to keep using Firefox as I have not found another browser I am happy with. I have tried Chrome, Opera, and Vivaldi and there are no problems with this site on any of those. I think there is a certificate issue but I don't understand why other browers work and Firefox still lets me get here on two of my five computers. (fingers crossed) For the record I can also get here using the browser on my Samsung TracFone and my Kindle Fire 10. Everything on the computers has been updated so that isn't the issue. Anyone have any suggestions?

[davidbeegah]

I've never had a problem loading this site. At least on a consistent basis using Firefox. I've been using Firefox as my default browser for well over a decade. This computer is about a year and a half old now. Just downloaded Windows 11 last week. No problems at all. Do not know what to tell ya..

[kmorgan]

I use Google Chrome and haven't had a problem. Haven't tried it with Firefox.

[sol-survivor]

I've noticed a different Firefox issue with the laptop I use the most (my 2nd oldest and the one that gets here with Firefox with no issues) on this site. First of all, I do have my adblockers disabled for the site so that isn't causing it. A couple times now since I made the original post I've had the site open while reading posts and I don't even have my hand on the mouse. All of a sudden out of the blue the page tries to redirect somewhere else and I get the page that tells me Firefox is preventing me from going to a harmful site. I just hit the back arrow and things are fine again. This has happened twice now. But that same page came up on the other computers when the trouble accessing this site started and when I clicked on the link to proceed anyway that's when I got the 403 Forbidden page. Also, on a possibly related matter, being a Wisconsin Packers fan I sometimes like to go to NFL.com to read articles. I have a bookmark for that site on my home page and never had an issue for years. Now when I click on it it takes me to the NFL Game Pass site instead. If I change the URL in the address bar back to NFL.com it goes to the proper site. Once again, this is only a problem in Firefox and no other browsers I have installed. Haven't tried the NFL.com site on the other computers. I have run several malware and virus scans and nothing comes up. Weird. Maybe my network needs an exorcist.

[crowschmo]

I use Google Chrome and I haven't had issues with this site, but I got that "CloudFlare" message when I tried to go on another site - a game site I use. Up until yesterday it was fine. It says my browser is fine, but the host site might have issues.

Maybe there's some compatibility problems with certain sites and people trying to access them. Maybe there's some things that need updating on certain sites that haven't been updated yet. I don't understand all this tech-y stuff, so I don't know what those problems are and why they would be affecting some people and not others, or some sites with some people and not other sites.


Edit: CloudFlare is a computer performance and security service that acts like a reverse proxy for it's customers. (I never quite understood the whole proxy thing). So, maybe this site, or just proboards in general, now have CloudFlare as a security service and it's not compatible with some computers that some members are using, or thinks they are a threat for some reason. Again, I have no clue about big tech issues, so, I'm just throwing guesses out that might not be the case.

Another Edit: Now it's working for me (the game site), so maybe CloudFlare itself was having issues.

[sol-survivor]

I may have finally figured out at least part of the problem. Earlier tonight for a different issue I refreshed the Firefox installation on my second oldest laptop, the one that wasn't having trouble getting to this site. Once I got that done and my bookmarks imported and my add-ons all reinstalled I went to come here and was shocked that I got the same 403 Forbidden message, which I had never gotten with this laptop on this site before. The link I was using is one I have in a drop down menu on my homepage. Something made me go to the regular Firefox bookmark drop down where I have dozens of other bookmarks, including one for this site. I tried that bookmark and it worked. Yay! I then changed the html coding for my homepage and voila, it works! Not really sure why, since I didn't notice any difference in the coding and the coding starts with http while the address bar says https, but as long as it works I'm happy. Out of my other computers so far I've only tried to get here with my PC, which was previously getting the 403 Forbidden page, and still did before I refreshed the homepage. After I did that the PC can access this site on Firefox again. Whee! I also went to NFL.com to check the issue I described in my last post and it wasn't redirecting to the NFL Game Pass site anymore. So far, so good. But another weird problem I've been having with only Firefox and no other browser has to do with the site for our local library. I used to have no issues logging into my account but even now after refreshing Firefox when I click on Account Firefox can't find the page. Funny, because other browsers find it just fine. Not as annoying an issue as the other problems were, because our library is part of a system. I can log into my account on the site of the main library in the system with no problems. Maybe someday I'll try to figure out that problem.