Does spark block www.piratebay.org ?

Forums › Spark New Zealand › Does spark block www.piratebay.org ?

surfisup1000

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# 247934 3-Mar-2019 15:39

I went to the piratebay website today, but was getting a cloudflare error.

So, I did a search and found this thread on reddit, from November 2018....

https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/a14def/isp_or_new_zealand_blocking_thepiratebayorg/

So it seems this has been happening since november 2018.

[edit] I also checked using a vpn and it works just fine, so I guess spark are now censoring knowing pirate websites.

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# 2190313 3-Mar-2019 15:46

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No they don't anything, other than what DIA blocks with their filter.

That cloudflare error comes up all the time for piratebay. Often a few refreshes and it comes right.

"Piratebay" is really not what piratebay anymore and hasn't been for sometime since the issues with the owners. Do yourself a favour, and find a better site for torrents!

old3eyes

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# 2190316 3-Mar-2019 15:47

It appears to be down for me but it's proxies are up ok. piratebay.org is OK via Getflix VPN. I'm on Spark.

Regards,

Old3eyes

freitasm

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# 2190318 3-Mar-2019 15:49

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That Reddidt thread says it all - Cloudflare page says the server is not responding. Nothing to do with Spark.

As mentioned above The Pirate Bay is not even what it used to be - it's very volatile and servers go offline a lot.

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loceff13

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# 2190320 3-Mar-2019 15:52

iirc they don't block anything other than the DIA list(which is child porn) unless you opt in to their netshield service. I can't access it on Spark too, the tens of proxy websites all work fine however.

freitasm

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# 2190321 3-Mar-2019 15:53

What message are you getting on Spark?

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Talkiet

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# 2190322 3-Mar-2019 15:53

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No. We block sites according to entries received from the DIA DCEFS filter ( https://www.dia.govt.nz/Censorship-DCEFS ) and sites that are clearly being used for phishing attempts (replicas of internet banking sites, KFC delivery services asking for CC numbers etc). We don't expose either list publicly. TPB is on neiither.

Cheers - N

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rugrat

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# 2190325 3-Mar-2019 16:00

It's loading on 2Degrees fine, and only 20 minutes after OP post. I only went to front page though, didn't try searching anything.

OP said it's loading on a VPN, maybe different routing is affecting it.

When I was on Spark it seemed to be down more then since on 2Degrees, when I go to it any now and then just to see.

I just did a search now, came up fine.

freitasm

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# 2190326 3-Mar-2019 16:03

They are behind Cloudflare. Due to Spark routing/peering some Cloudflare sites are connected from Japan or Singapore. Perhaps those countries are blocking access to that domain and Cloudflare can't connect to the origin server?

Who knows?

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hio77

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# 2190338 3-Mar-2019 16:48

freitasm:
They are behibnd Cloudflare. Due to Spark routing/peering some Cloudflare sites are connected from Japan or Singapore. Perhaps those countries are blocking access to that domain and Cloudflare can't connect to the origin server?

Who knows?

I'd expect they would be using railgun or the other many tunneling options to avoid such a case behind cf...

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hio77

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# 2190340 3-Mar-2019 16:50

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Loads fine over my spark connection right now...

I personally would advise against using the site anyway simply due to the volume of fake content out there.

Streaming options offer far less risk and is easily accessible these days.

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robjg63

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# 2190344 3-Mar-2019 17:11

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I find it comes up with that Cloudflare error 522 around 99% of the time - I actually gave up trying to access it - figured piratebay had finally expired.

I am on Bigpipe Fibre.

Cloudflare reports its going through Hong Kong but failing after Cloudflare.

The other day I was mucking about with the Opera browser -It has a built in VPN.

If you enable that, then thepiratebay pops up immediately.

Turn the VPN off - Cloudflare error 522.

So it looks like you have to use a VPN to access - if you still want to.....

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

driller2000

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# 2190349 3-Mar-2019 17:29

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search for proxies....they still work

surfisup1000

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# 2190363 3-Mar-2019 18:19

Talkiet:

No. We block sites according to entries received from the DIA DCEFS filter ( https://www.dia.govt.nz/Censorship-DCEFS ) and sites that are clearly being used for phishing attempts (replicas of internet banking sites, KFC delivery services asking for CC numbers etc). We don't expose either list publicly. TPB is on neiither.

Cheers - N

Sounds reasonable, but I get this error loading piratebay.org when using the standard Spark fibre connection...

Error 522 Ray ID: 4b190c096cd43409 • 2019-03-03 05:00:59 UTC
Connection timed out

If I use my vpn and set my location as "New Zealand" (or Melbourne or Sydney)...

Then, refresh and piratebay.org loads just fine.

So, I have no idea why but it seems like spark is somehow blocking piratebay.org. I accept what you say, but there must be something causing this to be blocked.

Regardless, I can use the vpn so it doesn't really matter.

freitasm

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# 2190374 3-Mar-2019 18:21

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Spark is not blocking. Error 522 is Cloudflare to server, not Spark.

As I said, I think Cloudflare might have a routing problem from the location Spark is sending you to.

Ask Cloudflare support instead.

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tdgeek

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# 2190375 3-Mar-2019 18:22

hio77: Loads fine over my spark connection right now...

I personally would advise against using the site anyway simply due to the volume of fake content out there.

Streaming options offer far less risk and is easily accessible these days.

But they cost money........ I'd be ok with what a couple here suggest, $20 per month for everything that exists... :-)

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