×
cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
mhast
Former Member
Message 1 of 6

How To Unblock A Web Site

Hi:

I am using 10.5.195. My wife went to a web site and a McAfee security dialog popped up and she selected Block. Well that blocked the entire site and we need to get access to that site because it is the kids school site. How can I unblock that site? When I turn off the proxy in Firefox I can get to the web site. Also right now the browser displays Bad Request. HEEEELLLLPPP !!!

Michael.

5 Replies
Hayton
Reliable Contributor
Reliable Contributor
Message 2 of 6

Re: How To Unblock A Web Site

Okay, if this advice is wrong feel free to tell me so, but ...

This looks like a Parental Controls thing. Websites can be blocked or unblocked, using the McAfee control box or whatever it's called. If you've got Security Centre 10.5.195 I think you're pretty up to date, although I've got 10.5.204 so you might need to get the latest updates. The important thing is, you'll have the shield icon in your system tray or on the screen, not the square icon (they work differently).

Click on it, bring up the main view with the list of features, click on 'Parental Controls' and again on 'Parental Controls: Installed'.

Click on the 'Edit' button to the right of 'Protect Your Family' - you'll probably have to enter an Administrator password, then click Next - and you'll get to the list of users.

For each user who needs access click on 'Optional Settings' and then enter the name of the school's website and select Allow, then click Add, and click Done. The site is now on a whitelist. You do pretty much the same for any site you want to block.

I hope that answers your question .. rather than a different question altogether.

mhast
Former Member
Message 3 of 6

Re: How To Unblock A Web Site

Ok. That unfortunately did not work. I added that web site as an allowed web site and I still only get "Bad Request". Before I did that nothing was even installed under Parent Control, now it is installed. So it could not have been that.

When I turn off my proxy setting in IE and Firefox then I am able to get to that web site. But I thought McAfee configured the proxy so that it can detect what web sites I can go to? Is that correct?

Michael.

Hayton
Reliable Contributor
Reliable Contributor
Message 4 of 6

Re: How To Unblock A Web Site

That was worth a try. One other 'Bad Request' problem I've seen on a forum was down to Parental Controls. In the end the user disabled P.C. and the problem went away.

Okay ... hmm. So it's to do with how you've configured a proxy server.  Several discussions on other forums indicate that the problem is likely to be down to a browser setting, but here I'm straying into a field I don't know too much about since I don't (so far as I know) use a proxy server. This will have to be answered by one of the more technically minded moderators. What they will probably want to know is :

- What is your McAfee product : Home & Home Office, I'm assuming

- What operating system & version you're running (XP/Vista/Windows 7/other), and if Windows, is it the 32 or 64-bit version

- What browser(s) you're using (you say Firefox and IE - IE8?)

- What connection you've got to the internet (type, speed, and so forth)

- Whether, (in IE) in Tools/Internet Options/Advanced/Browser Settings, you've got the boxes checked for 'Use Passive FTP', 'Use HTTP 1.1'  and ''Use HTTP 1.1 through proxy connections' (they should be)

- Whether, in the same section, you've got the box checked for 'Show friendly HTTP error messages' - if you uncheck the box you get more information about the 'Bad Request' which might be useful for pinning down the cause of the problem. I suspect that you will get at least the following : "Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand".

The answer to one user who had a similar problem was "check your User-Agent string to make sure that it is not corrupted" and a referral to a site called www.fiddlertool.com. I would hold off on that until one of the tech experts tells you to use their diagnostic tool.

There remains the possibility, remote or not, that something's sneaked onto your PC, especially if you're a bit behind on the updates. I should download any updates for Windows & McAfee and then run a McAfee Quick Scan, just in case. If you've got Malwarebytes installed, run that too

(and if not, go to http://www.malwarebytes.org to get it).

That's about the limit of what I can offer - I'll let one of the real experts take over from here. Best of luck with it.

Message was edited by: Hayton on 29/10/10 13:37:35 IST
mhast
Former Member
Message 5 of 6

Re: How To Unblock A Web Site

Thank you so much Hayton.

Ok, after doing much research, the proxy setting was caused by a virus which now blocks that web site. The proxy was at port 50370 which was used by shell.exe. There were a few other bad files:

shell.exe located in C:\Users\tina\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\shell.exe
svchost.exe located in C:\Users\tina\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\svchost.exe
stor.cfg located in C:\Users\tina\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\stor.cfg

There  is also a really strange entry in my HJT log stating something about a  proxy : R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet  Settings,ProxyServer = http=127.0.0.1:50370

I updated McAfee and it didn't find anything wrong with those files.

So I booted into Safe Mode, removed those files and rebooted. Then I opened IE 8 again and it had as a web site some strange URL. Well that web site caused the proxy setting, because I had removed that proxy setting earlier. So I remove that BAD default web site and now all seems happy.

I will be downloading avast! and see if it can find any other problems. I have it on my work computer and it hasn't let me down so far.

mhast
Former Member
Message 6 of 6

Re: How To Unblock A Web Site

McAfee unfortunately did not find the problem. After much research I found that my system was infected. I had to boot into Safe Mode and remove the bad files. After that it appears to be happy. (see my last post which files)

How Many Badges Can You Collect?
Ready for a little competition? Members like you are earning badges and unlocking perks for their helpful answers. Are you? Click here to find out.

Community Help Hub

    New to the forums or need help finding your way around the forums? There's a whole hub of community resources to help you.

  • Find Forum FAQs
  • Learn How to Earn Badges
  • Ask for Help
Go to Community Help

Join the Community

    Thousands of customers use the McAfee Community for peer-to-peer and expert product support. Enjoy these benefits with a free membership:

  • Get helpful solutions from McAfee experts.
  • Stay connected to product conversations that matter to you.
  • Participate in product groups led by McAfee employees.
Join the Community
Join the Community