Thanks, vasa1. So Kubuntu nor Firefox should be the issue. No other device. I restarted my router a few days ago, that didn't make any difference. I can reset my router, later. It will mean that I will need to redo all my settings. No recently changed settings. If no one else has any other ideas to try, I will reset my router, later, when I have the time to redo my settings and evaluate the outcome. Thanks very much for now!
I reset my router, as you suggested. It made no difference. (So I restored my last April configuration, very handy.) Also I disabled Gufw, for a moment. That didn't make any difference, either. I don't know what to think of it. It's odd.
Thanks, Krusty, and thanks, everyone. And as I mentioned, it wasn't only Firefox, but also newly installed Chromium and Falkon browser that I tried. It's odd.
So are you perhaps using a hosts file for adblocking or another blocklist with unbound, dnsmasq, dnscrypt-proxy ... whatever?
No host file for adblocking (wouldn't even know if that is possible in Kubuntu), or any another blocklist with unbound, dnsmasq, dnscrypt-proxy or whatever. Could it be that my VDSL provider messed up, and blocks Distrowatch, in some way? I also noticed my VDSL speed has fallen with a factor three. My VDSL provider buys and sells wholesale from another (major) provider, and seems unable or unwilling to correct issues caused by the major wholesale DSL provider. My VDSL provider advised me to go for another provider, leave DSL and go for fiber or cable. I am in the process of deciding what are my best options, and when to do what.
How do I try that? I tried Firefox Enable DNS over HTTPS with Cloudfare and NextDNS, but that didn't make any difference.
I meant specifically your modem / router, but for Kubuntu... https://askubuntu.com/questions/1148401/how-do-i-change-the-dns-server-on-kubuntu I use CleanBrowsing Security on my Netgear D6400. https://cleanbrowsing.org/filters
Thanks very much, Krusty. In my router, I found an option to change DNS values, and I changed one of the DNS servers from the 'From ISP' value to the CleanBrowsing Security value, but that didn't make a difference. I can try more DNS options in my router, later, or try the Kubuntu settings. I am not familiar with DNS stuff, at all. For now, I must do other things. I'll be back later, maybe much later, Sunday or Monday, or even later, after trying some DNS options. Thanks once more.
I'm not sure changing your DNS servers will make any difference... I'm just grasping at straws. Worth a try though. Hopefully, with help from the Wilders community we can track down and resolve this for you.
@Krusty, Thanks again for your DNS suggestions. But I'll leave my DNS for what it is, for now. As my VDSL speed has fallen with a factor three, as I mentioned, and my DSL provider seems unable or unwilling to correct that issue and instead advised me to leave DSL and go for another provider, I am in the process of choosing and migrating to another provider. If the issue not being able to connect to Distrowatch is somehow linked to my current VDSL (speed) issue or perhaps some weird DNS issue, I hope those issues will be fixed with the new connection, the new provider. Thanks again.
Have you tried running a traceroute to distrowatch? Code: ~$ traceroute www.distrowatch.com traceroute to www.distrowatch.com (82.103.129.71), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets 1 _gateway (192.168.1.254) 1.838 ms 2.425 ms 2.388 ms 2 10.139.18.1 (10.139.18.1) 7.030 ms 7.616 ms 7.609 ms 3 154.11.12.203 (154.11.12.203) 21.115 ms 154.11.12.201 (154.11.12.201) 25.613 ms 154.11.12.203 (154.11.12.203) 21.960 ms 4 sea-b2-link.telia.net (213.248.74.220) 63.541 ms 63.422 ms 63.689 ms 5 chi-b21-link.telia.net (62.115.117.49) 51.967 ms 54.065 ms 53.995 ms 6 nyk-bb3-link.telia.net (80.91.246.163) 156.906 ms * 154.952 ms 7 kbn-bb3-link.telia.net (213.155.134.51) 165.513 ms 162.472 ms 165.394 ms 8 kbn-b3-link.telia.net (62.115.119.134) 148.082 ms kbn-bb4-link.telia.net (80.91.254.90) 165.984 ms 165.382 ms 9 easyspeedy-ic-305269-kbn-b3.c.telia.net (62.115.40.174) 163.896 ms 164.397 ms 163.255 ms 10 kbn-bb3-link.telia.net (62.115.123.178) 159.632 ms prs-bb3-link.telia.net (62.115.112.243) 185.473 ms kbn-bb3-link.telia.net (62.115.123.178) 160.015 ms 11 e82-103-129-71s.asergo.com (82.103.129.71) 156.889 ms ffm-bb1-link.telia.net (62.115.123.12) 163.405 ms kbn-b3-link.telia.net (80.91.252.23) 167.150 ms This might reveal where the bottleneck is occurring.
Thanks, wat0114. I get: Code: ~$ traceroute www.distrowatch.com traceroute to www.distrowatch.com (82.103.129.71), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets 1 _gateway (192.168.1.254) 2.467 ms 2.455 ms 2.628 ms 2 static.kpn.net (195.190.228.2) 21.593 ms 21.781 ms 22.105 ms 3 * * * 4 asergo.globalconnect-dk.nl-ix.net (193.239.118.94) 40.030 ms 40.020 ms 40.796 ms 5 e82-103-129-71s.asergo.com (82.103.129.71) 40.350 ms 40.337 ms 40.749 ms
Are you able to connect if you enter in the browser's address field: 82.103.129.71 I tried this in Firefox and it connects to distrowatchcom
Well I'm puzzled. It looks like from your traceroute it makes it to the distrowatch destination IP. Just one last check; can you ping 82.103.129.71
Code: ~$ ping 82.103.129.71 PING 82.103.129.71 (82.103.129.71) 56(84) bytes of data. As my Distrowatch issue is not limited to Firefox, but was the same in fresh Chromium and Falkon installs, and my connection seems OK, could it be that something was set wrong for all browsers, in my Kubuntu install, since a couple of weeks? Weird if that would only affect the connection to Distrowatch.
I suppose that could be the issue, though I don't know why it would only be with distrowatch. I don't see anything special about the site. Are you able to boot from a usb or cd/dvd into a live Linux environment and try?
Good idea. I'll try that in a moment or two. It'll be my Kubuntu 18.04.3 medium from last January, I suppose that should be OK.
No, still unable to connect to Distrowatch. So I suppose it must be something in my connection, not my Kubuntu installation or settings. Given the issue of my VDSL speed fallen with a factor three, I guess there may be more issues with my DSL, including this weird inability to connect to Distrowatch. Time to move.
I'm not sure if this will solve your issue but when I had Kubuntu installed a couple months back (using manjaro now) I noticed updates was very slow. I decided to check Kubuntu's Ethernet connection setting and for some reason the default install had set my connection to half-duplex. After changing it to full-duplex updates seemed to install a lot faster. Good Luck, Dave
