Question about blocked web page

[trents]

I got a call from a customer who was trying to access her bank's sign in web page. These folks winter in an RV park in AZ and use their cell phone for hot spot. For the past week they have been unable to access the bank's sign in page. Soon as they click on the sign in link that would take them to the sign in page where they can enter their credentials, they get a message saying something like, "We cannot grant access to this sight." I had them turn temporarily off the Windows Defender firewall but that didn't help.

Now, I can access that same webpage from my computer without issue. I suggested to them that the problem might be the phone's own security protocols (or lack of them) and that they should take their laptop somewhere that has Internet access through more conventional means and try it again there so as to bypass the phone.

Any thoughts here as to what is going on? Was my advice to them on track?

 

[RollingThunder]

I would have them call the bank. It may be a tied to their traveling/living location. Did they tell the bank they live elsewhere during the winter?

It may be similar to using your credit card: You always tell then you are traveling so that they know charges to your credit card from all over the country are valid.

 

[trents]

But this problem only developed about a week ago. They've been using the same computer all along and the same hot spot from the same location, like all winter. Or perhaps the bank's website security protocols have changed recently.

I'm wondering if security protocols have changed because of smartphone/hot spot firmware updates.

I emailed them back this evening with instructions for deleting browser history/cache/cookies. Perhaps the browser's cache or cookies for that webpage are not being updated such that the browser is connecting the web address with outdated security info that is no longer valid.

 

[Robert17]

Updates to Winderz 10 invariably cause my PC to be a "new computer" to my bank's web site. I have to answer the super secret questions repeatedly to re-gain access. By that I mean the same question gets asked as many as three times as their compubox seems to not want to accept the correct answer. Once it decides I'm still me I'm good to go for a month. Rinse, repeat. Maybe they are dealing with a similar issue?

 

[RollingThunder]

Updates to Winderz 10 invariably cause my PC to be a "new computer" to my bank's web site. I have to answer the super secret questions repeatedly to re-gain access. By that I mean the same question gets asked as many as three times as their compubox seems to not want to accept the correct answer. Once it decides I'm still me I'm good to go for a month. Rinse, repeat. Maybe they are dealing with a similar issue?

This is also true Robert. Some site now will not function if you are not using Windows 10.

 

[EarthDog]

Some site now will not function if you are not using Windows 10.

Really? Are you sure this isn't a function of the browser and not the OS? I can't imagine a supported OS (Windows 8+) where some websites will not function. That doesn't make much sense.

 

[RollingThunder]

Really? Are you sure this isn't a function of the browser and not the OS? I can't imagine a supported OS (Windows 8+) where some websites will not function. That doesn't make much sense.

Ed,

You're correct, I should have mentioned web browsers. What doesn't work with Vista and Windows 7 and their equivalent browsers works fine with Windows 10 and its default required W10 browsers.

 

[EarthDog]

So.... IE and/or Edge (deault browser) doesn't work properly in Win7/8? I still find that pill difficult to swallow. What about Chrome or FF?

EDIT: Anyway, I digress... a bit OT.

 

[Automata]

I got a call from a customer who was trying to access her bank's sign in web page. These folks winter in an RV park in AZ and use their cell phone for hot spot. For the past week they have been unable to access the bank's sign in page. Soon as they click on the sign in link that would take them to the sign in page where they can enter their credentials, they get a message saying something like, "We cannot grant access to this sight." I had them turn temporarily off the Windows Defender firewall but that didn't help.

Now, I can access that same webpage from my computer without issue. I suggested to them that the problem might be the phone's own security protocols (or lack of them) and that they should take their laptop somewhere that has Internet access through more conventional means and try it again there so as to bypass the phone.

Any thoughts here as to what is going on? Was my advice to them on track?

If they are using Firefox, a recent update enabling "total cookie protection" has broken some websites.

If they aren't using Firefox, get a screenshot of the error message.

 

[WhitehawkEQ]

I got a call from a customer who was trying to access her bank's sign in web page. These folks winter in an RV park in AZ and use their cell phone for hot spot. For the past week they have been unable to access the bank's sign in page. Soon as they click on the sign in link that would take them to the sign in page where they can enter their credentials, they get a message saying something like, "We cannot grant access to this sight." I had them turn temporarily off the Windows Defender firewall but that didn't help.

Now, I can access that same webpage from my computer without issue. I suggested to them that the problem might be the phone's own security protocols (or lack of them) and that they should take their laptop somewhere that has Internet access through more conventional means and try it again there so as to bypass the phone.

Any thoughts here as to what is going on? Was my advice to them on track?

Virus? Spyware? Malware? Hackers? ect ect ect....

 

[trents]

Thanks for the input, guys. The problem has been resolved. The couple took the laptop to their church and were able to load the bank's sign in page without issue and use their credentials to sign into their account. The next morning it also worked with their hotspot back in their RV. I think using a different access point or IP reset the cache or cookie info for the bank's website, which had become corrupted or outdated. At least that's my take on it. I gave them instructions on how to delete history/cache/cookies in the Chrome browser the were using, which they carried out, so as to prevent that old info from being accessed again.