[Workaround Inside - BitDefender] "The site can't be reached..." / HTTPS

Post by QuantumStateM

Hi guys,

I can't access my account page, I get the following error when using Chrome: This site can’t be reached, www.wowhead.com took too long to respond.

Using Chrome Version 57.0.2987.133

I've also noticed it happens when the underlined, bold, italic part in this link is in the address bar: https://www.wowhead.com/account=get-credentials?page=%

Anything I need to do on my side?

Edit: I've noticed, if I visit es.wowhead.com first, the page loads. Once I delete "es" and just browse to wowhead.com, www.wowhead.com loads(##RESPBREAK##)2##DELIM##Sas148##DELIM##tl;dr: We're aware of an HTTPS issue being experienced by some of our users. It is not intentional and is not related to ads. We hope to have it resolved soon. Some workarounds are offered in my reply below...

Edit 1: See workaround below.
Edit 2: As of April 25, 2017 the issue seems to be fixed. You can reenable "Scan SSL" in BitDefender.
Edit 3: As of April 28, 2017 some users are experiencing it again. Please refer to the workaround mentioned in Edit 1.

Post by RavenUK

I am having the same issues, I have tried with Chrome, Firefox, IE and EDGE.

I have tried on my home PC & Laptop, then on my work laptop and on both internet connections.

I managed to get back into my account after leaving the log in screen running for about 10 mins, on my mobile phone (iPhone) and got in, but it did say as above, cant connect. I then hit refresh after that and it showed me as logged in.

Post by Tharktan

Me too. Same problem on Chrome. I can view the site only on es.wowhead.com or it.wowhead.com e so on...
The problem is with the account log in. If i use Private Tab in Chrome i can use www.wowhead.com to see the site; but if i try to log me in i have "This site can’t be reached, www.wowhead.com took too long to respond"

Post by OldmanBill

I'm having the same problem with Chrome. I deleted my cache and cookies and still no loading. I did the es.wowhead.com thing and I can get into wowhead.com that way but no other. I can get in the normal way using edge.

Post by diamoonwillow

I had the same problem, did all the cache clearing, made sure Chrome was up-to-date and finally I started logging in via the es.wowhead site. Once I do that I can get back to the English site but even then I sometimes have difficulty moving from page to page. I THINK it's due to some ad (see the sticky) but it's a huge pain. Hope they fix it soon!

Post by Hivlt

I have also tried the above and had issues. Getting the same error from both FF and Chrome, the workaround by logging in though es.wowhead.com seems to work however. Tried clearing my cookies/cache but no success on the main site through that.

Post by Sas148

Hi there!

This issue seems to have started on March 28th. Various users and some of our team have been trying to figure out the underlying cause but without much success so far. Those conversations had occurred in our Discord server and via email so I apologize for not noticing this thread as quickly. I will alert our operations team about this thread so they're aware of the additional users affected.

Essentially, a small number of users are encountering issues on our site when visiting HTTPS. Some are never able to get the login page to load at all, others can but then the site fails to properly load afterwords. Could just be a coincidence but a large number of those reporting the issue are Premium, but some are not.

Here are some workarounds, some of which you're already aware of:

Utilizing the non-English locales to access the site; such as, es.wowhead.com, ru.wowhead.com, etc. It seems you can often login there and then go back to the English version of the page without issue (language selection on the top-right of the site).
Try a different browser, some find success in doing this; some don't.
Use a VPN: There is a free Chrome extension that allows you to access a VPN. I've yet to have someone use a VPN and not be able to successfully access the site. Once you install/enable that Chrome extension you can connnect/disconnect from the VPN at will to access the site. It's a surprisingly easy to use extension that I wasn't previously aware of. Thanks to Jedasa for recommending it via Discord. You should only need to use this VPN when logging in, after you're logged in you should be able to disconnect. Please be aware of Betternet's Privacy Policy before using their service.

I want to apologize for the inconvenience any of you are obviously experiencing with this and thank you for alerting us. I will apprise you all of updates in this thread. Thank you!(##RESPBREAK##)2##DELIM##Sas148##DELIM##

Post by RavenUK

Thanks for that update, and suggested work around, I have tried different browsers and differed PC and Laptops along with different internet connections, all have fail up to now.

However the VPN worked first time and each time I have tried since :)

Not ideal, but at least I can now get back to using wowhead as I like.

Hope you manage to work out what the issues are and fix them, if you need any data, logs , reports etc just let me know.

Post by RavenUK

Just wanted to add to my last post, that I have been using the VPN now for a few hours constantly while playing WoW on my second screen. The VPN has completely transformed the Wowhead site, it runs like a dream, it is so so so much quicker on my PC than before, with all same setup except the VPN.

I have had issues with loading the pages, and general lag, for years now, even as a Premium member, the site was ridiculously slow, but now its like a completely new site :)

Dont know what or how it does it, but oh my you really should access Wowhead via that VPN.

Post by Sas148

This is just to let everyone know we still haven't found a solution to this problem yet. Replicating the issue has been a challenge and we've expanded testing to include additional tools that will allow us to try more quickly and from different places around the world to narrow down what's causing the problem.

Please consider using the workarounds mentioned above in the meantime. Thank you everyone for your continued patience.

Post by Sas148

UPDATE:

We've found the cause! It's BitDefender.

In order to access our HTTPS pages please go into your settings and toggle the 'Scan SSL' option to 'Off'. I've attached some step-by-step screenshots below (courtesy of Jedasa via Discord) which is specific to BitDefender Total Security 2017. You may need to check BitDefender for instructions on disabling this feature in older versions of the software.

We recognize that some users will still want to have this setting enabled and as such we'll be investigating why BitDefender felt it appropriate to block our SSL and pursue what adjustments can be made so as to permit users with this setting enabled to still utilize our HTTPS pages.

I'll provide another update once we figure out if there's anything we can do further. Thank you everyone who experienced this for your patience this past week while we worked to get it resolved.(##RESPBREAK##)2##DELIM##Sas148##DELIM##

Post by iantha

I had to whitelist the following and then I could keep scan SSL enabled:
www.wowhead.com
www.volantix.com

Then I no longer had any issues. Great find!

Post by Canukistani

i just started having this problem about 10hrs ago.

I don't have bitdefender.
Loging out of wowhead didn't fix it.
loading wowhead with a different xxx.wowhead worked but switching back to www.wowhead failed.
chrome (default) and firefox (backup) don't work
rebooted my modem, router, computer
reset my dns
incognito doesn't work

the VPN Chrome extension works!

Post by OldmanBill

The suggestion by lantha to add the two websites to the whitelist worked for me. Thanks!

Post by bsmorgan

Adding the two websites did NOT work for me.

Post by Canukistani

i don't know what happened but the website is working just fine now.

Post by diamoonwillow

Post by Sas148

Adding the two sites did not work for me either. Now the only way I can get directly to wowhead is to use the VPN, which is NOT a good solution for me for other reasons. So either I go to es.wowhead or I use the VPN to log in then leave the VPN...I need a better solution.

Whitelisting isn't the suggestion I made, that was from another user. You'll need to follow the instructions I provided above for BitDefender and/or continue using a VPN. Unfortunately I can't make BitDefender stop behaving in the way it is but we are looking to see if there's anything we can do on our end to fix its behavior but I can't make any promises to that effect.

Post by diamoonwillow

You are correct, I had mashed all the advice up in my memory and mis-remembered what came from whom, whilst completely forgetting the SSL part of the equation. I do hope there's an answer from Bitdefender as to why they're being a problem.

I also wonder if there's a connection with the latest Windows upgrade? It's probably coincidence but the problems I was having all started after my computers did an upgrade.

Again, sorry for mixing up your advice. I miss my fav website :( and am looking forward to a solution. If you need users to reach out to Bitdefender, please ping me.

Post by Morlis

I too have had this problem and figured it out myself by trial and error. I have Bitdefender 2017 on my main computer but not installed on 2 others in the house. I could not access Wowhead on main, but the other two were fine. I did guess that maybe it was Bitdefender that was causing my problem and so I went into each module and shut them all off. Bingo I was able to use Wowhead again. So I started turning all the modules back on and when the website stopped working I figured out it was the Scan SSL option. I came here to let folks know my solution but it seems I am 5 days late. I do agree this is the problem.

It isn't just this website it was effecting, I also use WarcraftPets.com, and even though the pages would load on that site, they were taking a very long time. With Scan SSL disabled my load times are back to normal.

Thanks for confirming my solution. :)

Morlis

[Workaround Inside - BitDefender] "The site can't be reached..." / HTTPS

Post Reply