Virgin Media are stopping me from changing my Proxy

[D_Skids]

As reported in another thread I have had DNS issues for the last few days and it takes several attempts to get onto a site (I am in Northampton, NN3)

Today i decided I had had enough and changed my proxy to another Northampton proxy to see if that would fix it.

After doing that all I get is this page

http://cache-removal.virginmedia.com//index.php.

So basically Virgin have done something to screw up my connection and they are stopping me from doing anything about it!!!

No way am I going to pay their premium rate phone number to tell them that they have screwed something up for them to deny any issues.

If I want to change my proxy i should have the right to it is my computer after all.

Virgin make me sick and this is just another helpful nudge to get me looking at other providers!

[Graham M]

VM got rid of the enforced proxies ages ago, if you really feel the need to use one, try webcache.virginmedia.com, they're hardly conspiring to stop your Internet from working, infact quite the opposite as Proxies can often cause more trouble than they solve.

[D_Skids]

Thanks for the advice I will try webcache.

But Virgin are not helping me one bit because as stated I have had real problems getting onto most sites.

Fair enough if they want to get rid of proxies but then they must make sure that their customers are up and running OK and I for one am not!

[Hugh]

Rather than blamestorming, might it not be better to post your (rough) location and some of the sites you are having issues with, to check if anyone in your area is having the same issues (first line fault finding 101).

[D_Skids]

In my post I have put where I am Northampton, NN3. Surely that is a rough enough guide isn't it.

I also did post a thread about DNS issues previously and asked if there was anybody in my area that had the problem but didn't get any responses.

I am not blamestorming as you call it. I am pointing out that clearly something has changed with Virgin Media setups and it is affecting my connection.

I have not changed anything on my PC and I have tried my works laptop on this connection too and I get the same problem.

Like I also said I have had the problem on most sites and I don't have time to post every site I have been onto but here are some for a start

This site. (Several attempts to look through the forums for people with similar problems)
Virgin Medias Site !!!
bbc.co.uk
northantsnews.com (My local news site)
Myspace

[Sirius]

I have always found this proxy to be the best of the bunch and have been using it for a year now with NO problems renf-cache-9.server.ntli.net:8080

[bonzoe]

I don't bother with a proxy and am having no problems, but then again I'm nowhere near Northampton.

Update: just tried using poxy (sorry proxy) server and doesn't work, seems to back up OPs problem. But OK with no poxy server............

[D_Skids]

I have tried using webcache.virginmedia.com and it seems much better now so many thanks for that.

It still doesn't explain what Virgin are up to though.

[Mick]

They are not up to anything - As already said several posts ago - the old proxies are being phased out and being replaced by one single proxy for optional use, thus webcache.virginmedia.com should be the best one to use, have you tried surfing without any proxy?

[Paul]

There is no real reason to use a proxy - why do you want to ?

[D_Skids]

Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough;

I did not have a proxy set but I was getting drop outs on any website I went to so I tried putting a proxy in to see if it would improve matters and that is when I got the Virgin message.

Since using the webcache proxy as suggested previously things have been fine.

I am guessing Virgin use some hidden proxy method which may be causing the issues.

[Mick Fisher]

In NN10 here.
I've been experiencing much the same as D Skids has over the last few days. However I've found that it is intermittant.
Using Visual Route I have seen some quite imaginative routing going on. One such was to the BBC via New York?? However I am not sure that Visual Route tells the truth as a tracert from a command prompt did not verify this??
There definately seems to be something out of the ordinary going on.
Strangely I tried using webcache.virginmedia.com but seemed to lose my connection altogether. A tracert to it just timed out.
Think all this was since Saturday, haven't bothered checking anything since, just quite regularly finding sites unreachable then they reachable later on. There doesn't seem to be a pattern to it at all.
I am already using OpenDNS.

[Paranoimia]

I'm in Northampton NN3, and have had no problems at all.

[eth01]

there is a real reason to use a proxy, so what if he does.