A couple days ago, my work changed the program they use to block people from accessing certain kinds of websites on work computers. I completely understand the need for this, and for the most part, I understand why they block the kinds of sites they block — because even if Facebook is a place to make professional connections, it’s still a potential timesink for lots of people — so yeah, some social media sites that lean more heavily toward the “social” side, I think it’s fine to block them.
But what I found with this new software they’re using is, if I go to a blog that has blogspot, wordpress, or typepad in the url, I get the message that it’s blocked. I confirmed today that some blogs that DON’T have the platform name in the url, like My Friend Amy, are blocked, while others, like Books on the Nightstand, are okay. I can read entries in my Google Reader, so the blogs I subscribe to are still mostly accessible just for reading, but I’m peeved about the change, and it means that I can’t work on a blog post of my own on Blogger, but would have to save it in Word (and then put on flash drive or e-mail to myself…fun, fun).
I realize I already don’t spend enough time on my blog to grow any kind of following, and that I’m terrible at replying to comments that people are so nice to leave for me… I just hate that this is one additional thing that will leave me EVEN LESS time for blogging, and for visiting other blogs. I’m just annoyed.
Now, to try to end this whiny post on a more positive note: first, the boys have just started spring break, so no homework tonight, and when I get ready for work tomorrow morning, I won’t have to listen to Jeff and the boys battling over what they’re having for breakfast. Yay for some peace and quiet in the morning! Second, although they’ve had basketball on the local NBC station, it should be finished by 8pm, so I am planning to watch The Office, which I haven’t done in quite a while — even more miraculously, I’ll be watching it while it’s actually on, not a recording of it! (And yes, I’ll try to walk on the treadmill while I watch, see how far I get.) So, things aren’t bad really, and hopefully I’ll be able to post a (long overdue) reading update over the weekend … it could happen, keep your fingers crossed!
Try a proxy server. We were once staying in a hotel where the business center computer blocked just about every site I wanted to visit. I was able to get everywhere by using the proxy server.
You just point your browser to the address of the proxy (which should work) and then from there, use the proxy server to reach the other sites.
Here's a link I found that might help you: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/access-blocked-websites-using-proxy-servers/
While I"m thrilled that you can access Books on the Nightstand, it crushes me that you can't go to other sites or even your own.
Hi Ann – Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, I appreciate it lots and lots. 🙂
And, thank you for your suggestion about the proxy server. But, I'm pretty sure that if I tried to use any kind of proxy, that would be blocked too. The company uses certain Categories, and then assigns a Category to each site or domain name they know about. I know that Proxies are specified in one of the categories that's listed as not allowed. If I tried to use one and got blocked, then they'd know I was trying to get somewhere that I "shouldn't" go, and the assumption in that case would be that I was trying to see something that really should be blocked (i.e. sex or violence). It would be better to click on a blog by accident — since it'll take a while for us all to remember we can't visit these sites anymore — than to deliberately do something to get around the system.
Maybe less time reading blogs on my work breaks will lead to me using more of that time for reading, which would be a positive side effect. Hope I can!
Thank you again for reading and commenting, it's so kind of you. 🙂