How to override DNS to access certain websites if they go down (INCLUDING THIS ONE) WIN 10

[FoxtArt]

PRINT AND FILE THIS. If this site were to go down, you wouldn't be able to access this.


ONLY DO THIS IF YOU CANNOT ACCESS WEBSITES BECAUSE THEY WERE TAKEN OUT.


MODIFYING THE HOSTS FILE CAN ALSO BREAK WEBSITES IF THEY CHANGE THEIR WEB LOCATION. YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER TO FOLLOW THESE STEPS AGAIN TO EDIT/DELETE THE LINES TO RESTORE NORMAL DNS ACCESS

DNS is the internets phone book. When you type a name in the browser (ar-15.co) DNS tells your computer what IP address (phone number) to call to reach it. How these sites are primarily taken out, is by obliterating these DNS records, so when you type (ar15.com) there is no "phone number" for your computer to call. This is how you can override that in certain circumstances.


1) In the search bar of your start menu, where it says "Type here to search" on the bottom of your screen, type "notepad"


2) Do not launch notepad; Right click on it and select "run as administrator". If you skip this step, it will not be able to save and it won't work.


3) Once notepad opens, go to "file" and "open".


4) Navigate to your C: (hard drive) on the left menu pane. Then navigate to the "Windows" folder on the right pane - double click.


a) now scroll until you find "System32" folder - double click


b) now scroll until you find "drivers" folder -- double click


c) now find the "etc" folder - double click


d) now click on the hosts file and press the "open" button.


5) At the bottom of the file, type the following lines for any sites that have been taken out:
54.209.36.119 ar-15.co
54.209.36.119 www.ar-15.co


3.138.255.236 ar15-backup.com
3.138.255.236 ar15.com
3.138.255.236 www.ar15.com


6. Save and restart.

Don't forget that you modified the hosts file if you hear the sites came back online, you need to go back through these steps and delete their lines and save them. Or if you lose access again, try to remove the lines associated with that website, or find someone to ask to give you an updated address to update it.


***Note: Servers have to be configured to load the preferred site to browse by IP, some of them won't work by direct IP but some will still sort-of-work with a modified hosts file because your browser sends a "header" telling it which site it is requesting. I'm on gov internet so I can't confirm that any of these work, but they *should*. Certain software or entire websites may also break when using this method (just from your perspective). If there are other sites you wish to have "backup" access to, figure out their IP address now by using "cmd" in the start bar, and then "tracert www.website.com" and press enter to see what IP it belongs to [it will show in the very top in brackets, you can ignore the actual hops] it will show like this:

Tracing route to ar-15.co [54.209.36.119]

That first IP in brackets is the one that matters.


Trying to identify their IP address WILL NOT WORK after a website has been taken out by a registrar. Some of us can likely go back through historical DNS records to find an IP that may work, but it's not something the layperson could do and usually requires paid accounts at select places.

[FoxtArt]

Feel free to post additional info for other OS, and to archive other IP's in use at other sites here, etc.

Keep frosty and continue to avoid any "grey" discussions anywhere on this site. I really don't anticipate anyone is coming to shut down "the little guys" in the following months but I also can't rule it out.

[XJ]

For mobile users, would we just type the numbers into the address bar?

[hollohas]

Thank you for this. I was hoping someone would teach us computer illiterate how to keep in touch online a bit longer.

[CS1983]

MacOS:

1) Open a Finder window.

2) Select Applications from the sidebar.

3) Double-click on Utilities.

4) Double-click Terminal.

5) In the Terminal window, you will need to enter a command to open the Nano text editor. You will need your administrator password, as well.

6) type sudo nano /etc/hosts and then hit return.

7) Enter YOUR administrator password and then hit return.
You're now in the Nano text editor. You should see something that looks like this:



If you want to add a new device or domain, move the cursor using the arrow keys and position it after the text in the window. Then, begin typing.

8) If you're mapping a particular IP address on your local network to a domain, you can type the IP address, hit tab, then type the domain name.

(just paste this in for here):

54.209.36.119 ar-15.co
54.209.36.119 www.ar-15.co


3.138.255.236 ar15-backup.com
3.138.255.236 ar15.com
3.138.255.236 www.ar15.com

9) Once you're done, hold down the control and O keys to save the file, then control and X to exit.

FINALLY:


Back at the Terminal command line, type sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder then hit return key. That will flush your Mac's DNS cache, so it doesn't get confused by any changes you've made to the Hosts file.

quoted from and some mods based on (include extra pics):
https://www.imore.com/how-edit-your-...the-hosts-file

[CS1983]

For mobile users, would we just type the numbers into the address bar?

Yes, though you might need to include https:// or http://.

If it doesn't work, try downloading a different mobile browser (brave, duckduckgo, etc.).

You might get a "warning" page. Just click through.

If you haven't already, start using a unique password for any pages where you might need to "backdoor" (really just bypassing DNS), as it could be transmitted via port 80 (http) which is unsecure and has no SSL protection. As such, any password you use via this method is potentially subject to being seen in clear text.

I recommend bitwarden for a password manager; some will say LastPass. If you want to go through the rigmarole, keePass is also ok, but has no cloud support unless you store the database somewhere like dropbox (at which point you might as well have made use of bitwarden's encrypted cloud architecture, imo), you can only use it on one device OR have to manually update each device every time you mod a password or entry.

[O2HeN2]

I recommend bitwarden for a password manager; some will say LastPass.

And I've been using 1password.com for years and would recommend it.

O2

[FoxtArt]

Many sites won't work when browsing by IP directly, because their servers are setup to share IP's, they differentiate by what domain is in the requesting header. I believe that is true here as well (just shows, "here", so the default site isn't our directory). If it all goes to s*** I would expect a server admin to select whatever site is most preferential to host off the IP. I haven't yet looked into overriding mobile DNS but there is an app for everything so I wouldn't be surprised if there is a way.

ETA: Colorado shooters IS the default web directory for https, just not http. You will get a certificate error that you will have to accept (because the certificate is for the domain name) but you can presently browse ar-15.co via https://54.209.36.119

[Aloha_Shooter]

Never mind, already covered.

[hollohas]

Didn't we have to do this years ago to access the site around the time of the big reset? I feel like I've had to do this sort of thing at some point but my web skilz are non-existent so I can't recall for sure.