Why is this blocked?

[appleoddity]

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=6

Blocked as SPAM

C'mon guys. Every windows computer on the planet goes to this link when you first open internet explorer. Give me a break.

[dmorris]

edit: oh I see.

resubmitted as 'portal site'

fyi, you can submit these here:
http://zvelo.com/partners/test-a-site

[appleoddity]

Web filter - blocked. Reason: SPAM.

The real requested URL from the browser is: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157

Web filter says: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=6

Its the default homepage for every new internet explorer installation that takes you to msn.com.

[sky-knight]

Not blocked for me...

[dmorris]

I think he means categorized as Spam.

(and he's blocking the Spam category in Web Filter)

[sky-knight]

Well the kindle add could be considered spam...

[appleoddity]

Yes Dmorris. You are correct. I am blocking the category SPAM.

Sky-night. The link being blocked is nothing more than a forward to msn.com.

If we are going to block msn.com we might as well just shut down the internet all together. MSN.COM is not spam any more than the millions of other websites that display ads. Target the Ad, not the website.

The primary problem here is that this is the default homepage for internet explorer. And finally, blocking anything from microsoft.com is just asking for trouble. It should be on a universal whitelist as far as I'm concerned.

[appleoddity]

Thank you Dmorris for your submission and further information. I did not see your edit until now.

[drsminkus]

Microsoft's sites are categorized just like any other sites. The moment we start making exceptions for $OurFavoriteCompany then we have lost the battle. Sometimes classification mistakes are made and when you are using the Paid Web Filter the proper course of action is to request a categorization change at http://zvelo.com/partners/test-a-site

[appleoddity]

While I don't complete disagree with you drsminkus, Microsoft.com is not $OurFavoriteCompany. I suppose $OurFavoriteCompany = "RedHat" or "Debian" in drsminkus's world - which is fine, don't get me wrong.

But the fact is, microsoft.com is the backbone of many services and applications utilized on the 90% of computers on the face of the planet that run Windows operating systems. It is arguably the least likely website to ever be "spam", "adware", "spyware", "malicious," etc. A mistake made here can literally shut down critical services.

Again, while I agree there is no reason to give one particular website special consideration over another, any block on such a critical domain name as microsoft.com should be deeply scrutinized before being released to the public. This is not the fault of untangle, nor any of its employees or contributors. And mistakes do happen. A submission that is quickly responded to and corrected is ideal. It is just frustrating that a block like this that has the potential to suddenly cause hundreds or thousands of users to start calling their helpdesk, should not have happened.

This thread was handled appropriately, and apart from ideology, I understand and agree with what was said here. Take care.