click.ma.mailenvelope.bbc.co.uk links unable to open

AMMT

@witchtech Many thanks for that link. I am even more confused now because as you rightly point out, the BBC server involved is reported as "not responding" but these BBC email links are actually opening fine at this time when I access them via my Gmail app on my iPhone so I'm not sure where that leaves me. However, I have contacted Kaspersky just in case they can throw some light on this issue. I do appreciate your response.

witchtech

@ammt I don´t know how accurate that isitdownrightnow site is, I have no idea if it also works with redirecting links like the one you posted. What I suspect is that when you click on that link it detects you are on your iPhone and redirects you to the mobile website.

Your best option is probably contacting BBC support team if available, or somebody else who is receiving the same newsletter and compare results. I don´t think this is a Vivaldi problem.

AMMT

@blackbird Many thanks for responding. I have contacted Kaspersky in the hope that they might be able to help me as I use Kaspersky Internet Security 2018 and it is worth a try at least. It does appear that the site might currently be down when you check in http://www.isitdownrightnow.com/mailenvelope.bbc.co.uk.html which might explain your findings, only I can access these emailed links when I access them via the Gmail app on my iPhone so that seems rather contradictory to me!
I am baffled but I am determined to get to the bottom of this issue!

witchtech

@ammt
That´s the spirit! Please keep us posted with the solution if you find out, I am puzzled about it too.

Blackbird

@wphil said in http://click.ma.mailenvelope.bbc.co.uk links unable to open:

... Of course, it can't be Kaspersky unique if @witchtech and @Blackbird report the same behaviour and don't have KIS. ...

I just checked the second link in @AMMT's original post again today after not trying for a few days, and now the BBC page opens and works fine and seems to function properly for its links. I'm not sure just what was going on here with the site. Moreover, the first time I re-visited the site today, I was unable to revert Vivaldi to the prior page I was on before going to the BBC site... repeated attempts to back up failed. After directly going to another URL via a bookmark and again visiting the BBC site, everything quieted down and both the site and Vivaldi's backing up to the previous page all work OK now. I suspect some peculiar page coding, but who knows! So... if the site still doesn't work for you, it may indeed be related somehow to your KIS program.

Blackbird

@wphil Out of curiosity, in looking deeper at the site, I find some peculiar behavior. If I clear the site from Vivaldi's cache, upon next visiting the site, I get a momentary "site not found" message that quickly (~1 second or so) auto-redirects to the sought-after page. Thereafter, if the page remains cached, subsequent visits go immediately to the sought page. Navigation within the page results in multiple and frequent redirections, hence the seeming difficulty of backing up from within Vivaldi... I was finally able to back out after 15-20 rapid back clicks.

The site code is extremely complex, with a lot of testing and examination of analytics results and sniffing of visiting-browser/system capabilities. Probably much of this is due to the fact that the site is carrying copyrighted media that falls under UK paid-television-viewing laws, and involves local currency, UK region, UK language, and the nature of the visting user's video/TV player. Many of these tests and evaluations involve JavaScript 'calls' to numerous and multiple URLs and analytic evaluations of the visiting-system scenario. 3rd party cookies and Flash player are required for compatibility with the site.

The site's own reference information indicates the need for a visitor to be covered by a UK TV license to watch programs on any channel or to download programs to an iPlayer. If one is located outside the UK, different pages/information are served up that block usage of BBC's iPlayer, CBBC, and CBeebies, plus adverts will appear in some parts of the BBC.

The point of all this is that there is a great deal of analytics testing, redirection, and sniffing going on by the website code, with results depending on a visting system and its apparent geographic origin. The end result is a lot of necessary handshaking within the browser, any of which if blocked or interrupted by either the browser or AV could interfere with things. This may require KIS assistance to find out how to get it all past that AV.

AMMT

Thank you to all the above respondents for their feedback. I have digested all your comments and I can certainly relate to them all and I too have experienced the "auto-redirects to the sought after page" that @wphil has witnessed under those circumstances. It does appear that this initial http://click.ma.mailenvelope.bbc.co.uk link from the BBC emails is quite complex in the processes and handshakes involved in order to display the intended webpage.

To bring you up to-date, after contacting Kaspersky Support and supplying them with very specific details, they promptly replied with a request to firstly switch off KIS 2018 and try the links and then secondly, just "Pause" the protection. Both of these conditions enabled me to open the links successfully. They then asked me to disable all of the individual protection components of my KIS 18.0.0.405(f) and then switch on each one, just one at a time from the top to see if a particular protection element was causing the "Page not found" issue. With only "File Anti-Virus" on, I was still able to open the links. I then deleted the Internet Cache and Cookies and tried again with only "File Anti-Virus" and "Web Anti-Virus" on. I quickly discovered that it was the "Web Anti-Virus" element that appeared to be the issue as the page error returned. On passing this info onto Kaspersky, they then replied with instructions for collecting traces of the issue as it occurred plus they also pointed me to their Getsysteminfo facility which I then executed and replied back with the two zip files produced.
They quickly acknowledged my information provided and have advised me that they have forwarded the issue to Kaspersky Labs HQ for further investigation and assistance and will get back to me as soon as they have a reply.

Needless to say, I will post another update as soon as I get that reply. Thanks again to everyone here for their useful feedback.

Blackbird

@ammt Regardless of ultimate outcome, that has been a very impressive response from the folks at Kaspersky.

AMMT

Yes indeed, Kaspersky have been very prompt with their replies regarding this issue although to be fair, in my own personal experience with them over the years, when I have needed assistance from them, provided that I have initially contacted them via my support account and opened a new ticket, I have always received within a couple of days, a very detailed but easy to follow response. If further exchanges are then necessary, as in this case, then they generally get back to me again the same day so I can’t complain and I would certainly recommend them for their customer support.
I look forward to what we will hopefully learn from their findings regarding these BBC links!

AMMT

Okay, I received my latest response from Kaspersky this Monday morning and having followed their directions, I believe these BBC email links now open without a problem in Vivaldi browser for Windows. Interestingly, a couple initially came up with the original "This site can't be reached" page but if left for just a few seconds, it then appeared to "auto-refresh" whereby the required page then opened but for most tests, all was well on the first attempt. I know that @wphil had experienced this behaviour.
This has also remedied the same problem that existed within my Edge browser.

For those of you who are using Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 or KIS 2018, I have copied their instructions here for simplicity:

Open the main Kaspersky window. If the main window of Kaspersky application is not on your desktop, bring it up by double-clicking the Kaspersky desktop shortcut (icon) or by double clicking on the smaller Kaspersky icon in the bottom right corner of the screen;
Click on the Gear icon in the bottom left corner of the Kaspersky window;
On the left side menu select 'Protection';
On the right side menu scroll down a bit and select 'Web Anti-Virus';
Click on 'Advanced settings';
Click on "Configure Trusted URLs";
Click on 'Add' and enter the address: http://click.ma.mailenvelope.bbc.co.uk* (make sure to also add the * at the end of it) then tick the 'Active' circle and press 'Add' again.

As they say, do not forget to add the asterisk at the end!

I would imagine that for non-Kaspersky users who have also witnessed this issue, you should also be able to enter this "Trusted URL" in the relevant "Settings" area whereby hopefully it will improve performance with these BBC email links.
I am aware that these links do sometimes expire after a period of time so I would not expect older emailed examples to necessarily still work, so I have taken this into account.

Naturally, please ask if I have not made anything clear but hopefully this little exchange will be beneficial to others out there who may have stumbled across this little frustration. Once again, I have appreciated the input of the other Forum users. Many thanks again to all.

Alk2

I am experiencing exactly the same issue as @AMMT and @wphil .
My query to @AMMT and @wphil is - what ISP are you using please? I am using plusnet.

I have spent months trying to get to the bottom of it. I first came across this thread when AMMT first posted, but as there were no replies I looked for my own solution. The problem just started to occur at the same time as @AMMT , previously I have had no problem with the BBC newsletter.

My issues are not unique to the BBC newsletter. I also receive a connection reset error with certain other websites. I have to continually try to refresh. If I manage to get it to work, it will continue to work thereafter and on all other devices. Sometimes I have elements missing out of webpages, although this has become less of an issue in recent months.
I have noticed that it is with links in email newsletters that the issue can occur.
I am not using Kaspersky.
I have ruled out my antivirus by uninstalling it and by also trying on other PCs that don't have it installed. If I hotspot on mobile data, the BBC newsletter works instantly without issue.
Like @AMMT the newsletter in the gmail ipad app works fine.

I believe it is a combined issue of my internet connection (either ISP or telephone exchange issue) and certain website's setup - possibly load balancers or them calling on external resources that are on CDNs that I am unable to connect to.

What I have found is that my Antivirus exacerbates the issue, rather than it being the cause. If I remove my antivirus, I have a better success rate.