Is there a way to see if my job"s internet blocked some app?

Noctosphere · Aug 10, 2022

Hello,

Since i started my job more than a year ago, i've never been able to watch netflix since it is blocked.
But i've always been able to watch plex, but since this week, i just can't access my own server from their internet.
I'd like to know if they blocked it or if it's just me/my computer/server.
Is there a way to know that?
Thanks

Plazorn · Aug 11, 2022

Ask their IT department, that is, if watching Netflix and Plex won't get you fired...

mituzora · Aug 11, 2022

Noctosphere said:
Hello,

Since i started my job more than a year ago, i've never been able to watch netflix since it is blocked.
But i've always been able to watch plex, but since this week, i just can't access my own server from their internet.
I'd like to know if they blocked it or if it's just me/my computer/server.
Is there a way to know that?
Thanks

Is your server set up to accept ICMP requests? ping your domain name or your WAN IP address to see if they've blocked access to that IP address or not. Other than that, not really. You start poking around at ports and stuff, you're likely to flag some sort of IDS/IPS and you will likely face some consequences poking around places you shouldn't be.

Ask their IT department, that is, if watching Netflix and Plex won't get you fired...

This is amazing advice. check with your IT department to see if certain services are allowed on their network

tech3475 · Aug 11, 2022

Is your Plex server accessible with other connections? Have you checked that remote access is working (via Plex web gui go to Settings>Remote Access)?

Before contacting IT, check if your company has some kind of written guideline for internet usage as this could answer your question without raising any flags i.e. they blocked it because the policy forbids video streaming and they've only just caught up.

FAST6191 · Aug 11, 2022

Do you have a mobile phone or laptop you can connect to such a connection, possibly also a friend's house you can check from or a VPN?

Home streaming from plex probably comes with an annoying series of setups likely including dynamic DNS (I don't imagine you paid for static IP or got one for free) and that is likely to be the case in my experience -- such services go pop or get removed even more often than popular image hosting websites run out of investor money and have to stop being free.

The IT department could also be doing bandwidth monitoring (the more likely reason netflix is blocked, be it because they pay by the megabyte or so as to avoid however many employees hammering a streaming site on a network built for email and text based websites) and blocking things on that front.

If you have a plex server then I assume you are not watching broadcast TV self captured and rebroadcast to your phone or whatever (and if you are I am impressed someone with those kind of skills still finds something to watch on what I assume is daytime TV). Get some kind of device or a USB stick that on your second screen/small window/background audio/whatever, or indeed go more basic and change up from streaming server to FTP server or something.

I can't necessarily say maybe you should be doing your job (many jobs are filled with pointless busy work after all) but do be careful -- I can't imagine your job opportunities are terribly large in number so best not to lose out over something as simple as being bored at work when there are other options.

Noctosphere · Aug 11, 2022

thank you for all your answer
Well, to be honnest, until right now, I couldn't check if it was just my server or if THEY blocked it
Why? Because my SIM card got blocked when I changed of cellphone supplier
I've replaced it now, so I tested connecting to my plex server from my LTE, and it works

So I guess they did block it

Guess I'll have to rely on LTE forever :cry:

mituzora · Aug 11, 2022

FAST6191 said:
Do you have a mobile phone or laptop you can connect to such a connection, possibly also a friend's house you can check from or a VPN?

Home streaming from plex probably comes with an annoying series of setups likely including dynamic DNS (I don't imagine you paid for static IP or got one for free) and that is likely to be the case in my experience -- such services go pop or get removed even more often than popular image hosting websites run out of investor money and have to stop being free.

The IT department could also be doing bandwidth monitoring (the more likely reason netflix is blocked, be it because they pay by the megabyte or so as to avoid however many employees hammering a streaming site on a network built for email and text based websites) and blocking things on that front.

If you have a plex server then I assume you are not watching broadcast TV self captured and rebroadcast to your phone or whatever (and if you are I am impressed someone with those kind of skills still finds something to watch on what I assume is daytime TV). Get some kind of device or a USB stick that on your second screen/small window/background audio/whatever, or indeed go more basic and change up from streaming server to FTP server or something.

I can't necessarily say maybe you should be doing your job (many jobs are filled with pointless busy work after all) but do be careful -- I can't imagine your job opportunities are terribly large in number so best not to lose out over something as simple as being bored at work when there are other options.

I can answer regarding Dynamic DNS questions. Depending on if they paid for Plex Pass or not, you do not need to set up Dynamic DNS for remote streaming to work. I believe it uses UPnP by default. I personally use Dynamic DNS because I don't like using UPnP on my network if at all possible, and I use many other services than just Plex, but if you have a Plex Pass, you should be able to set up remote streaming using their discovery service and UPnP. Up until recently I didn't even have Plex's ports poked on my firewall, and was able to easily access it without ever using my IP or Dynamic DNS.

I would also ask your IT department if they have an acceptable use policy in play, and if those streaming services go against acceptable use policy, don't bother, it's not worth it, and it will eventually catch up with you. Please don't try to circumvent their policies, because you will end up with a bad time on your hands.

At my job they're incredibly security focused, but as it's a university, they don't really have anything in place other than anti-DMCA policies. Plex is kind of a grey area here. I don't think my job has a problem with it because it's not using their network to download any content, just stream it from my own network. They do have stateful firewalls though, and will immediately shut my device down if it's not in compliance with their security policy.

tech3475 · Aug 11, 2022

Noctosphere said:
thank you for all your answer
Well, to be honnest, until right now, I couldn't check if it was just my server or if THEY blocked it
Why? Because my SIM card got blocked when I changed of cellphone supplier
I've replaced it now, so I tested connecting to my plex server from my LTE, and it works

So I guess they did block it
Guess I'll have to rely on LTE forever

Again double check the actual policy, it could be it was accidentally blocked, can be whitelisted or there’s a workaround e.g. VPN. Just make sure not to get into trouble over this.

Of course, one alternative is to just preload content and just play it locally on your device.

Plazorn · Aug 12, 2022

Actually I think I have a solution. You could theoretically use Tor with a VPN, and connect that way, as Tor has its very own network...

Also, you could maybe turn off WiFi on your device and use a mobile hotspot?

DanTheManMS · Sep 27, 2022

You can install the WeHe app and run it to test if there's any traffic-shaping between you and numerous providers.

https://wehe.meddle.mobi/

I've only used it on Android, but it appears there's an iOS version on the App Store as well.

Marc_LFD · Sep 28, 2022

A reliable VPN would bypass that and allow you.

Is there a way to see if my job"s internet blocked some app?

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