My web site is blocked by Lehigh

If you find that you are blocked from accessing a website while on Lehigh's network, that site may be banned by domain ban listing services. This can occur when a site contains suspicious/malicious code or is compromised in some way. If a site you manage is unavailable/blocked, you can contact the LTS Help Desk at helpdesk@lehigh.edu or our Security staff at security@lehigh.edu. We can determine the source of the problem.

Website hosting services are vulnerable

It's common for websites hosted by non-Lehigh services (e.g., Weebly, Wix, Squarespace, Wordpress, etc) to be blocked. If you use these site hosting services or have your students use them, be aware that these sites are at high risk for being placed on the ban list, which means they will not be accessible from the campus secured network.

What does it mean when a site is placed on the ban list?

Lehigh subscribes to a number of malware and security-related filters that help protect Lehigh's users and network from dangerous content.  Because web hosting/blogging sites operate many websites in one place, a problem with any one of the sites will result in the entire domain (e.g., weebly.com) being blocked. It will remain blocked until the hosting site takes steps to have it removed from the list. The process can occur quickly, or it can take days. Lehigh does not recommend hosting Lehigh content on third-party services. Instead, speak with an LTS consultant about your needs. 

Is there a workaround?

While the site is blocked on the campus secure wired and wireless networks, it will still be available to people on Lehigh's unsecured 'lehigh guest' wireless network, or an off-campus connection to the Internet.

If you have further questions or concerns, please contact the Help Desk or the LTS Security Office.