Help! I Can't Connect to Any Harding Websites!

One common issue that we see at DormNet is the inability to connect to any Harding websites, even though the computer is able to connect to other sites without a problem. Usually, the source of the issue is the computer has a manually-entered DNS server address, and simply selecting the option to "Obtain DNS server address automatically" should solve the problem.

Windows 7/8
Here are the steps to fix the problem on Windows:

Open the Network and Sharing Center and click on Change Adapter Settings.

Right-click on the adapter you will be using. For example, if you connect through wireless then select the Wireless Adapter, and if you are connecting through a wired connection then select the Ethernet adapter.

Select Properties.

On the Local Area Connection Properties, select the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) option. Then, click on Properties.

After the Properties window pops up, look at the DNS server options. If your computer is set to use a Preferred DNS, then you want to click Obtain DNS server address automatically.

Then, click OK and you are good to go!

Having a preferred DNS server connection isn't normally a bad thing. The DNS server used in this example (8.8.8.8) is Google's Public DNS which was started to help make the Web faster and more secure. However, it can cause issues connecting to Harding websites while on campus. 

If your computer cannot connect to Harding websites and your computer is already checked to Obtain the DNS server address automatically, then feel free to drop by our DormNet Help Desk any time from 11am - 10pm Monday through Thursday, or 11am - 5pm on Friday! We are located on the 2nd floor of the Admin building in room 205.