404 Error Page Not Found

Error Codes and Server Confirmations

Learn what the most common error code and server confirmations mean, and why you your device is not necessarily the source of the issue.

Episode #4-49 released on August 28, 2014

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Many people have computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. We know how to use them, and when something doesn't work we blame our devices. The question is, why can't I access some pages online, and why are other web pages not found? What does this have to do with my device?

You will finally understand what is going on, what it has to do with your device, and what can be done about it, but you might not like the answer.

When it comes to the Internet, servers talk to each other, especially when you ask them from something. They can communicate with an informational 3 digit long code that has the benefit of being both standard and a clear statement of what is going on.

Three digit codes that commence with 1 are informational in nature, codes commencing with the number 2 define success. Codes commencing with the number 3 are typically for redirection, taking you to the right site in most cases, ending with a code starting with the number 2.

Now the interesting three digit codes start with 4 which defines client errors, and 5 server errors. The most common error codes are 401 bad request, 403 forbidden, 404 not found, 500 internal server error, 503 service unavailable, and 504 gateway timeout.

Error 401 usually occurs when you haven't successfully logged in correctly.

Error 403 implies you are forbidden to access that resource online, even if you have an account there.

Error 404 simply states that the page you are looking for does not exist, either because it was deleted, someone linked to the wrong page, or you typed it in wrong.

Error 500 is a generalized error have a broad meaning, but usually refers to issues with the server or application.

Error 504 is a gateway timeout, nothing you can do about it, a response was not received in time, and the request expired.

Those are as common as you are going to see on the internet. However, there is a growing trend just to return an error 404 page to mask various error issues as it can, also, be a way to hijack a web-site.

Now, what can you do about all this. There is not much. If the entire site is inaccessible, or you can't find the correct e-mail address on the web-site, try info@thedomainname.com, or webmaster@thedomainname.com. You may, also, want to Whois the domain name to see if any contact details are available to notify the web-site owner.

Now, what does this have to do with your computer? Well unless the web-site has a really weak processor, and a horrible connection, which would return an error 504, your computer has nothing to do with the errors. Either hundreds, thousands, millions of people are trying to access the site making it slow, or the page is simply not accessible or present. At best you can only check if you typed it in correctly.

Host : Steve Smith | Music : Jonny Lee Hart | Editor : Steve Smith | Producer : Zed Axis Productions

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