Media Website & Firewalls

[spen666]

Many media outlets these days put "premium" content behind firewalls. Nothing odd in that you say.
Well today I am working at home using my work laptop. I also have on my desk my own personal laptop.


I followed a link I was given at work to a story in the Daily Mail. It is hidden behind their M+ firewall, requiring you to pay for it. However, I have on my own laptop the ability to use the website https://www.removepaywall.com/ to access material behind most (not all payewalls).

When I used the link on my ownlaptop, ( not using the remove paywall site), the story was not behind a firewall.
On checking the Daily Mail home page, most of the sites that are behind a firewall on my work computer are not on my own.


This is not a function of any work filtering, as it is shown on the newspaper home page as being behind a firewall. My work block matters differently.
I never realised ( probably down to my stupidity) that they could block different sites for different users.
Interestingly both laptops connect to the internet via my home modem, although the work one then goes through my work log in process

 

[Bromptonaut]

I'd hazard a guess that the Mail intends some content to be free of charge for the information, entertainment and their commercial exploitation of Joe Public via click bait etc. .

However if they see you as logging in from offices of a lawyers practice or government department, which they will if you're logged in over a work server, there's an assumption you're using it for professional reasons; no such concession and it's paywalled.

 

[spen666]

I'd hazard a guess that the Mail intends some content to be free of charge for the information, entertainment and their commercial exploitation of Joe Public via click bait etc. .

However if they see you as logging in from offices of a lawyers practice or government department, which they will if you're logged in over a work server, there's an assumption you're using it for professional reasons; no such concession and it's paywalled.

I would assume you were right.

I hadn't realised they could be so sophisticated in setting up of firewall to distinguish between joe public at home and a corporate user log in.

Its only happened over the last month or so this way and today is first time I've sat with both laptops side by side

 

[Blazing Saddles]

Pay to read the Daily Fail?
Shouldn’t it be the other way around?