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Overview

Howdy utilizes third party firewall software (named BrightCloud) to block incoming connections that are considered malicious or potentially harmful to the university or its students. Occasionally users will have their IP addresses blocked or will receive an IP address from their internet service provider that has already been blocked. In either case, users will need to fill out a request to have their IP address reputation changed by the company that manages the untrustworthy IP address statuses, namely Webroot. 

Instructions

Verifying your IP Address is Blocked

First, you will need to check if your IP address is being blocked.

  1. Navigate to google.com and search, "What is my IP address?" This will yield the public address for the network through which you are connected (e.g. the Wifi at your apartment).


     
  2. Take this IP address and check it in the BrightCloud Database.

     
  3. If the address indicates that it is untrustworthy or hosting malicious content, continue to the next section. If, instead, the address is considered good or trustworthy, please clear your cache and cookies. If that does not resolve the issue, call Help Desk Central for assistance.

 

Regaining Access

If the above steps indicate your IP address is NOT being blocked, you should clear your cache and cookies. Call Help Desk Central if that does not resolve the issue. 

If you have verified your IP address is being blocked, you have a few options.

NOTE: If you are concerned that you may have been blocked because of a virus or malware on your system, please contact Help Desk Central for assistance in removing the harmful programs.

You can obtain a new IP address in the following ways:

  • Unplug your modem for at least 1 minute, then plug it back in. You may have to do this for longer for it to be successful.
  • Contact your internet service provider and request a new IP address
  • Connect to the VPN

You can also request that your IP address is unblocked. To do this, see the directions below:

  1.  Navigate back to BrightCloud and look up your IP address again (if you have left the page). Below the IP address lookup, there is a section titled "Request a Change".


     
  2. Fill out the form as indicated.
    • The IP address field should be the one that you looked up using their tool.
    • Your email address will be used to notify you when the change has been completed or if you need any other documentation to complete the request
    • You may leave the product/integration field blank.
    • In additional comments, please let Webroot know you are an affiliate of Texas A&M and provide any additional details related to your request (i.e. you completed malware removal on your device).
  3. Wait for a response from the BrightCloud team, they should have a response within 24-48 hours.

NOTE: After BrightCloud has processed your request it will still take some time for the change to be reflected in our system. This whole process may take up to a week to complete. In the meantime, please use VPN to connect to Howdy from the blocked network. If you have any trouble completing these steps, please feel free to contact Help Desk Central at 979.845.8300.

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