Hello all,
We apologize for not following up on this thread correctly to provide updates on some of the various issues people have been running into. I'd like to clarify a few things and try to help anyone still needing it as there are several different issues rolling up in this topic:
This isn't an issue that's been persisting since 2017 that we've been ignoring. For some background, we have a Compliance team that are proactively monitoring activity around the clock in order to catch problematic accounts/emails before they cause any issues. This is something we take very seriously, as it helps ensure our emails land in the inbox which is of crucial importance. Despite those efforts, from time to time we may end up on a block list for a specific security software program or ISP for a variety of reasons. It definitely comes with the territory. When this happens, we have an ISP Relations team that works with these companies to mediate a solution. Norton being one example that was original mentioned and mentioned again recently. To be clear, these were two separate incidents. The issue is now resolved, and in the most recent incident it was resolved within a day or two. We're not currently on any major block lists that we're aware of for any anti-virus software programs. If you're seeing something now, then we definitely need to look into it. In the interest of getting information on the latest occurrence, we may ask some questions that have been repeated throughout that thread such as what the error is saying, what security programs are being used, screenshots of the error, and we may recommend whitelisting in order to get you on our way while we look into it, or as a troubleshooting step to ensure that is the software that is blocking access.
That being said, there is a second issue that has been brought up in this thread recently which is the browser plugin uBlock Origin blocking clicked links. This is different than normal anti-virus security software in that the point of the plugin is to block ads or any server meant to track user behavior. Links in a Constant Contact email go through the r20.rs6.net URL in order to be recorded as a "click" in your campaign reporting. In that sense, the domain is used to track behavior and is blocked accordingly through uBlock origin. They aren't likely to change their policy globally to allow our domain to continue to track clicks, so it's left up to each individual using the plugin to choose whether or not they want to remove the block to individual sites. This speaks to a growing shift in the market where users want more transparency into their data and how they are being tracked.
@SophiaL37 - Based on information from your recent support interaction, your issue seems separate from both the Norton and uBlock experiences I mentioned above. Because of this I'd like to address you more specifically. The message you're receiving is a general connectivity error so it's not completely clear yet if it's stemming from any particular security software (in many cases these errors come from the software program itself and not just the Chrome error message). In order to get to the bottom of this for you we've submitted a case to our advanced level of support on your behalf. We're curious to get some more information on the workaround regarding creating new templates. As for your point about redirecting, the r20.rs6.net domain is meant to redirect to the link address. This is done in order to track as a click, this isn't a virus. Though a member of our advanced level support team will follow-up with you directly on this, I will be keeping an eye on your case as well.
... View more
