Dividend Data Website Problems
We sometimes find that the Dividend Data website cannot be accessed, so the HYP Top-Up spreadsheet reports no dividends. If the website is accessed with a web browser such as Firefox or Chrome, it displays a "403 Forbidden" message.
This problem is caused by too many accesses to the website in a short period. The exact limits are unknown but are determined by the server software. If the server determines that too many accesses are being made, it prevents further accesses by blocking the user's IP address.
The IP block may be removed automatically by the server after some time, maybe hours or days. Here are a couple of methods of overcoming the problem immediately.
1...Changing IP Address
You can change your IP address by rebooting your broadband router (more correctly, your broadband modem..... some people may have separate modems and routers, though most are combined units). When you reboot, you will probably be assigned a new IP address by your ISP (if not, reboot again). To ensure that the IP address is changed, look at your IP address before and after rebooting using www.whatismyip.com/
2...Using Google Translate
This sounds like a very unlikely solution, but does work. Normally, Google Translate is used for translating one language into another. However, you can also give it a website URL and it will retrieve the website data and present it in a Google Translate web page. Because the data is being retrieved from Dividend Data by Google and not your own PC, Dividend Data sees the Google IP address and not your own. It is expected that the server will not block Google's IP addresses.
The process is as follows:
This problem is caused by too many accesses to the website in a short period. The exact limits are unknown but are determined by the server software. If the server determines that too many accesses are being made, it prevents further accesses by blocking the user's IP address.
The IP block may be removed automatically by the server after some time, maybe hours or days. Here are a couple of methods of overcoming the problem immediately.
1...Changing IP Address
You can change your IP address by rebooting your broadband router (more correctly, your broadband modem..... some people may have separate modems and routers, though most are combined units). When you reboot, you will probably be assigned a new IP address by your ISP (if not, reboot again). To ensure that the IP address is changed, look at your IP address before and after rebooting using www.whatismyip.com/
2...Using Google Translate
This sounds like a very unlikely solution, but does work. Normally, Google Translate is used for translating one language into another. However, you can also give it a website URL and it will retrieve the website data and present it in a Google Translate web page. Because the data is being retrieved from Dividend Data by Google and not your own PC, Dividend Data sees the Google IP address and not your own. It is expected that the server will not block Google's IP addresses.
The process is as follows:
- Open Google Translate: translate.google.co.uk/
- Set the From: language to anything but English
- Set the To: language to English
- Paste the following into the text box: http://www.dividenddata.co.uk/ex-dividend-date-search.py?searchTerm=AZN as shown in Screenshot 1
- Click on Translate, and you will see the Ex-dividend dates for Astrazeneca as shown in Screenshot 2. Note that if you want to see data for a different share, you cannot enter the new EPIC in the search box within the embedded web page, you must edit the link in the Google search box
- If you want to see Dividend Payment Dates, paste this link into the Google Translate text box:
http://www.dividenddata.co.uk/dividend-payment-date-search.py?searchTerm=AZN
Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2