[some_random]

Fun fact, this is almost exactly how active portal detection is done in the OS/browser!

https://gist.github.com/skull-squadron/edb8c0122f902013304c0...

[QuantumNomad_]

Yep :) I just find example.com easier to remember and quicker to type than any of the OS or browser makers own URLs like

- http://captive.apple.com/

- http://connectivitycheck.gstatic.com/generate_204

- http://detectportal.brave-http-only.com/

Plus, it feels nice to depend on the reserved domain name example.com instead of relying on a domain that any one specific corporation has to maintain :D

[xp84]

What gives you confidence example.com won't start serving the HTTPS redirect though? There isn't any reason they wouldn't, and given that browsers are clearly tending towards showing big scary warnings to even accessing something over cleartext, I wouldn't be surprised if they flipped that switch just to avoid confusing noobs.

[QuantumNomad_]

True, that could happen. If it does do that then I will have to switch over to remembering a different URL instead. But as long as it hasn’t I will keep using http://example.com :)

[1f60c]

Also http://detectportal.firefox.com. And http://neverssl.com was set up for this purpose while being a bit easier to remember :)

[0l]

I remember a while back neverssl.com would happily serve HTTPS requests! Another good alternative is http://httpforever.com/