Posted: 14th May, 2010 By: MarkJ

Customer of Virgin Media UK, specifically its fixed line cable broadband ISP products, have been left unable to access several internet file storage websites (including the popular RapidShare.com) for around 24 hours following a fault on Virgin's platform.
The issue caused many users to fear that Virgin Media had blocked RapidShare directly, although the operator recently Tweeted to rebuff those allegations: "
Folks - we are aware some customers unable to access Rapidshare/MegaUpload - we have NOT blocked these and are urgently investigating".
It's far more likely that Virgin's transparent proxy has simply fallen foul of the Internet Watch Foundations ( IWF ) child abuse filter, albeit usually due more to the ISPs own implementation than the IWF itself. This is a sad but frustratingly common fault, luckily it's easy enough to circumvent.
Related News:
How to Resolve Rapidshare Style Download Website Blocks by ISPs
UPDATE 15th MayAn official statement sent by Virgin:
A Virgin Media spokesperson said:
"We are aware of an issue whereby certain file upload sites were unavailable for Virgin Media customers from late evening Thursday 13th May. Virgin Media did not block these sites and we are investigating the root cause. In the meantime we have implemented a workaround, and customers should be able to now access these sites again. We apologise for any inconvenience."