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While using the Google Chrome browser to surf the web on your Windows 10 PC, there are several error messages you might encounter. One of them is the ERR_ICAN_NAME_COLLISION.

In this article, you will learn what to do to resolve it.

How to remove ERR_ICAN_NAME_COLLISION error message in Chrome

What causes this issue? It happens when you are randomly redirected to an incorrect proxy server or due to an error in a private namespace.

In any of these scenarios, you get the error message:

“The site can’t be reached: This site on the organization, company, or school intranet has the same URL as an external website. Try contacting your system administrator – ERR_ICANN_NAME_COLLISION”

You can use any of the following methods to fix it:

  1. Check the proxy
  2. Use Registry Editor
  3. Remove conflicting browser extensions
  4. Check the hosts file integrity
  5. Flush the DNS
  6. Run a malware scan

Fix 1: Check the proxy

Here’s what you have to do:

  1. Press the Windows logo key + I on your keyboard to open Windows Settings.
  2. Go to Network and Internet.
  3. Click on Proxy.
  4. On the right-hand side of the window, underUse a proxy server, see if the “Automatically detect settings” option is active. If it is not, enable it. Also make sure that the Use a proxy server option is disabled.

After you have completed these steps, try again and see if you can now access the website. If you can’t, move on to the next fix.

Fix 2: Use Registry Editor

Follow these easy steps:

  1. Press the Windows logo key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type regedit in the text box and press Enter or click OK.
  3. Navigate to the following key in the Registry Editor window :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\DataBasePath

  1. Double-click the Default key and ensure the Value data is set as: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
  2. Reboot your PC to effect the changes you’ve made.

Fix 3:  Remove conflicting browser extensions

It’s highly probable that the toolbars or extensions installed in your browser could be preventing the website you are trying to access from loading. To fix it, disable or remove any recent toolbar or extension that you installed before you started getting the error message.

You may need to start Google Chrome in safe mode so you can identify the extension that’s causing the problem.

Use the procedure below to run Chrome in safe mode:

  1. Launch the browser.
  2. Click on the Menu button displayed in the top-right corner of the window.
  3. Click on More tools > Extensions.
  4. Disable all active extensions in your browser.
  5. Restart the browser.

If you still face the error message afterwards, try the next fix.

Fix 4: Check the Hosts file integrity

  1. Go to your File Explorer and navigate to the following path:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

  1. There should be a file named Hosts. Right-click on it and open it using Notepad.
  2. Ensure you write the block URLs on your computer in the list.
  3. Save the file.

It may happen that you will receive an error message even when you are logged on with administrative credentials. If that’s the case:

  1. Go to the Start menu and type Notepad in the search bar
  2. Right-click on Notepad from the search results and click on Run as administrator.
  3. Open the Hosts file and make necessary changes.
  4. Click Save.

You may also need to manually reset the Hosts file back to default. Follow these steps to do so:

  1. Open File Explorer and browse to the following path:

%systemroot% \system32\drivers\etc

  1. Change the name of the Hosts file to hosts.bak. You may need to take ownership of the file first.
  2. To create a new default Hosts file, go to the %WinDir%\system32\drivers\etc folder and open a new Text file named hosts.
  3. Copy and paste the following text into the notepad file:

Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.

#

# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.

#

# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each

# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should

# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.

# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one

# space.

#

# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual

# lines or following the machine name denoted by a ‘#’ symbol.

#

# For example:

#

#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com   # source server

#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com        # x client host

# localhost name resolution is handle within DNS itself.

#       127.0.0.1   localhost

#       ::1       localhost

  1. Save the text file.

Fix 5: Flush the DNS

  1. To open the WinX menu, move your cursor to the bottom-left corner of your desktop and right-click.
  2. To open an elevated command prompt, click on Command Prompt (Admin).
  3. Enter the following commands to flush the DNS cache:

ipconfig/release

ipconfig/renew

ipconfig/flushdns

  1. Exit the Command Prompt and see if the error message has been resolved.

Fix 6: Run a malware scan

If the issue is not yet fixed, you have to run a full system scan for adware or malware. You can use Auslogics Anti-Malware.

The tool is very user-friendly and easy to set up. It detects malicious items you wouldn’t have suspected are present on your PC. It’s also designed not to interfere with your main antivirus.

You may also find some third-party software to help you to easily:

  • Reset Proxy
  • Reset Winsock
  • Reset TCP/IP
  • Reset Firewall
  • Reset Hosts file.

Now you’ve discovered how to fix ERR_ICANN_NAME_COLLISION error in Chrome. After applying these tweaks, the blocked websites should become accessible.

We do hope you find this content useful.

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