Is the EPC down?
 

Has anyone logged into the EPC lately? For the past five days I get a message stating that the page cannot be opened. I have a valid subscription.

It's working ok for me. Did your computer update recently? It could be a java issue.

As a follow up, the fault was not with the EPC website, but with a setting in IE that somehow became deactivated.

Ever since Mercedes started charging for access I stopped renewing and just bought the EPC DVD off Ebay for less money and it even includes WIS. Never going back.

Just be aware that the bootlegged DVD versions run in an XP virtual machine. That means that the security protections that normally run on your PC are not effective when you run "inside the box". At the very least, you should download and install all available XP updates. It's been off maintenance for more than a year, but there are ten years of old fixes that are still available at the Microsoft site. (Inside the VM, go to Control Panel>Automatic Updates) Do the same for Adobe reader and Flash. It's also a good idea to install an anti-virus package in the virtual machine. (If you run something like Norton, McAfee or Avast, you will need to purchase an additional license for the virtual machine. At the very least, you can download and install MS Defender.)

While a virus inside a VM shouldn't affect your PC, life isn't perfect. The VM will have it's own pass-thru connection to your network, and is obviously behind your router. So a worm hidden in the VM could propagate to every device on your network. You're using a piece of bootleg software, so right out of the box you know you're dealing with something questionable. No telling what all is in the box, so take your precautions seriously.

There's an easy enough way to secure the XP VM that the bootleg EPC's run in. Simply disable the network port in the VM settings. There's no reason for the VM to ever connect to the internet or network anyway. So long as you aren't installing viruses on the VM (why would you be installing ANYTHING on the VM?), there's no risk of anything getting hosed by XP's incompetence except the VM itself.

XP's deficiencies come from outside influences via network. Running XP itself is quite safe, provided that you have it disconnected from the outside world.