"The Diplomat of Dark Sky Entertainment" (developer of the game Beyond Protocol) has taken it upon him/herself to let PC users know the latest edition of Microsoft's Service Pack (SP3), fixes what are called Black Hole Routers.

These mongoloid pains in the butt can cause all sorts of problems, for gamers, networks and IT departments alike; they're known for causing data loss, disconnects and inconsistencies in connections to encrypted channels. There's also the annoying habit of having to log onto your favourite game multiple times.

Anyhow, good news abounds, as Microsoft seems to have remedied the problem with SP3 (though a more complicated, pre-SP3 solution can be found here, which may be best for those who've experienced troubles with the pack). They pretty much glossed over the issue in the documentation, as is typical for Microsoft, but Dark Sky go into detail:

[W]hen a sustained connection is made between your computer and a server of some sort, packets of data are regularly sent back and forth. The path between your computer and the server can be comprised of many different routers delivering the information from one part of the digital world to another. If along the way, one of those routers finds a packet that it decides is too large to pass on, the router should either fragment the packet or at least inform the sender that the packet was not forwarded. Occasionally a router will simply erase or drop that packet leaving the sender and recipient clueless, which causes problems in large data file transmission, encrypted data sending, and login attempts. This is a black hole router instance. They can be the result of a malfunction, malicious intervention, or improper setup. SP3’s black hole router detection automatically uses, what used to be a complicated process of pinging and adjusting, to identify these problems before sending data and if necessary and possible, redirecting traffic around such routers.

Got all that?

Service Pack 3, for them anyway, immediately solved issues, though they state it is not a guaranteed solution. Of course, what ever is?