How to test an Internet connection with bash?

Question

How can an internet connection be tested without pinging some website? I mean, what if there is a connection but the site is down? Is there a check for a connection with the

Answer 1

Ping was designed to do exactly what you're looking to do. However, if the site blocks ICMP echo, then you can always do the telnet to port 80 of some site, wget, or curl.