Sending Request to an External Website

sample.vb

  ''' <summary>
    ''' This method will send a request to the provided url (including ?variable=value) and return an answer.
    ''' </summary>
    ''' <param name="url">The desired url.</param>
    ''' <returns>The content that is returned by the website. Null if it was unsuccessful.</returns>
    Public Function SendRequestExternal(url As String) As String
        Try
            Using client As New WebClient()
                client.Proxy = WebRequest.DefaultWebProxy
                client.Credentials = System.Net.CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials
                client.Proxy.Credentials = System.Net.CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials

                Return client.UploadString(url, "")
            End Using
        Catch
            Return Nothing
        End Try
    End Function