Computer Help - Wireless Internet

[Fezmid]

Used Firefox. Then tried IE to see if it would fix the problem, then tried Opera. I must point out that this issue is intermittent. Not happening right now. Computers....

PTR

Like I said, sounds like Malware intercepting some of your requests. I wouldn't trust the PC until you rebuild it.

[Corp000085]

Back to the original thought... Plug your computer into one of the LAN plugs of your router with a cat5 cable. Then, start diagnosing your router from there. Unplug everything (the power source, not the ethernet cables), let sit for 5 minutes, then plug in modem, let fully boot up (appx 45 seconds- 1 minute), then plug in router (allow 45 seconds-1 minute to reboot), then plug in the wireless device attached to the dvr, then reboot your computer. Diagnose all wireless problems from the web management page of your router, reset to factory defaults, update firmware, etc. DO NOT UNPLUG YOUR COMPUTER TILL YOU'VE FIXED THE PROBLEM. There's a chance that you'll destroy your router's firmware if you do any updating wirelessly.

[Dan]

Used Firefox. Then tried IE to see if it would fix the problem, then tried Opera. I must point out that this issue is intermittent. Not happening right now. Computers....

 

PTR

Well that sucks. I was hoping you'd say you were using IE 8.0. That way I could just bad mouth Microsoft. But, what you're suggesting is a real dilemma. Usually, people can't get neww tab to open, but to open - and just not properly load the link is strange. There have been some bugs associated with IE 8, that are similar to your suggestion; and it's possible that IE could change the way all your browsers are operating. (its happened to me in the pasts).

 

I'll do a little research and see what I can determine. In the meantime. It might be worthwhile to go to your "Add/Remove Programs" Control Panel and remove Firefox, then do a clean install. My guess is that some setting has gotten corrupted. You could go into "about:config" and see them, but without knowing which specific one to change you could spend days.

 

 

I respect Fezmid's opinion; however, I'd do 2 things before a complete wipe and re-install. First update your spyware/antivirus software and run it to see if anything is picked up. Second, if no other programs are misbehaving, let's give it a couple of days to see if there's something else going on. Again, I'm thinking you just have a setting (possibly registry entry) that's gotten changed for the bad. (Of course, a complete wipe/re-install would fix that as well.)

 

I'll keep thinking and get back to you... (right now I have to leave for the airport)

 

 

 

Edit: Found some ideas.

Most of what I'm seeing has to do with IE 8. However, maybe there's some carry over from IE to Firefox and Opera. But, here's a few things to try:

1. I've read suggestions that AVG antivirus' Link Scanner can cause this symptom. So, if you're using AVG or a similar antivirus that's checks website links, try turning that off and see if the problem is resolved.

 

2. This site has an idea. No idea how it may work, but maybe worth a shot?

 

3. Most discussion seems to center around possible conflicts with add-ons. So, if you've gotten any add-ons installed, I'd try turning them all off and then turn them on one at a time to see if and when the problem comes back. Perhaps youo could pin it down to one problematic add-on.

 

The problem with all these is that with intermittent problems, it may take you a few days to see if any of the "fixes" work. Also, the fact that it's wider spread than just IE, makes me think it could be something totally different. But also leads me to think that the antivirus could be the culprit.

[Fezmid]

I respect Fezmid's opinion; however, I'd do 2 things before a complete wipe and re-install. First update your spyware/antivirus software and run it to see if anything is picked up.

And if it does detect something, even if it says that it "fixed" it, your computer should no longer be trusted and you should reinstall. (see a theme...? )

[The Dean]

And if it does detect something, even if it says that it "fixed" it, your computer should no longer be trusted and you should reinstall. (see a theme...? )

 

 

I think that is complete bulls#it, of course. To a degree it depends what exactly the scanner finds. There are many infections found by scanners that amount to about two entries.

 

Just today I installed a brand new computer. The antivirus found 16 infections. How would reinstalling that system fix those? They came with the computer.

 

For what it is worth, the browser issue doesn't sound like malware to me, anyway.

[Fezmid]

I think that is complete bulls#it, of course. To a degree it depends what exactly the scanner finds. There are many infections found by scanners that amount to about two entries.

 

Just today I installed a brand new computer. The antivirus found 16 infections. How would reinstalling that system fix those? They came with the computer.

 

For what it is worth, the browser issue doesn't sound like malware to me, anyway.

 

There may be many infections that "amount to about two entries," but you have no guarantee that there isn't some other form of malware still on the box that your detector simply isn't finding. A/V/Spyware scanners look for known signatures -- so if it's something very new or something that nobody's seen before (ie: a one-off backdoor), then you may think you're safe but you're not.

 

If you installed from scratch and found 16 infections, then you are using a pirated version of the OS. Installing from an original CD will *never* show 16 infections. Either that or you installed the machine on the network without a firewall (or NAT) and were infected before you had a chance to apply all of the patches. There's no other explanation for a clean install having any infections, let alone 16 of them.

 

You can call it bulls#it if you want, and I know most people find it "scary" to reinstall, but it the right answer.

 

Ask yourself this question -- if a server at your local bank had an infection, would you rather they run some spyware removing software to clean it up, or would you rather them reinstall the OS?

[The Dean]

There may be many infections that "amount to about two entries," but you have no guarantee that there isn't some other form of malware still on the box that your detector simply isn't finding. A/V/Spyware scanners look for known signatures -- so if it's something very new or something that nobody's seen before (ie: a one-off backdoor), then you may think you're safe but you're not.

 

If you installed from scratch and found 16 infections, then you are using a pirated version of the OS.

 

 

Nope, brand new Acer Aspire ordered direct with the OS preinstalled. A good AV or malware scanner finds infections in nearly every new computer. I install several new machines a week, all brands, all with legit OS (usually factory installed) and find stuff on the first run of nearly every one. I can't remember the last time a new computer produced zero detections. The key is in knowing what is important, and what isn't. These detections might be called "false positives" by some, but they are usually poorly written software, or things like adware toolbars that bring little-to-no value to the user, but can deliver ads, slow down the browser, etc.

 

Security that relies solely on signatures is outdated. Modern AV and Malware scanners use signatures and heuristics. Some use behavioral detection. Anything close to illegitimate gets flagged.

 

The modern security products have made huge strides in the last year, or so. They can successfully clean just about anything. They might not get every speck, but they disable the stuff that make the infection dangerous. If they miss something that's new, the new definitions eventually get all the info, and you can clean out the bits as you continue to scan (once a week or so, once you have broken the back of the infection). Following up regularly with diagnostics like hijackthis, and you will see, very quickly, if anything has remained, morphed or regenerate. The behavioral protection should notice any hinky behavior and alert you to changes in the system, in the meantime, and a good firewall will prevent outbound communication without your approval.

 

I know that any computer I work on is cleaner, faster and better protected than when it came out of the box. A reinstall, most of the time, is a huge step backwards in security and reliability. Now, if they are connected to a network, and the infection is beyond the scope of the individual computer...well, then you have bigger issues.