Fuzzy Internet

[owlface]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Maybe your computer has some sort of spyware or other malware. You might want to try F-Secure's online scanner, if you can get to it. Open up Internet Explorer and try going to http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml to run the scanner. Bring snacks, it can take a while

Hmm, unfortunately I am unable to download the scanner components and databases. Can you suggest anything else. Does it mean anything that my old computer is suffering from similar symptoms - the inability to access some websites, such as google or yahoo, yet others are accessible, albeit slowly?

 

[mechBgon]

If you have no antivirus, or feeble worthless antivirus, you might want to uninstall whatever antivirus you have now, install a good one, update it and then run a full scan of your system. Also, if it could be a problem with your ISP, you can test for that by trying your computer at a friend's house using their connection to their ISP.

One other suggestion: do a full RESET of your modem and router. There's bad stuff out there that will subvert your network equipment if it's in its default configuration (known passwords).

 

[owlface]

Will pressing the reset button on my router cause me to have to reenter passwords?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: owlface
Will pressing the reset button on my router cause me to have to reenter passwords?

Maybe.

 

[owlface]

Ohh ok thanks. Any other ideas? More and more websites are going down :-(

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: owlface
Ohh ok thanks. Any other ideas? More and more websites are going down :-(

1) consider contacting your ISP's tech support to see if there's a problem with their DNS servers

2) try some antispyware and antivirus scanning. Superantispyware and Spybot Search & Destroy are a couple of antispyware apps you could try. Do you have an antivirus program now? and if so, what is it. If you don't have one, or you're not sure how good it is, you might uninstall your old antivirus and try either the free version of AntiVir, or a free 30-day trial of Kaspersky Antivirus 7, if you can get one of them downloaded, installed, & updated.

3) if possible, try one of the computers on some other Internet connection. For example, go to Starbucks with your laptop and connect to their wireless access point. Do the problems persist even on a different Internet provider?

4) maybe post a HijackThis log from one of the affected computers.