I got it to work following the method bellow. thanks
again for your help.
It sounds to me that the spyware damaged your Winsock keys
in the Registry.
Please try the following procedure for replacing the
winsock and winsock2 registry keys:
Uninstall any third-party proxy software or firewall
programs before proceeding.
Step 1: Delete registry keys
A)Open Regedit from the Run line
B)Go to both of the following keys, EXPORT each of them,
and then delete them:
(To export a key, you right click on it and
choose "export" - you can choose where to export them to -
DESKTOP is handy -
and you need to type in a file name such as "exported
Winsock key" / "exported WinSock2 key"
and then click on SAVE)
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinSock2
C)Restart the computer
NOTE: It is important to restart the computer after
deleting the Winsock keys.
Doing so causes the XP operating system to recreate shell
entries for those two
keys. If this is not done, the next step does not work
correctly.
Step 2: Install TCP/IP on top of itself
A)Open the properties window of the network connection
(Local Area Connection)
B)Click Install
C)Click Protocol, then Add
D)Click Have Disk
E)Type the path to the \%systemroot%\inf folder (usually
C:\Windows\inf) and click OK
(if you try to click Browse, then browse to the \inf
folder,
it may not show up in the list)
F)You should now see "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" in the
list of available
protocols. Select it and click OK.
G)Restart the computer
When the computer reboots you will have functional Winsock
keys.
If so, then be sure to delete the exported winsock and
winsock2 reg files.
(You don't want to accidentally put them back in the
registry)
Side effects and possible problems:
This method will restore basic functionality to the
Winsock keys, but is not a
complete rebuild. On a default install of Windows XP the
registry key:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock2\
Parameters\Protocol_Catalog9\Catalog_Entries will have 11
sub-keys.
When applying this method, the Catalog_Entries will only
have 3 sub-keys.
However, it works and there does not appear to be any side
effects.
The missing entries relate back to the:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Int
erfaces key.
Also, third-party proxy software or firewalls will need to
be reinstalled.
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