My computer is online, but Explorer doesn't work - did spyware do this?

[ericlc]

Hi all,

I hope you're all doing well this holiday season. I could be doing
better myself if I didn't have some ongoing computer problems.
Recently, I noticed that while my AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and
Microsoft Outlook seem to be working fine, my Firefox and Internet
Explorer don't. If I'm lucky, they'll load partial pages from sites
that I visit frequently, but every time I try to go to a new site, it
says that webpage can't be displayed.


I've had a chance to browse through some of these past forum topics and

I'm concerned that I have spyware or hijackware. I haven't had a chance

to run any anti-spyware or anti-hijackware programs yet, but will do so

when I get home. I was just wondering, is it possible that these
problems I'm having are related to my internet connection itself, or
does it sound more likely that my computer's been compromised by some
third-party spyware or hijackware? We have high-speed DSL in our
building, but every once in a while I have trouble getting on because
too many people are using the system at once -- however, it seems
strange that I can use AIM and Microsoft Outlook just fine, yet I can't

use my web browsers.


Any help you can provide would be appreciated. I'd love to be able to
diagnose the problem and fix it. Thanks in advance!

Eric

 

[Chuck]

Hi all,

I hope you're all doing well this holiday season. I could be doing
better myself if I didn't have some ongoing computer problems.
Recently, I noticed that while my AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and
Microsoft Outlook seem to be working fine, my Firefox and Internet
Explorer don't. If I'm lucky, they'll load partial pages from sites
that I visit frequently, but every time I try to go to a new site, it
says that webpage can't be displayed.


I've had a chance to browse through some of these past forum topics and

I'm concerned that I have spyware or hijackware. I haven't had a chance

to run any anti-spyware or anti-hijackware programs yet, but will do so

when I get home. I was just wondering, is it possible that these
problems I'm having are related to my internet connection itself, or
does it sound more likely that my computer's been compromised by some
third-party spyware or hijackware? We have high-speed DSL in our
building, but every once in a while I have trouble getting on because
too many people are using the system at once -- however, it seems
strange that I can use AIM and Microsoft Outlook just fine, yet I can't

use my web browsers.


Any help you can provide would be appreciated. I'd love to be able to
diagnose the problem and fix it. Thanks in advance!

Eric

Eric,

I'd check for DNS and MTU problems, as an alternative.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/05/identifying-dns-problem-in-your.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/05/identifying-dns-problem-in-your.html

But malware is always a possibility, and malware can imitate - and / or cause -
a DNS or MTU problem.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/dealing-with-malware-adware-spyware.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/dealing-with-malware-adware-spyware.html