Browser Crashes - Malware?

[tony cooper]

In WindowsXP on a PC and cable internet...

For the past few days opening my browser (I usually use Firefox, but
also have I/E) has turned into a nightmare. Most of the time, the
connection is immediately terminated and I get a pop-up that says that
my browser has experienced an unexpected problem. Here's a
screen-print of the pop-ups:
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f244/cooper213/crash.jpg

If I restart the browser, it usually results in the same problem.
Over and over. Sometimes, though, I connect without a problem or
connect after repeated tries.

I have run AV scans from several companies from Malwarebytes to AVG to
BAM to Kaspersky. And others. I changed from AVG to Kaspersky as my
AV program.

No malware is discovered. I've done the other normal things like
re-booting and disconnecting and reconnecting my cable modem.

Any thoughts on what might be causing this program? Malware?
Hardware? Software?

 

[Rick]

Any thoughts on what might be causing this program? Malware?
Hardware? Software?

You don't mention if you are having the same problem with your email
client (assuming you don't use a webmail), your Usenet client and/or
accessing any network shares if you're on a LAN. If they are responding
normally, then it would appear to be something that only affects http
connections and therefore is probably software related. If it affects
everything then it may well be hardware related.

Some things to look at:

--------
Control Panel:Internet Options:Connections Tab:LAN Settings button - unless
you are using a proxy server, make sure everything is unchecked.
--------
Check for Winsock corruption: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259
--------
Reset your TCP/IP: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299357
--------
Make sure you have the drivers disk for your network card (NIC) or find and
download the latest drivers for it. Then Control Panel:System:Hardware
Tabevice Manager:Network Adapters, right click on your network adapter
and uninstall it. Reboot your system and it should find the NIC on bootup.
Reinstall it at that time.

 

[Char Jackson]

In WindowsXP on a PC and cable internet...

For the past few days opening my browser (I usually use Firefox, but
also have I/E) has turned into a nightmare. Most of the time, the
connection is immediately terminated and I get a pop-up that says that
my browser has experienced an unexpected problem. Here's a
screen-print of the pop-ups:
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f244/cooper213/crash.jpg

If I restart the browser, it usually results in the same problem.
Over and over. Sometimes, though, I connect without a problem or
connect after repeated tries.

I have run AV scans from several companies from Malwarebytes to AVG to
BAM to Kaspersky. And others. I changed from AVG to Kaspersky as my
AV program.

No malware is discovered. I've done the other normal things like
re-booting and disconnecting and reconnecting my cable modem.

Any thoughts on what might be causing this program? Malware?
Hardware? Software?

If you haven't tried it already, I would start Firefox in Safe Mode as
a troubleshooting step. If it works properly, you can disable your
add-ons and enable them one at a time to find the culprit.

Not Windows Safe Mode, but Firefox Safe Mode. You should have a Start
menu item called "Firefox (Safe Mode)".

Safe Mode will start Firefox without any plugins or add-ons, in case
one of them is causing the problem. Certain plugins and add-ons
install themselves for both browsers, so it seems possible that a bad
installation could affect both Firefox and IE.