What causes Windows Sockets to get corrupt?

Terry · Apr 24, 2006

This happened to one workstation back in Aug. 2005. This morning I'm
working and the next thing I know the internet connectivity is gone and
the phone software became disabled. Performing a Ping makes the
workstation beep and an extended character was listed (Pinging ä with 32
bytes of data

but the ping completed. After swapping out the net card
with no change, I booted into W2K and everything worked fine. I realized
it was an XP issue so I booted back into XP and at a command prompt
typed "netsh winsock reset", which cleared the problem up.

What causes this corruption? It there any known issues?

--
Terry

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Hans-Georg Michna · Apr 27, 2006

This happened to one workstation back in Aug. 2005. This morning I'm
working and the next thing I know the internet connectivity is gone and
the phone software became disabled. Performing a Ping makes the
workstation beep and an extended character was listed (Pinging ä with 32
bytes of data but the ping completed. After swapping out the net card
with no change, I booted into W2K and everything worked fine. I realized
it was an XP issue so I booted back into XP and at a command prompt
typed "netsh winsock reset", which cleared the problem up.

What causes this corruption? It there any known issues?

Terry,

the most common cause is adware/spyware.

You probably want to install at least one adware scanner like
SpyBot.

More details at http://winhlp.com/

Hans-Georg

Terry · Apr 29, 2006

On 4/27/2006 9:28 AM On a whim, Hans-Georg Michna pounded out on the
keyboard

Terry,

the most common cause is adware/spyware.

You probably want to install at least one adware scanner like
SpyBot.

More details at http://winhlp.com/

Hans-Georg

Hi Hans,

Thanks for the reply. But I run those frequently and don't have any
issues with spyware. It's the same on both machines. Neither have had
spyware issues. I use Ad-Aware & Spybot and both come up clean except
for cookies.

--
Terry

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RWS · Apr 29, 2006

On 4/27/2006 9:28 AM On a whim, Hans-Georg Michna pounded out on the
keyboard

Terry,

the most common cause is adware/spyware.

You probably want to install at least one adware scanner like
SpyBot.

More details at http://winhlp.com/

Hans-Georg

Hi Hans,

Thanks for the reply. But I run those frequently and don't have any
issues with spyware. It's the same on both machines. Neither have had
spyware issues. I use Ad-Aware & Spybot and both come up clean except
for cookies.

--
Terry

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259
Some entity such as spyware or virus or possibly even an anti virus or firewall program
modifies / inserts code into the Winsock2 key in the registry and takes over handling
communication to the Internet. Sometimes that in itself can cause the loss of
Internet browsing capability or the responsible entity is removed or uninstalled
but it's modification of the Winsock2 key remains and is then unable to communicate.
So the Winsock2 key then has to be repaired as per the above MS KB article or
by a utility such as LSPFix.exe - http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Terry · Apr 30, 2006

On 4/29/2006 3:34 AM On a whim, RWS pounded out on the keyboard

On 4/27/2006 9:28 AM On a whim, Hans-Georg Michna pounded out on the
keyboard

Hi Hans,

Thanks for the reply. But I run those frequently and don't have any
issues with spyware. It's the same on both machines. Neither have had
spyware issues. I use Ad-Aware & Spybot and both come up clean except
for cookies.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259
Some entity such as spyware or virus or possibly even an anti virus or
firewall program modifies / inserts code into the Winsock2 key in the
registry and takes over handling communication to the Internet.
Sometimes that in itself can cause the loss of Internet browsing
capability or the responsible entity is removed or uninstalled but it's
modification of the Winsock2 key remains and is then unable to
communicate. So the Winsock2 key then has to be repaired as per the
above MS KB article or by a utility such as LSPFix.exe -
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm

RWS · Apr 30, 2006

On 4/27/2006 9:28 AM On a whim, Hans-Georg Michna pounded out on the
keyboard

Hi Hans,

Thanks for the reply. But I run those frequently and don't have any
issues with spyware. It's the same on both machines. Neither have had
spyware issues. I use Ad-Aware & Spybot and both come up clean except
for cookies.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259
Some entity such as spyware or virus or possibly even an anti virus or
firewall program modifies / inserts code into the Winsock2 key in the
registry and takes over handling communication to the Internet.
Sometimes that in itself can cause the loss of Internet browsing
capability or the responsible entity is removed or uninstalled but it's
modification of the Winsock2 key remains and is then unable to
communicate. So the Winsock2 key then has to be repaired as per the
above MS KB article or by a utility such as LSPFix.exe -
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks. But as I stated above, virii or malware wasn't the issue. I was
just wondering whether there were other causes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OK, so did you notice in my reply where I mentioned:
"or possibly even an anti virus or firewall program modifies / inserts
code into the Winsock2 key in the registry and takes over handling
communication to the Internet."?
As mentioned in "Method 2: Use the Msinfo32 program" for
"How to determine whether the Winsock2 key is corrupted"
of the article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259 -
I have seen where McAfee or Norton show up there and it is
they that have gone haywire and have damaged the Winsock2 key.
Same could go for any other Anti Virus or Firewall program or some
other type of "legitimate" program. You have to take the time to follow
the instructions as outlined in Method2 if and when the issue arises to
possibly determine what entity may be causing the issue.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Terry · Apr 30, 2006

On 4/29/2006 5:54 PM On a whim, RWS pounded out on the keyboard

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259
Some entity such as spyware or virus or possibly even an anti virus or
firewall program modifies / inserts code into the Winsock2 key in the
registry and takes over handling communication to the Internet.
Sometimes that in itself can cause the loss of Internet browsing
capability or the responsible entity is removed or uninstalled but it's
modification of the Winsock2 key remains and is then unable to
communicate. So the Winsock2 key then has to be repaired as per the
above MS KB article or by a utility such as LSPFix.exe -
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks. But as I stated above, virii or malware wasn't the issue. I was
just wondering whether there were other causes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OK, so did you notice in my reply where I mentioned:
"or possibly even an anti virus or firewall program modifies / inserts
code into the Winsock2 key in the registry and takes over handling
communication to the Internet."?
As mentioned in "Method 2: Use the Msinfo32 program" for
"How to determine whether the Winsock2 key is corrupted"
of the article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259 -
I have seen where McAfee or Norton show up there and it is
they that have gone haywire and have damaged the Winsock2 key.
Same could go for any other Anti Virus or Firewall program or some
other type of "legitimate" program. You have to take the time to follow
the instructions as outlined in Method2 if and when the issue arises to
possibly determine what entity may be causing the issue.

Well that's kind of hard to do now that I've fixed it. I don't use
McAfee or Norton. If it ever happens again, then maybe I can see what
caused it. But you can't tell me I need to "follow the instructions"
when I've already resolved the issue for now, as I stated in the beginning.

--
Terry

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RWS · Apr 30, 2006

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259
Some entity such as spyware or virus or possibly even an anti virus or
firewall program modifies / inserts code into the Winsock2 key in the
registry and takes over handling communication to the Internet.
Sometimes that in itself can cause the loss of Internet browsing
capability or the responsible entity is removed or uninstalled but it's
modification of the Winsock2 key remains and is then unable to
communicate. So the Winsock2 key then has to be repaired as per the
above MS KB article or by a utility such as LSPFix.exe -
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks. But as I stated above, virii or malware wasn't the issue. I was
just wondering whether there were other causes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OK, so did you notice in my reply where I mentioned:
"or possibly even an anti virus or firewall program modifies / inserts
code into the Winsock2 key in the registry and takes over handling
communication to the Internet."?
As mentioned in "Method 2: Use the Msinfo32 program" for
"How to determine whether the Winsock2 key is corrupted"
of the article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259 -
I have seen where McAfee or Norton show up there and it is
they that have gone haywire and have damaged the Winsock2 key.
Same could go for any other Anti Virus or Firewall program or some
other type of "legitimate" program. You have to take the time to follow
the instructions as outlined in Method2 if and when the issue arises to
possibly determine what entity may be causing the issue.

Well that's kind of hard to do now that I've fixed it. I don't use
McAfee or Norton. If it ever happens again, then maybe I can see what
caused it. But you can't tell me I need to "follow the instructions"
when I've already resolved the issue for now, as I stated in the beginning.

--
Terry

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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you actually READ anything?
I clearly stated in my last posting:
"if and when the issue arises" not "after the issue has been resolved" -
to then follow Method 2 "to possibly determine what entity may be causing the issue."
I also stated:
"Same could go for any other Anti Virus or Firewall program or some other type of "legitimate" program."
McAfee and Norton were only mentioned as examples that I have actually seen causing the issue.
This is the end of this discussion as far as I am concerned.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Terry · Apr 30, 2006

On 4/30/2006 6:01 AM On a whim, RWS pounded out on the keyboard

Well that's kind of hard to do now that I've fixed it. I don't use
McAfee or Norton. If it ever happens again, then maybe I can see what
caused it. But you can't tell me I need to "follow the instructions"
when I've already resolved the issue for now, as I stated in the beginning.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you actually READ anything?
I clearly stated in my last posting:
"if and when the issue arises" not "after the issue has been resolved" -
to then follow Method 2 "to possibly determine what entity may be
causing the issue."
I also stated:
"Same could go for any other Anti Virus or Firewall program or some
other type of "legitimate" program."
McAfee and Norton were only mentioned as examples that I have actually
seen causing the issue.
This is the end of this discussion as far as I am concerned.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, I read it. The first post NEVER said anything about "IF AND WHEN".
You didn't read MY post which CLEARLY stated I fixed it already.

Don't get flustered just because you couldn't provide anything I didn't
already know.

And why don't you install Quotefix on that broken newreader you're using.

--
Terry

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