I bought a new laptop with built in wireless. Worked perfectly out of the
box - saw the internet, saw the other computers on the network and I
downloaded 100Mb of Windows updates all wirelessly.
Then it stopped. Now I can get to a couple of websites, but others just
hang. I can't get to the Windows update site.
I used the recovery disk to start again, as if it were sout of the box
again, but same thing (without the initial success period).
Another laptop still works perfectly in wireless mode.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Steven
Steven,
Sounds like a DNS hijack to me. Your problem has been reported several times
recently.
Search your entire system drive, including hidden and system folders, for file
"hosts". There is one legit copy, in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\. The
others are bogus, and part (but just part) of the problem. Also, examine the
contents of the legit copy, using Notepad, too.
How current is your virus protection? Try these free online virus scans:
<
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/license.php>
<
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm>
<
http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp>
<
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp>
Now check for, and learn to defend against, additional carriers of infection.
First, download LSP-Fix and WinsockXPFIx from <
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm>,
and CWShredder from <
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html>. All are
free.
Next, close all Internet Explorer and Outlook windows, then run CWShredder.
Have it fix all variants.
Now check for, and remove, spyware. Get HijackThis
<
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3155> and Spybot S&D
<
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download>. Both free.
1) Install and run Spybot. First update it ("Search for updates"), then run a
scan ("Check for problems"). Trust Spybot, and make all recommended deletions.
2) Install and run HijackThis. Do NOT make any changes immediately. Save the
HJT Log.
3) Have your HJT log interpreted by experts at one or more of the following
forums (and post it here):
<
http://forums.net-integration.net/>
<
http://www.spywareinfo.com/forums/>
<
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/>
<
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/>
If removal of any spyware affects your ability to access the internet (some
spyware builds itself into the network software, and its removal may damage your
network), run LSP-Fix and / or WinsockXPFIx.
Finally, improve your chances for the future.
Harden your browser. There are various websites which will check for
vulnerabilities, here are three which I use.
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/
http://bcheck.scanit.be/bcheck/
https://testzone.secunia.com/browser_checker/
Harden your operating system. Check at least monthly for security updates.
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
Block possibly dangerous websites with a Hosts file. Three Hosts file sources I
use:
http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/get_hosts.html
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
(The third is included, and updated, with Spybot (see above)).
Maintain your Hosts file with:
eDexter <
http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/get_hosts.html>
Hostess <
http://accs-net.com/hostess/>
And Steven, please don't contribute to the success, and the spread, of email
address mining viruses. Learn to munge your email address properly, to keep
yourself a bit safer when posting to open forums. Protect yourself and the rest
of the internet - never post your address unmunged.
http://www.mailmsg.com/SPAM_munging.htm
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
