Connected to Internet but no surfing!

[bbbaty]

Hello,

Something weird has come up with my Sony VAIO Laptop. I am connected to the Internet via dialup or hi-speed (t-mobile) but the firefox or IE browsers will not go to any web address. I get a message that "the connection was refused" on ANY wepbage!

I am absolutely connected because the Limewire program works and will download a file, but no web page surfing. -I also tried Netscape which did not work.

Any advice?

Thanks,

bbbaty

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Do you have Norton/Symantec on your laptop?
If so, turn off its firewall completely.
If that solves your problem, get rid of Norton's bloatware altogether and install:
Free AVG from http://free.grisoft.com
Free Sygate firewall from http://soho.sygate.com

 

[bbbaty]

No-surfing continued . . .

Hello again,

And thanks for your reply.

I disconected the norton's firewall but still the same result, connected but browsers don't work. I guess I should try disconecting the window's firewall too?

I did notice that the error message I get is "connection refused" and not the usual message of "yahoo.com could not be found" like one gets when the computer is NOT connected.

Any suggestion(s) about what to do next?

- I just don't get it... One connection everything is working just fine and the next time I try to connect, it doesn't work at all.

all the best,

Bill Baty

 

[LNCPapa]

Just out of curiosity could you type this into your web browser to test?
70.85.4.244

I'm trying to see if it's a DNS issue you're having.

 

[bbbaty]

DNS Issue . . .

Hello,

Sorry for starting a new thread on the same topic, I see how it works now.

I typed 70.85.4.244 into my web browser and still got the error message 'connection refused'. I tested Limewire again and it worked online, so for some reason web browsers are not working even though I am indeed connected.

So please help with any ideas. Should I do something like a clean system install and start all over again?

Just out of curiosity could you type this into your web browser to test?
70.85.4.244

I'm trying to see if it's a DNS issue you're having.

 

[Molson316]

If you have spyware removal tool(s) on your comp, scan for spyware, it could be causing this.

If you don't have spyware removal tools, get access to another comp with a burner and download/burn the spyware app and install it on your machine.

Some tools include

- Ad-Aware
- Spybot
- Hijackthis
- MS Antispyware (2000/XP)

www.download.com you can find these. good luck.

 

[dgower2]

Uninstall/Reinstall IE

To uninstall Internet Explorer

If you encounter problems that you cannot resolve, it is often beneficial to uninstall Internet Explorer and then reinstall it. This procedure replaces files that might have been damaged.

In Windows, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
Notes

If you are using Windows XP, click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.
If you upgraded to Internet Explorer 6, when you uninstall Internet Explorer 6, you will go back to the version of Internet Explorer that was on your computer before you upgraded.

 

[bbbaty]

I Finally Fixed the Problem . . .

Hi,

I finally fixed the problem. REALBLACKSTUFF'S advice to disconnect Norton's turned out to be the solution.

Originally I had disabled Norton (so I thought) but today when my curser moved over the Norton Internet Security Icon, it showed to be 'enabled'. I disabled it again, restarted Firefox and everything's swell again!

As per the advice I am going to install the following:
Free AVG from http://free.grisoft.com
Free Sygate firewall from http://soho.sygate.com

Are there any other cautions, protections or downloads I should know about regarding Internet security since I'l be getting rid of Norton?

Thanks for all your help.

All the best,

Billy Baty

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Install Adaware and Spybot S&D as well, update and run them each at least once a week. Otherwise you should be fine, when you abstain from 'wild' websites.