Trojan-PC Recovery - Internet no longer works

[soundbuoy]

Hi yesterday I started receiving fake pop-ups saying I need to sort out my registry/I had spyware etc, I realized I didn't have any anti-spyware software running so I installed (spyware doctor) to get rid of it. At this point (before and during the scan) I started getting a few "bad image" messages when trying to open applications. I restarted the computer and then I started getting a "bad image" message for every program installed on the computer including the task manager.

I then performed a PC recovery (the option on HP computers that reformats windows but keeps all data). This has solved the "bad image" problem but now I am unable to access the internet. There are two routers down stairs, one protected with a password and one that isn't, and I can connect to both of them fine. However whenever I try to load any web page it is saying it could not be loaded as if I was offline. I currently have no firewall running if thats a possible cause (and work offline is not checked). This problem is for both explorer and firefox.

Is it likely that this is due to a trojan/spyware still? I have tried a scan with a few different programs (Avast, malwarebytes) and have found nothing, allthough I dont think these will be up to date as you need to connect to the internet to update them! I would really grateful if anyone could help me with this! Thanks Ed.

I am running Windows XP service pack 2

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

hi there

check to see whether it is a browser problem or dns problem by typing ping google.com or tracert google.com from a command prompt.

a successful ping means its your browser
unsuccessful ping could mean incorrect dns settings

if tracert completes ok then u have internet access
if it doesnt and stops at the 1st hop (your router) then its your router settings

hope that helps

 

[soundbuoy]

hi thanks for the reply, sorry maybe this (probably) is a stupid question but how do I open up the command prompt, do I need to type something in start/run?

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

hi there

click start then run then type cmd and press enter

or start then accessories then command prompt

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

Thanks, well I tried both ping a tracert to google.com for both routers and nothing came back for any of them. What I dont understand is why it would suddenly stop working after a PC recovery, especially the unsecured router which has always worked for anyone (which is why we got the secured one and keep the unsecured running occasionally as backup if anyone gets any problems). It must be something at my end what sort of things should i be looking for?

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

hi there

what IP address did u get from ipconfig?

regards

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

hi there

also, what make(s) are the routers? and can u ping them?

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

hi the IP I get from the secured router is 192.168.2.4, the secured is a belkin and the other one is AVG(?) I think, cant remember how do I ping the routers? do I just send a ping message to one of the adresses listed when I type ipconfig, which one is it?

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

OK lets concentrate on the Belkin first

give me the output from your ipconfig

and also ping 192.168.2.1

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

ok I ping'd the address listed next to default gateway and it returned the data fine (4 packets sent 4 recieved,)

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

OK so far so good.

Now how are you connecting to this router wired or wireless?

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

its connected through wireless, oh and from the ipconfig the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 I think. thanks

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

OK

And is this the secure router?

I think what has happened here is that you have reformatted your system and wiped your wireless settings.

The wireless settings on the PC MUST match those set on the router. So login to the router by typing 192.168.2.1 into IE, login and verify your wireless settings there. Then go to your wireless LAN adaptor properties on your machine. Scan / connect to your wireless network and enter the proper settings

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

hi, I tried to type in the address in both IE and firefox and it is instantly coming up with page cannot be displayed, it is automatically prefixing it with http:// is that the problem?

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

OK do u have an ethernet cable?

Also ur default gateway is definately 192.168.2.1?

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

no unfortunately no ethernet cable , yep I rechecked thats definitaley the default gateway, the error message for firefox says "connection interrupted" as opposed to the general "page cannot be displayed" from IE.

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

no unfortunately no ethernet cable , yep I rechecked thats definitaley the default gateway, the error message for firefox says "connection interrupted" as opposed to the general "page cannot be displayed" from IE.

hi there

strange if thats your default gateway

OK at the command prompt type ipconfig /release then enter
then ipconfig / renew

then ipconfig and confirm the gateway

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

hi yep the gateway is still the same after /release /renew

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

and 192.168.2.1 doesnt work in IE or firefox?

OK which OS are you using? Go to network connections and right click your wireless adaptor and select either view available wireless networks or connect / disconnect. does your wirless lan SSID show up? If so hit connect and enter your wireless settings if u know them.

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

Im on Windows XP media centre editon sp 2 (I think) I just logged into the router from my friends PC and as far as I can see all the settings are correct.

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

OK how did u login via your friends pc? is it on the same network?

Anyway you need to look at the wireless settings on the router ie security settings etc and these MUST be the same on the XP machine.

Does your wireless network show up on your XP machine?

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

yep it shows up fine, I can connect to it and it says connected. But cant access any webpages. What sort of settings need to be the same? The password is correct, the IP/Gateway/Mask/password type is the same, One of the settings on the routers page says something like wireless port -> 6 (which is chosen fro a scroll down menu) I cant find anything that has an option to define the wireless port however.

The thing is though I reformatted my computer a while ago and all I had to do to set up my computer with this network was to type in the password key and windows automatically detected all the correct settings for the rest. I cant understand why it is causing so much problems this time. thanks alot for persevering on this..

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

yep it shows up fine, I can connect to it and it says connected. But cant access any webpages. What sort of settings need to be the same? The password is correct, the IP/Gateway/Mask/password type is the same, One of the settings on the routers page says something like wireless port -> 6 (which is chosen fro a scroll down menu) I cant find anything that has an option to define the wireless port however.

The thing is though I reformatted my computer a while ago and all I had to do to set up my computer with this network was to type in the password key and windows automatically detected all the correct settings for the rest. I cant understand why it is causing so much problems this time. thanks alot for persevering on this..

OK let me clarify this.

Your XP machine definately says you are connected to the wireless lan? and this wireless lan is it the secured or unsecured one?

and your tcp/ip settings are setup to automatically recieve an ip address?

regards

 

[soundbuoy]

yep thats correct, its definitely connected (or it atleast thinks it is), This is on the secured network but the unsecured has exactly the same problem (of thinking it is connected but not being able to access any websites). And I have an automatically recieved IP adress.

 

[Lanarkshire IT]

OK try a tracert and ping to google.com from the command prompt, if it has a connection it should work

regards