Did you look in both IE and Firefox to make sure the sites-or Cookies from the site itself aren't blocked? Since this happens on the same sites, on both browsers, on just the laptop, a good bet is because of a setting. Let' s check that out:
Internet Explorer: Tools> Internet Options>
Restricted Sites> Sites> Scroll through the Web Sites in the box> If you see any of these domains (cnet.com, theworldofjoe.com, funnyjunk.com) or any others that are consistently blocked> highlight the domain> Remove.
Then, in Internet Options, go to
Privacy tab> Setting should be
Custom> Click on Sites> This is the 'Per Site Management'> Again scroll through the domains in the Managed sites box> If any of these are found Highlight> either click on Allow or Remove.
Still in Privacy section> Click on Advanced> Check ';override automatic Cookies settings'>
Check 'Allow First Party Cookies> Check Block on Third Party Cookies> Check 'Allow per session Cookies'>
When finished with all> Click on OK> Apply> OK
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For Firefox: Tools> Options> Privacy> Check 'Accept Cookies from Sites'> Click on Exceptions> Look for these domains> If any are here and Blocked> Click to Highlight> Then click on Allow>
Do not check to allow 3rd party Cookies.
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Both Domains and Cookies can be blocked by the gremlin that resides in every system. And in order to load a site,
both the Domain and the First Party Cookie must be allowed. Please check the above and let me know what you fine. As I mentioned before, 'unable to find server' can mean one of 2 things: the internet connection has been broken or a server for a specific site is either down or too busy to handle the traffic. And most to all sites won't load if the First Party Cookies isn't allowed- that's the one for the site itself.
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I do note some entries that need to be removed though, so I'd like you to run the following:
Run Eset NOD32 Online AntiVirus scan HEREhttp://www.eset.eu/online-scanner
- Tick the box next to YES, I accept the Terms of Use.
- Click Start
- When asked, allow the Active X control to install
- Disable your current Antivirus software. You can usually do this with its Notification Tray icon near the clock.
- Click Start
- Make sure that the option "Remove found threats" is Unchecked, and the option "Scan unwanted applications" is checked
- Click Scan
- Wait for the scan to finish
- Click on "Copy to Clipboard"> (you won't see the 'clipboard')
- Click anywhere in the post where you want the logs to go, the do Ctrl V. The log will be sent from the clipboard and pasted in the post.
- Re-enable your Antivirus software.
NOTE: If you forget to copy to the clipboard you can find the log here:
C:\Program Files\EsetOnlineScanner\log.txt. Please include this on your post.
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Download Combofix from HERE or HEREhttp://www.forospyware.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe and save to the desktop
- Double click combofix.exe & follow the prompts.
- ComboFix will check to see if the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is installed. It is recommended to have this pre-installed on your machine before doing any malware removal. It will allow you to boot up into a special recovery/repair mode if needed.
**Please note: If the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is already installed, ComboFix will continue it's malware removal procedures.
- Follow the prompts to allow ComboFix to download and install the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console, and when prompted, agree to the End-User License Agreement to install the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console.
- Once the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is installed using ComboFix, you should see the following message:
- Once the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is installed using ComboFix, you should see the following message:
- .Click on Yes, to continue scanning for malware
- .If Combofix asks you to update the program, allow
- .Close/disable all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix.
- .Close any open browsers.
- .Double click combofix.exe & follow the prompts to run.
- When the scan completes , a report will be generated-it will open a text window. Please paste the C:\ComboFix.txt in next reply..
Re-enable your Antivirus software.
Notes:
1.
Do not mouse-click Combofix's window while it is running. That may cause it to stall.
2. ComboFix may reset a number of Internet Explorer's settings, including making I-E the default browser.
3. Combofix prevents autorun of
ALL CD, floppy and USB devices to assist with malware removal & increase security. If this is an issue or makes it difficult for you -- please tell your helper.
4.
CF disconnects your machine from the internet. The connection is automatically restored before CF completes its run. If CF runs into difficulty and terminates prematurely, the connection can be manually restored by restarting your machine.
As I mentioned, you could have malware, but it would most likely not be the cause of the failure of those sites to load.
