Windows 7 Connectivity problems not with the internet itself but with almost every program

hgiel

New Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2011
I connect to the internet just fine and Explorer never has a problem but when I try to open any program (drop box, Second Life, etc) that needs to connect to the internet it tells me there is a connectivity problem.

Also, I cannot instant watch anything on Netflix because it says that silverlight isn't installed no matter how many times I uninstall and reinstall it. I tried using Firefox, Crome, and other browsers to see if it works on there but even they say they have connectivity problems.

I've turned off the firewall, allowed each program individually through it and everything else I could think of but still the only thing that seems to work right is Explorer. I have found that video games like Second Life and WOW will connect if I reinstall them each time before I open them but as soon as I close them they find no connection.
 
hgiel:
Hello and welcome to the forums.
Uninstall, completely remove any third party firewall products like (Comodo, ZoneAlarm, etc.,) likewise any third party AntiVirus / Internet Security Suite (Avast, AVG, Norton/Symantec, McAfee, etc.,) use the programs own uninstaller which may be found among it's Start Menu items, failing that use the programs and features applet in the control panel to uninstall these programs and follow that up with the vendor specific proprietary removal tool a list of which can be found here. If yours is not in the list use Google and attempt to find it or instructions on complete manual removal from the Vendor. These products often leave remnants after a simple uninstall which continue to cause issues even after they are supposedly gone. You can always reinstall the programs after, if they prove not to be at issue but I would suggest replacing them with the built in Windows Firewall product and Link Removed due to 404 Error, up to you of course
Regards
Randy
 
Are we suppose to infer from that terse six word reply that you do not now have nor have ever had any third party Anti Virus / Internet Security Suite software on your machine as well??
 
It is a bit odd.... since most new computers come with some such product pre-installed and the fact that you have previously mentioned (I think using Internet Explorer) being able to access the internet and as a matter of best practices I would have thought that you would have install some Anti Virus product to help safeguard you from a possible infection.
In light of the absence of any Anti Virus or Malware protection (except possibly Windows Defender) I would suggest downloading and installing Microsoft Security Essential (link above) as well as MalwareBytes from here (free for personal use) install and update to the latest signatures, reboot and run a full system scan in safe mode.
Other free products that might help as well
Malware, Malicious Software Removal Tool, Protect Your Computer
Microsoft Safety Scanner - Antivirus | Remove Spyware, Malware, Viruses Free
Keep us posted.
 
I went back and used the links you posted to uninstall those programs just in case and I downloaded and ran the scans and nothing was found.
 
Hmmmm, the plot thickens. Would you please go here
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
open the file called
hosts
use notepad
copy and paste the contents into your next post or just examine it yourself and compare it to this
# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
# 127.0.0.1 localhost
# ::1 localhost
Additionally would you please reboot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking by slowly tapping the F8 key as the computer is coming up at POST and select it from the advanced menu options. Test Firefox and Chrome and maybe dropbox as well and let us know the results?
Thanks
Randy
 
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