DarkSerge Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Greetings.I need some opinions. One of my boss' home computers cannot connect to the internet. It has no problem with his home network and can access network resources (hard drives, printers, etc.) just fine. However it cannot go anywhere online. His other computers are connected to the same network all connected to the same internet and they have no internet problems. I've looked around at the computer's hardware and connections and settings and everything seems fine. I cannot find any problems through normal means (internet settings, connections, etc.) - However - Norton Internet Security 2006 is installed on this machine and it doesn't work properly. The main window doesn't load properly and I cannot get into any of the settings to inspect any firewall problems. Plus, when I run a network diagnostic, it says it can't connect to the internet through http, https, and ftp and that I should check to see if a firewall is restricting access.I think that the problem is Norton. My boss has given me the okay to uninstall it from his system sometime. Does anyone think that if I remove Norton Internet Security from his computer that it might solve the internet connection problem? The software isn't working properly anyway, so I'm still going to uninstall it.Just thought I'd get another opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Even if I didn't think it was the problem the standard SOP troubleshooting steps on any network connection problem is to disable and or remove the firewall. You just admitted the firewall is FUBAR. To me this is obvious. Uninstall it. If it doesn't fix it you will have eliminated that as the problem."Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work."Thomas A. Edison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkehoe Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I'd have to agree. If it's "broken" then it's more than likely the cause of your problem. Firewalls have the intelligence to distinguish between the "Internet" and a "network" and can block access to one or the other, by design or by fault.Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 A broken firewall can often block network access. As Nathan said, kill Norton first and then see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 I worked on the computer today mentioned in my original post. I killed Norton and it worked. After an uninstall attempt failed, I had to find a removal tool on the symantec website and copy it to that computer. After the uninstall was complete the internet connection was working just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Load AVG or Antivir for the antivirus and use Xp built in firewall and you'll be fine. If you must have a stronger firewall* then Comodo is your best bet. * Personally I avoid third party firewalls. Most end users don't know how to answer the nag questions they pop up and end up blocking themselves by mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted October 11, 2008 Author Share Posted October 11, 2008 Yeah, I'm going to offer to install Antivirus protection and if I do I'll chose something like AVG (I use it myself.) As for firewall I just activated the Windows firewall on his system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Hello,One thing I have noticed with some security software is that even after it is uninstalled and the manufacturer's removal tool is run, the network settings may not be restored to the previous state.Before installing new security software you may wish to reset each computer's network stack per Microsoft Knowledgebase Article #299357, "How to reset Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in Windows XP." Although the article is for Microsoft Windows XP, the steps work with all newer versions of Windows as well. A reboot will need to be performed after running the operation, and then you can install the new security software.Regards,Aryeh Goretsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 The internet's working just fine now. I'm actually posting this from the computer that was originally unable to connect. Should I still run the tcp/ip reset or just leave it since all is working now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 The internet's working just fine now. I'm actually posting this from the computer that was originally unable to connect. Should I still run the tcp/ip reset or just leave it since all is working now?There's no need to run it if your connection is fine now. I would keep the link handy for future reference if you run into the same issue. By the way, I don't want to stir up any debates about which antivirus is "the best"..... but AVG in my humble experience has been one of the worst! I don't know much about their paid-for version but the free version is absolutely rubbish. The detection rate is god awful and updates are not as frequent as some others. I also hate the fact they make you upgrade to the next version to receive updates. Avira Antivir is a much better option to go with in terms of freeware category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSerge Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 (edited) There's no need to run it if your connection is fine now. I would keep the link handy for future reference if you run into the same issue. By the way, I don't want to stir up any debates about which antivirus is "the best"..... but AVG in my humble experience has been one of the worst! I don't know much about their paid-for version but the free version is absolutely rubbish. The detection rate is god awful and updates are not as frequent as some others. I also hate the fact they make you upgrade to the next version to receive updates. Avira Antivir is a much better option to go with in terms of freeware category.You're the first person I've ever heard say anything negative about AVG. (I'm just stating that fact, not trying to criticize, everyone's entitled to their own AV preference.)I've added the link to my "Useful Links" folder in my bookmarks. Edited October 14, 2008 by DarkSerge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 i've moved to avira for those friends who need free av.i use eset nod32 for those who can pay.@ goretsky - cool command! netsh int ip reset. nice! I haven't quite walked away from it. But I've had problems of late with the version 8 AVG. Odd issues with serious slow downs on the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I haven't quite walked away from it. But I've had problems of late with the version 8 AVG. Odd issues with serious slow downs on the internet.You might want to read through this thread about problems with AVG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 AVG 8 has been fixed so it can be installed cleaner without doing a registry hack. If you decide to install v8, be sure to do a custom install. Do not install the toolbar nor the search safe link scanner and you should be okay. I never download email so I also did not install the email plugin. I have it running with no problems on two of the three windows computers that connect to the internet in our home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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