Halp! Laptop and Desktop not Loading Pages

[Zoom-boing]

So yesterday a.m. all was fine. Yesterday afternoon the laptop and desktop stopped loading certain pages. This site/pages is/are fine but when we try to log on to other sites (news sites, youtube -- it seems random) it just spins and spins. The status bar progresses very slowly if at all. Even sites that it is bringing up it will often load the page and we can navigate it but the status bar won't quite complete and the spinny thing on the tab doesn't stop spinning.

We're running FF 8.0.1 on the laptop; FF 4. something on the desktop, Kaspersky anti-virus. Any ideas where/what we should be looking at to resolve this? I've cleared the cache, rebooted, disconnected/reconnected to the internet (though have not rebooted the modem/router yet).

Since it's on both computers (don't know about oldest's laptop, will check when she rouses) it's making me think an update - Kaspersky perhaps? - is the problem. Did a Windows update last night (it doesn't automatically do updates so it wasn't a Windows update because the problem started before I did the update) but the problem persists.

Any suggestions? Keep in mind I'm not a computer geek.

Oh, I also tried loading stuff in IE but the same problem occurred.

 

[Warrior102]

Visit Bleepingcomputer.com and do a search with keywords. Guarantee it's happened to someone over there. I have brought many issues to those folks and they have fixed the problem. Great forum.

Or, if you have $30 to spend - download and run Spyware Doctor.

 

[Sallow]

Visit Bleepingcomputer.com and do a search with keywords. Guarantee it's happened to someone over there. I have brought many issues to those folks and they have fixed the problem. Great forum.

Or, if you have $30 to spend - download and run Spyware Doctor.

Spot on.

Or..if you want to play around yourself..start up the Windows task manager. Generally you can do that with ctrl-alt-delete.

Check it to see what you have running.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Right now I've logged on to Facebook. Approx. 3/4 of the status bar is green but the page won't finished loading. Most pictures aren't there. I hit the stop button, clicked on a notification but it's just spinning. It's 'waiting' for stuff in the status bar.

Grrrr . . .


This site is working as it should, no problems.

 

[PixieStix]

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

Download the fee version and run a quick scan. It bet it will find stuff

 

[PixieStix]

Visit Bleepingcomputer.com and do a search with keywords. Guarantee it's happened to someone over there. I have brought many issues to those folks and they have fixed the problem. Great forum.

Or, if you have $30 to spend - download and run Spyware Doctor.

Spambot is good too, I usually go visit major geeks.com

 

[Sallow]

Right now I've logged on to Facebook. Approx. 3/4 of the status bar is green but the page won't finished loading. Most pictures aren't there. I hit the stop button, clicked on a notification but it's just spinning. It's 'waiting' for stuff in the status bar.

Grrrr . . .


This site is working as it should, no problems.

Sounds like you have some spyware on board. Get a removal program. Those things are nasty..especially if they have a keylogger. They log everything you type..usernames..passwords.

 

[Warrior102]

If you have 7 - Internet Explorer 7 Slow Page Loading Fix - RF Cafe
There's also a fix fo 8

I Googled "IE Pages Not Loading"

There's a ton of "fixes" - but I like Pixie's suggestion for an intial check...

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I guarantee you have spyware/malware that is attempting to redirect pages.
Install Firefox or Chrome web browser and see if the problem disappears - if it does - then the virus/malware is specifically targeting IE.

You need to install and run one or both of these: USE THESE LINKS ONLY...

Ad-Aware Free - Download Internet Security Software with Antivirus & Spyware Removal - Lavasoft
or
Spybot - Search & Destroy - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

You may have to use Firefox or Chrome to download these - as it is highly likely the virus/malware is blocking these sites - don't try to download from a different site...there are fake ones with similar names that will give you false results and try and get you to install a program that is just another malware.

If doing all this doesn't work...take it to Geek squad etc....getting rid of persistent malware is not always possible by average users.

 

[Zoom-boing]

I just went in and rebooted the modem and router and on here some things seem to be working better but not all. Facebook still won't quite load . . but that could be FB because that's what FB does on occasion. 'Get add-ons' in FF add-ons manager is now working.

The desktop still isn't working right. Got youtube to load but can not get a vid to come up. Am rebooting it right now . . . ..

 

[strollingbones]

sounds like a conspiracy to me

 

[Zoom-boing]

I guarantee you have spyware/malware that is attempting to redirect pages.
Install Firefox or Chrome web browser and see if the problem disappears - if it does - then the virus/malware is specifically targeting IE.

You need to install and run one or both of these: USE THESE LINKS ONLY...

Ad-Aware Free - Download Internet Security Software with Antivirus & Spyware Removal - Lavasoft
or
Spybot - Search & Destroy - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

You may have to use Firefox or Chrome to download these - as it is highly likely the virus/malware is blocking these sites - don't try to download from a different site...there are fake ones with similar names that will give you false results and try and get you to install a program that is just another malware.

If doing all this doesn't work...take it to Geek squad etc....getting rid of persistent malware is not always possible by average users.

The ad-aware says the free download is both anti-virus and anti-spyware. We already have anti-virus via Kaspersky. Will this download mess up anything? Will the two anti-virus programs conflict?

 

[Zoom-boing]

Laptop seems much better since rebooting the modem/router. Still going to look into malware software but may wait and let the hubs do that because I've already wasted an hour and a half so far today, not to mention most of the day yesterday.

Desktop is till not working right, can not load youtube and other pages. Since Java and Adobe will also not update on there I'm going to upgrade FF. I'm also wondering if FF/mozilla is having its own issues because I can not access their server . . at least their add-ons server.

Thanks for the suggestions and links. I knew you guy would help!

 

[Mr. H.]

Maybe you ISP - internet service provider - is having issues.
Give 'em a call.
Reboot modem/router?

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I guarantee you have spyware/malware that is attempting to redirect pages.
Install Firefox or Chrome web browser and see if the problem disappears - if it does - then the virus/malware is specifically targeting IE.

You need to install and run one or both of these: USE THESE LINKS ONLY...

Ad-Aware Free - Download Internet Security Software with Antivirus & Spyware Removal - Lavasoft
or
Spybot - Search & Destroy - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

You may have to use Firefox or Chrome to download these - as it is highly likely the virus/malware is blocking these sites - don't try to download from a different site...there are fake ones with similar names that will give you false results and try and get you to install a program that is just another malware.

If doing all this doesn't work...take it to Geek squad etc....getting rid of persistent malware is not always possible by average users.

The ad-aware says the free download is both anti-virus and anti-spyware. We already have anti-virus via Kaspersky. Will this download mess up anything? Will the two anti-virus programs conflict?

Sorry - I didn't realize that Adaware had bundled their spyware application with their anti-virus....so yes...I would not download that.
Just use the Spybot Search and destroy....when you run it the first time - expect it to take as long as an hour or even longer if your computer has lots of programs/etc. on it.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Maybe you ISP - internet service provider - is having issues.
Give 'em a call.
Reboot modem/router?

Yeah that was my first thought. I did reboot the modem and router and the laptop seems fine now. The desktop is still having issues though. We're running FF 4.0.1 on there and we haven't been able to update Adobe or Java ... keep getting some error message ... so I was thinking about updating FF and then seeing what happens with the problems.

 

[Ringel05]

Wifi or hardwire connection to your router? Is your router security WEP or WPA/WPA2? Sounds like it's either your IP is having issues, someone hacked your wireless signal or your computers are being used as bots.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Wifi or hardwire connection to your router? Is your router security WEP or WPA/WPA2? Sounds like it's either your IP is having issues, someone hacked your wireless signal or your computers are being used as bots.

Desktop is hardwire, laptop wireless connection (is that wifi?). WPA/WPA2 security, password encoded. How would you know if someone hacked your wireless signal vs. it being IP issues?

It seems fine now after I rebooted the router and modem. Just checked the desktop and it also seems fine. Was zipping around on sites I could NOT get to load earlier. Weird.

 

[Ringel05]

Wifi or hardwire connection to your router? Is your router security WEP or WPA/WPA2? Sounds like it's either your IP is having issues, someone hacked your wireless signal or your computers are being used as bots.

Desktop is hardwire, laptop wireless connection (is that wifi?). WPA/WPA2 security, password encoded. How would you know if someone hacked your wireless signal vs. it being IP issues?

It seems fine now after I rebooted the router and modem. Just checked the desktop and it also seems fine. Was zipping around on sites I could NOT get to load earlier. Weird.

If everything's back to normal then it was probably an issue on the IPs end or a signal glitch in the router which the reboot corrected. Yeah, wifi is wireless, as for determining if your hosting a bot? Here's an older link (2009) but the info is still applicable.

Is Your PC Bot-Infested? Here's How to Tell | PCWorld

Detecting Infections

Botnets live or die depending on communications with their CnC servers. Those communications can tell researchers how large a botnet is. Similarly, the flood of communications in and out of your PC helps antimalware apps detect a known bot. "Sadly, the lack of antivirus alerts isn't an indicator of a clean PC," says Nazario. "Antivirus software simply can't keep up with the number of threats. It's frustrating [that] we don't have significantly better solutions for the average home user, more widely deployed."

Even if your PC antivirus check comes out clean, be vigilant. Microsoft provides a free Malicious Software Removal Tool. One version of the tool, available from both Microsoft Update and Windows Update, is updated monthly; it runs in the background on the second Tuesday of each month and reports to Microsoft whenever it finds and removes an infection. You can use another version of the Malicious Software Removal Tool, downloadable at Microsoft's site, at any time, and you should run the utility if you notice a sudden change in your PC's behavior.

Here's another:

How can I tell if my computer is infected with a bot?

How can I tell if my computer is infected with a bot?

Look for the following symptoms:

Numerous undelivered email notifications in your inbox to unknown email addresses. Bots will frequently use email accounts to send out spam. Spam to unknown email addresses will result in a “failure to deliver” notification in your inbox. Please click here to sign into your comcast email.
Suspicious email account activity. Bots create multiple email addresses in your email account. If you notice additional email addresses in your account that you did not create you may have an infected computer. Please click here to sign into the My Account section of your comcast.net account.
Multiple toolbars on your Internet Web browser. Bots will frequently install various toolbars to help collect search information from your Web browser.
Unusual error messages. Error messages that suggest applications cannot run or drives cannot be accessed can be indications of a bot infection.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Wireshark is the best bot detector there is...but alas...it is not an end user application.

My best Wireshark story...I was an admin on a different forum, some of the Mods were getting spam PM's from a single user that just kept re-registering over and over and using numerous IP addresses so it wasn't an easy IP block.
I talked him into going into the chat area and "have it out"...well I used Wire-Shark to find his Machine ID# and got the IP off the router. Ended up the guy was doing this crap from his desk at work.
I emailed his sys admin the log showing his Machine ID# - router IP ect. etc. ..and copies of his explicit messages he was sending.
He never returned.