Resolved No internet but have connectivity

I wasn't sure which forum to use so here goes....

My 93 year old father in law got some kind of malware while on the internet (prob a p*rn site... at 93!!). Anyway, it is an XP desktop with IE8 and OE6. He is using a wireless connection and it is working fine. However, I cannot get anything to connect. So, I decided it was an XP issue, not an IE, OE or networking issue. I ran Malwarebytes (manually updated), Avira & SD Fix. I used FixWinsock, too. Malwarebytes and Aviva found some stuff and cleaned it up but that did not help. SD Fix was clean. I went back to yesterday's restore point but still I cannot get any connectivity with IE or OE. I pinged at the CMD line and nothing, as well.

I did ck IE Properties and made sure that the proxy boxes weren't checked. They were and I cleared them.

Not sure what to do next. Thanks. Larry

 

Hi Arie, I will do that later today as he does not live with us. Anything esle I can do while I am there? Thank you.

 

Thanks Arie. I printed out the MS article and run the command you suggested. Since he does not live with, what should I be looking for with that ipconfig test? Maybe I can save the delay time from the trip back and forth to post the results from my home before taking any action.

Normally, wouldn't Malwarebytes, Avira and SD Fix cover the malware/virus spectrum?

 

Contents of the ipconfig test:

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Spector
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : lan

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : lan
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : U.S. Robotics Wireless MAXg USB Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-14-C1-1A-EB-DA
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.29
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, June 04, 2011 9:41:36 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, June 05, 2011 9:41:36 AM


I also ran Hijack This, OTL, TFC, Security Check and ComboFix. I checked that MS Support website and I tried a few things (much of it was beyond me). I did a ping on 127.0.0.1 and my IP Address and they worked. Anything else does not. MY TCP/IP seems to be configured OK.

Avira now won't scan due to a dll module that won't load up. It worked yesterday so maybe I messed it up with one of these diagnostic/fix it programs. Ran Malwarebytes again (FULL) and nothing.

Is there more that I can do? Thank you!!

 

Arie, if you think that malware is still involved then I will move this over to the Malware Forum. Thanks. We can probably delete this thread.

Thanks again!!!

New thread in Malware

 

Having connectivity but no internet

I went through Malware and it was concluded that I am clean and that I try a different forum... and this is different!!

My father-in-law moved from my home to a retirement hotel (very independent!!). Got his Dell XP computer working with a USB Wireless Adapter (no wired connection available). A week later he got some kind of malware and stopped being able to get on the internet. I cleaned it up, got the USB wireless working again but I cannot get any program to see the internet.

1. No proxy settings
2. Ping only sees 127.0.0.1 and the router's addy
3. IP/DNS on automatic

I ran a Winsock Repair program, too. What does it take to get it from the Local Connection to the programs???

I am no beginner but this will sound like one. At my home, he was on a wired Earthlink DSL network. When I finally got the right WPA2 pass key for the hotel's wireless, I got him online right away. Now, I wonder if something basic is wrong (some settings that I didn't have to mess with earlier) or if a registry key is afoul.

Any ideas???

 

Look in the device manager and make sure that he has no driver problem for the USB Wireless adapter. Or it could be the adapter itself is bad. Or maybe they changed or added a password for the router. Have you tried it someplace else like a McDonalds or other place that has FREE wireless?

 

Device Mgr is clear. I have already once uninstalled and reinstalled the driver just as a precaution without benefit. Did the USB Wireles adapter go bad?, its always a possibility. I could take it home and test on my computer. The systray icons and their utilities all look happy as does the lights on the adapter.

It is a desktop, not a laptop, so a trip to Starbucks (or MacDonalds) would be awkward. I just bought a backup adapter, maybe installing it is my next move.

 

After looking at your other thread in Networking everything looks normal to me.
So it must be working and all this is our imagination.

Couple of things.
Temporally disable any firewalls. Windows firewall if using that or any 3rd party and check again.
Delete the connection and set it up again.

Leaning towards the firewall part
Since you cleaned an infection firewall might’ve been reset.
Or if 3rd party one might've been destroyed - so uninstall and reinstall it.
That's probaly a good idea anyway.

What happens if from cmd prompt enter PING 69.147.125.65
(that’s yahoo.com but want to ping the ip address and not name to see if DNS issue)

Are you using windows zero connection utility or 1 from US Robotics?
Always best to use the windows one if possible.
Trying another adapter can help as it will set up a new connection.

Yaaa for your Dad (father-in-law)- glad to see he’s active – might be good idea to image the disk drive once everything is working.



note: to administrator - might be nice to merge this thread with 1 from networking as it's a continuation after maleware visit and good info in original.

 

Hi, thanks for steppin' in!!

1. By "delete the connection" you mean uninstall that wireless adapter and reinstall it? Done that 2x. I rememeber that W98SE used to have a delete function for Local Connections but never found one with XP. It seems to self delete when the adapter is uninstalled.

2. I have tried this with the Windows Firewall On and Off. No diff. No 3rd party firewall. Actually, I did notice last visit that the Security Center menu showed the Firewall ON, but indicated OFF when I went into the Firewall interface. If this is an issue, is it easy to fix and/or uninstall/reinstall?

3. I have ordered a new adapter as a backup. This USR one is a little hinky in getting it to connect. This router uses WPA2-PSK and it is difficult to get the Windows Zero Config Utility (WCZ) to show that as an option so that the key is effective. I tried a different adapter (Linksys WUSB600N) and the software was overly simplistic and would not release control to the WZC no matter what. I ditched it.

4. I will try the directly IP address ping later and report back.

If this is not resolved soon I will likely do a Windows reinstall. Do you think that a Windows repair might be effective? If I do that, what do I have to save beforehand?

 

I got the Firewall working right though I did not find a way to remove it and uninstall it. I did check the registry entries and they appeared to be normal. No other firewalls present.

I tried to ping Yahoo (165.....) and it said that for the router at 192.168.0.1, the destination net was unreachable.

So, not sure what to do now. I will search for a way to remove and reinstall the firewall... worth it?? Also, I need to get to the router and turn it off/on for a few seconds and see if that helps.

No ideas on what else can be done? Lar

 

I will try a power off on the router later today but I don't think that the hotel will let me play with their router (like reset, etc) . Besides, reset will change all their settings back to default, right? They have a "hot spot" set up near my father-in-law's room and I am getting a connection (incl a successful ping to it). Funny, but I have not tried to get into the router from my browser... but I will later.

I ran Network Diagnostics on it last night and it gave me an xpnetdiag.xml file, but no log file. I copied that xml file and took it home but I cannot open it here. I was going to post its contents. Is that normal for XP or do I have to copy its contents to a txt file? Both computers are running XP (one Home and the other Pro). The error msg says:

The XML page cannot be displayed
Cannot view XML input using XSL style sheet. Please correct the error and then click the Refresh button, or try again later.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
System error: -2146697211. Error processing resource 'file:///K:/xpnetdiag.xsl'.

I am using Windows Zero Config. The Linksys USB Adapter that I tried earlier has terrible software with it. It unit not only had poor connectivity but the software was simplistic and it would not let me go back to Wireless Zero Config. In fact, after I deleted it all, I still couldn't go back to it! I had to use System Restore to access it!!

 

Like I said, first thing was to power off the router. In this case, it is a little Sprint Hot Spot. Pulled the battery, turned it off and pulled the mini-USB cable. Waited 30 seconds and reversed the order.

All is happy over at Dad's place. I am so thankful for everyone's help. I am equally thankful that it did not get more involved that it already did. Can't get Windows Update to work but this is a different matter.

Best to all, Lar

 

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
This won't do unless the router is also a DNS server. Most are not.
I would ask if anyone else in the area has a working system that can access the world. If so, verify their ipconfig /all output to be the same as the one you are working on.
You could also do a 'route print' command to see the available networks, and the route your computer wants to use to access the 'world' 0.0.0.0 The gateway should be your the router, and the interface should be your local device.
tom

 

LarryB
Just got back.
Glad to see you fixed it.

Amazing how many times we forget – and it HAS to be the #1 fix. Turn EVERYthing off n then back on.

Probably had nothing to do with current/last problem but to simplify life.
Don’t forget to image that drive you became responsible for.
Will simplify things when infected again.