IE and FF not loading any pages, but Internet connection is active, pls help!

[TeejayV]

I run multiple computers over a linksys wireless router. I've been having a problem lately (since yesterday actually) trying to browse the internet. I've got FF and IE installed on my machines (windows xp). Everytime i try to type in a URL it automatically gives me a "page not found" message. I've tried restarting the router and the cable modem. It fixes the problem for all of 2 minutes. Pages load normally (with good speed), but about 2 minutes in it reverts back to the old problem.

I know my connection works though because i play World of warcraft, counter strike and other games online flawlessly. It's obviously just isolated to my browsers, but i'm not sure what to do.

I've already ran AVG spyware and virus scans. Both reported many, many infiltrations which i've cleaned and/or deleted. I've deleted all cookies, cache, history, saved passwords etc, and it hasn't yielded any positive gains.

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated. I'm confused as to what would be causing it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mechBgon]

Speculation: maybe your DNS settings are hijacked, or AVG didn't kill all your infections, or both. Run HijackThis, dump the log into http://hijackthis.de/en and see in particular if your DNS settings have been molested :camera:, among other things.

 

[TeejayV]

thanks for the quick reply. Is HijackThis a free prog? I hope to solve this crisis soon.. what implications are there to face if my DNS has indeed been molested? Is it not safe to use my computer for anything personal?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: TeejayV
thanks for the quick reply. Is HijackThis a free prog?

It's free, yeah. Here you go: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5554.html

I hope to solve this crisis soon.. what implications are there to face if my DNS has indeed been molested? Is it not safe to use my computer for anything personal?

In my opinion, if your computer got infected by malware, then it's not guaranteed safe to use it for anything personal, regardless of whether your DNS settings have been tampered with. You could have keystroke loggers, for example. If I were in your situation, I'd just burn Windows to the ground with DBAN, reinstall it securely, and then get a working security strategy set up. But I'm just crazy like that 😉

The implications of using someone else's DNS servers is that they can redirect you to anywhere they want. Oh, you want to go to PayPal? Well here, give your PayPal credentials to our nice PayPal-lookalike sign-in page :evil: Thanks! So yeah, it would be a particularly bad thing.

 

[TeejayV]

thank you my friend for the quick response. I really appreciate the information. It is somewhat of a daunting task to delete everything i've amassed.. it's going to take a while to back everything up.

Although i will probably do what you suggest to be on the safe side. On multiple computers too, nonetheless.

Thanks again.