Member Avatar for oodeagleoo

I have safari, explorer, and firefox and none of these browsers can connect to these sites. I use Noton as an anti virus and zonealarm as a firewall. All of these problems started when my Norton subscription ran out. I went to the norton site to renew it and i couldnt access the site. thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by subdewd

Dani AI

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The symptom set here — browsers unable to reach microsoft.com and many security vendor sites while other sites may still work — is a classic sign of either DNS/hosts tampering or a network-level block put in place by malware. correctly called out DNS hijacking and correctly suggested a worm-style infection can behave this way. Treat both the PC and the local network (router) as potentially compromised and proceed in a staged, conservative way.

Triage checklist (in order):

  • Isolate the affected machine from the network (physically disconnect) so the infection cannot spread or receive updates.
  • From a known-good computer, download current rescue/offline scanners from reputable vendors and transfer them on clean media; run scans from Safe Mode or from the rescue media.
  • Inspect the hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) for entries that map trusted domains to strange IPs; back up the file before editing.
  • Check browser proxy/LAN settings and Windows network configuration for unexpected proxies or static DNS entries.
  • Confirm DNS resolution and the DNS server being used; if the DNS server is not recognized, reset the router to factory defaults and set a trusted DNS or obtain DNS automatically from the ISP.
  • If removal succeeds, update the OS and security software, change router/admin/important account passwords, and scan all removable media and other networked machines.

Handy diagnostic and repair commands to run from an elevated prompt (after isolation and backup):

nslookup microsoft.com
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
sfc /scannow

Notes and cautions: follow and others in using a clean machine to fetch tools; avoid running random “fix” downloads from an infected browser; if the router shows altered DNS or firmware is old, reflash or replace it. If signs of compromise persist after thorough cleaning, plan a full backup and OS reinstall.

Recommended Answers

All 14 Replies

Member Avatar for Freaktech

I have safari, explorer, and firefox and none of these browsers can connect to these sites. I use Noton as an anti virus and zonealarm as a firewall. All of these problems started when my Norton subscription ran out. I went to the norton site to renew it and i couldnt access the site. thanks

Sounds like your DNS has been hijacked. Boot into safe mode with networking and see if you can download malewarebytes from and run it.

Member Avatar for Thinka

Mate, I had exactly the same symptoms you've got, turned out to be Conficker. I got rid of it with a combination of the Windows Malicious Software Removal tool ( transferred through USB from an uninfected computer), and a . I've since been using McAfee Antivirus Solution and it's found and deleted any strain of Conficker it's found since (usually in the Autorun.inf file of my USB stick).
Also if you're going to use Malware Bytes, after downloading it change the name to something random so that any virus doesn't try to stop it working.

Hope that helps mate.

Edited by Thinka because: Link for Mcafee tool
Member Avatar for shezisizwe

Hellow

Member Avatar for caperjack

Hellow

BOO

Member Avatar for nahid5692001

This has to do with your internet connection. I would call your ISP they can fix it.

Member Avatar for Thinka

Hellow

BOO

Lol :icon_biggrin:

Member Avatar for caperjack

Lol :icon_biggrin:

Ah ,someone besides me ,that likes my humor .lol

Member Avatar for Michael York

I have safari, explorer, and firefox and none of these browsers can connect to these sites. I use Noton as an anti virus and zonealarm as a firewall. All of these problems started when my Norton subscription ran out. I went to the norton site to renew it and i couldnt access the site. thanks

Hi oodeagleoo,

This is Mike from the Norton Authorized Support Team.

It appears as though your computer has been compromised by a threat. Please contact the Norton Technical Support Live Chat service from the link below and one of our technicians will assist you in renewing your subscription and making sure that your Norton product is installed and configured correctly.

By the way, which Norton product and version do you currently have installed?

Thank you,
Mike

Edited by Michael York because: n/a
Member Avatar for Adamsappleone

Zonealarm has had known issues with Vista and Windows 7, especially with AMD systems, Norton is bloatware.
I would uninstall Norton and Zonealarm and install a reputable and free anti-virus and firewall.
http://www.avast.com/eng/programs.html and anti-virus programs are the top 2 free programs and there is nothing wrong with using Windows Firewall in Vista and Win7, it works quite well. For more control with Windows Firewall.

http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/windows/Vista-Firewall-Control-Plus-Review-55613.shtml

Hope this helps

Member Avatar for StriFe79

Well I have the same issue after downloading something can't remember what anymore, now most errors are gone, but indeed I also can't load AntiVirus websites and Microsoft Sites. Also I can't load CLI.exe from ATI Catalyst Control Center it then crashes. I currently running Spybot S&D to see if that can fix my issues. I already did tried to reinstall windows, but didn't worked :O So strange

Member Avatar for engsiang

Try to open your command prompt, and run this command:

net stop dnscache

Member Avatar for Thinka

Firstly, you all are thread-hopping, so I'm not surprised that no long-term member has replied to your messages.

Secondly, no one seems to have taken any of the advice posted in one of the first few posts. If you don't want to download the Microsoft or McAffee tool, then download and use Malware Bytes. It has worked for me to remove various types of viruses, and it is highly recommended by security experts on this site.
Take the suggestions, try it, and post your results, if you want to make good use of your time, and our time.

Member Avatar for azarzycki

I agree with Thinka. It sounds like the Conficker virus. You need to run you virus removal software from a separate drive that has not been compromised. I personally don't like Norton. I use Avast Antivirus (which is free for home users). You can get it from Cnet downloads. I also make sure to use Malwarebytes AntiMalware at least once a week. Just always make sure your antivirus and malware checkers are up to date.

Member Avatar for subdewd

MY HERO!!! I had gone through hell been working on this problem for over two weeks. Had run every antivirus, malware, program out there and had tries zillions of reader board tricks and advice.. nothing worked!! And all it took was three simple words 'net stop dnscache' I shed tears of JOY. I hope you will see this and realize how much your contribution has helped at least this one frustrated kitty! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

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