Member Avatar for Sandman4040
Windows 7 browsers at home cannot browse any websites

Cannot access web sites with any browser (IE9 and Opera), but can ping web names and addresses in command window, have already run
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netsh winsock reset - completed ok
netsh interface ip delete arpcache - completed ok
nslookup www.google.com - returns good details
other computer in same room, connected by wirelss works fine
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Any ideas would be welcome.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by c-tech

Dani AI

Generated

The symptom — one Windows 7 host where ICMP and DNS work but all browsers fail while a nearby wireless machine works — strongly indicates a local interception or block of TCP web traffic (HTTP/HTTPS) on that PC rather than a router/DNS outage. Common causes are a system proxy, an application firewall or HTTP‑filtering AV, a local proxy service that is misconfigured or stopped, or a malicious LSP/filter driver.

Recommended diagnostic order (quick, non-destructive):

  • Inspect system proxy settings (Control Panel → Internet Options → Connections → LAN settings) for any manual proxy or PAC URL and clear them. This follows ’s suggestion but checks both manual and auto config entries.
  • Temporarily disable any third‑party firewall/AV (Comodo family products commonly install HTTP hooks) and retest to isolate filtering. This follows ’s malware/filter concern.
  • Look for a local proxy/listener: run netstat and map PIDs to processes to see if something is bound to loopback or port 80/8080/3128. A stopped local proxy with browsers configured to use it will produce the exact symptom.
  • Inspect the hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) for redirects and confirm system date/time for SSL issues.
  • Boot into Safe Mode with Networking — if browsing works there, the offender is a third‑party service/driver.

Useful commands to collect immediate evidence (run in an elevated command prompt):

netstat -ano
ipconfig /all

Match netstat PIDs in Task Manager to identify any proxy/service. If Safe Mode restores browsing, follow with on‑demand malware scans (Malwarebytes + Microsoft Safety Scanner) and uninstall or repair the offending security/proxy component. This advice expands on @c‑tech’s raw TCP/proxy point and ties together the higher‑probability causes for the reported behavior.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for jlego

Check your IE settings in the internet options - connections tab.

Member Avatar for Sandman4040

Issue happens not only with IE, but also with Opera & Comodo Dragon

Member Avatar for JorgeM

Possibility that you have some sort of malware preventing your browsers from working?

Member Avatar for c-tech

Hi guys,
Sandman4040, please check that you aren't infected as JorgeM suggests. But first of all, please try telnetting to port 80 of any machine on the web. It should show you if it connects successfully. Just open cmd and type in telnet somehost 80 e.g telnet www.google.com 80. If it connects successfully, then as JorgeM suggests, you might be infected. Otherwise, it might be a http proxy configuration. Just open netsh again and go to the http option, then type reset proxy. Please note that you need to have administrator privileges for this to be successful, so run cmd as the admin. Good luck.

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