Member Avatar for k7i5t3n

Hi,

I am having a couple of different issues. Here's my situation... if anyone has any input, it would be greatly appreciated.

1) A couple of days ago, while I was working on the wi-fi at Panera, I lost internet access.
2) When I went home thereafter, I was able to connect to our home wi-fi network, but still could not access the internet. "No internet access" it said.
3) My husband's computer (which is on the same wi-fi network as #2 above) has had no problems connecting to our wireless network at home or to the internet at any time this week.
4) I found a post online that suggested McAfee's recent updates may have had something to do with losing internet access, so I uninstalled McAfee two days ago. After the uninstall (and probably changing some internet/networking settings as well, per posts I read), I was able to access the internet again, however only under these conditions: a) only through Mozilla -- IE/Chrome still do not work, and b) only on a wi-fi network outside my home, or with a hard connection to my network in my home.

Why is this happening? This set of conditions under which I can get internet access just seem so strange to me, as if maybe there are multiple issues here? I've put so many hours into researching this online and cannot come up with anything. Also, then I tried to re-download McAfee and it's saying I don't have internet access to do that, which is strange, because I'm on the internet right now!

Thanks for any assistance --

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Dani AI

Generated

The pattern here — Firefox works but Internet Explorer and Chrome do not — points strongly at a system-level proxy / network-stack issue rather than a page-by-page or site problem. 's malware suggestion and the Malwarebytes scan (reported by ) were good first steps, and 's proxy check was also appropriate. Because those did not fix it, the next area to target is the Windows network stack and any leftover network/filter drivers left by McAfee (uninstalls sometimes leave LSP/driver artifacts that break WinINET-based browsers).

A concise diagnostic sequence to run from an elevated Command Prompt (each command is safe but the winsock/ip reset requires a reboot):

netsh winhttp show proxy
netsh winhttp reset proxy

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset

ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

Additional checks and rationale: look in Device Manager (View -> Show hidden devices) for leftover McAfee network filter drivers or virtual adapters and remove them only after a restore point; inspect the hosts file at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts for unexpected entries; compare ipconfig /all output when connected by wired (working) vs wireless (failing) to spot different DNS servers, static IPs, or gateway differences. Because Firefox uses its own proxy settings while IE/Chrome use the system/WinINET settings, a system proxy or WinHTTP entry (shown by netsh winhttp show proxy) can explain why Firefox still works.

Caution: create a system restore point before removing drivers or editing the registry. After winsock/int ip resets, reboot. If remnants of the AV are suspected and the above steps don't help, reinstalling the security suite (or using a system restore to a point before the McAfee changes) will often repair network-filter/LSP problems.

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Member Avatar for JorgeM

Sounds like you may have some malware lingering. While you may feel protected with a typical AV client, they are not 100% on target with Malware. Its a good practice to use various different anti-malware apps to help you keep malware off of your computer.

I would try to run a scan using MalwareBytes. Its free and you can download it from another computer, copy it to a USB stick and plug that into your PC. Run a full scan, look at the results.

Even after I use MalwareBytes, I tend to like using another Free app called HitMan Pro. If it finds any additional malware and cleans it, it then goes into a limited trial period. As long as your compuer is clean, HitMan pro continues to run on an unlimited trial period. There are other anti-malware apps that are great. These are the two that I like to use, but do your research. The point is that security is best when its layered like an onion. Aside from anti-malware apps, there are many things you can do to protect your OS...

-Dont click on links in emails from people you dont know.

-Use a strong, complex password on your computer account as well as internet sites you visit.

-Install a "smart-screening" / "web reputation" plug-in so that before your browser opens a web site, it first checks in the "cloud" whether the target website has been recently identified as having malware (even legit sites get hacked).

Member Avatar for k7i5t3n

Okay, I ran MalwareBytes - full scan - no malware. Thanks for the tip though! Any other suggestions?

Member Avatar for c-tech

Hi K7i5t3n,
I'm suspecting a proxy configuration issue on the two browsers (IE and Chrome). To change this configuration on Chrome, open your Chrome browser and type chrome://chrome/settings/ then click on show advanced settings . Under the Network option, click on Change Proxy Settings, the Internet Properties window will come up. Click on Local Area Network connection settings. Ensure that the only checked option is the one for Automatically Detect Settings. Click on OK. You should now be able to connect without any problems. Please note you can also accomplish the above via Internet Explorer -> Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections.

Edited by c-tech
Member Avatar for k7i5t3n

Hmm, perplexing. Still not working after checking the proxy settings. :(

Member Avatar for c-tech

When you checked the proxy settings, were any proxies enabled?

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