MetaChat - My internets are acting weird

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23 July 2013

My internets are acting weird I can get on some sites, but not others. For example, I can't get onto Facebook, Blogspot, The Globe and Mail, Hotmail, or Gmail. I can get YouTube, Twitter, Metafilter, and, obviously, MetaChat. I assume it's some kind of virus thing. Any tips on how to fix this? I've tried rebooting to no avail.

post by: Orange Swan at: 19:48 | 17 comments

I'm running a scan with Microsoft Security Essentials right now.

posted by Orange Swan 23 July | 19:56

Can you get on these sites from elsewhere? (e.g. your phone, another computer, through a proxy server)

posted by Obscure Reference 23 July | 21:05

I don't have a cell phone, or another computer.

Still running the scan. Damn but it's taking its time.

posted by Orange Swan 23 July | 21:07

The scan finished and didn't detect any threats whatsoever. What on earth can the problem be and what do I do now?

posted by Orange Swan 23 July | 21:20

When you say you "can't get on," what actually happens? What message(s) do you see?

Do you have CCleaner and Malwarebytes installed?

posted by Miko 23 July | 21:35

I can only recommend a glass of your favorite wine.

posted by Ardiril 23 July | 22:46

Well, first it spins for a minute or more, and then it says the page isn't available and there's a reload button and a more button.

I have been able to get on at some points during the evening, but it's been iffy.

No, I do not have CCleaner and Malwarebytes that I know of.

posted by Orange Swan 23 July | 23:31

I can't get access the Malwarebytes or CCleaner websites.

posted by Orange Swan 23 July | 23:36

I was able upon repeated attempts to get onto the CCleaner site and download it. I don't see any improvement in my internet navigation though.

posted by Orange Swan 24 July | 00:21

I was able to get a free version of Malwarebytes downloaded and run. Still no improvement in terms of what I can access.

This is very serious for me - I can't do the freelance editing I've got on my desk right now without access to sites I need to do research, and I can't even email the editor I report to to tell him so. I hope the problem corrects itself overnight, because otherwise I'll have to go to the public library in the morning and try to figure out where to take my computer to get it fixed.

posted by Orange Swan 24 July | 00:35

Can you get on with a different browser?

Is it related to flash/java or something like that? Maybe try disabling add-ons

What you want to figure out first is if you can access the server at all. If you have windows you can go to start -> run, type cmd, then type e.g. "ping www.facebook.com" and see if the packet goes through to facebook and gets a reply. If not windows then drop to the command line equivalent and try the same ping command

posted by Firas 24 July | 07:24

Good luck, Orange Swan, please let us know how it turns out!

posted by msali 24 July | 08:50

This morning my computer is magically working perfectly again.

I don't know either.

posted by Orange Swan 24 July | 09:03

I had some serious slow down issues a month or so back, all relevant scans said all was fine, so I went to the add/remove programs page ang got ruthless and got rid of anything I never use. I also removed some Microsoft, Java and Flash, restarted, and went into windows updates immediately and reinstalled all important updates . It's still kinda slow, but its wayyyyyyy faster than it was.

Good Luck

posted by rollick 24 July | 09:34

Could your ISP have had DNS issues? It's also possible that your DNS cache needed to be cleared, although it looks as if everything worked out anyway.

posted by maudlin 24 July | 10:02

I was having a similar problem on my iPad with gmail for some reason a week or so ago. I'd just get a blank white screen, only with gmail. Clearing cache, history, and cookies and rebooting worked for me, luckily (my go-to fix). It happened a few times and now seems fine. No clue why (I have limited technical/software knowledge, I'm afraid.)

Glad yours is working again.

posted by Pips 24 July | 11:20

Sometimes an update screws something up, and then another update comes along the next day with a fix for it. That's one way things "fix themselves," anyway.

And then there's System Restore. Don't be shy to use that.

posted by Miko 24 July | 21:39

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