Halp with Computer

[Colonel M]

Just today mIRC and Firefox are not responding, but Internet Explorer is fine. They boh worked yesterday, but for some reason they aren't today. Even after turning off my Firewall it still doesn't work (and I also enabled both mIRC and Firefox on my computer). Can anyone help me with my dilemna?

EDIT: I tried downloading Google Chrome to no avail either (using IE). I think it's within my computer.

[Media Junkie]

Maybe you should reinstall both?

[Colonel M]

Maybe you should reinstall both?

I tried that with Firefox to no avail either.

Rody mentioned something to me but due to the shaky IRC on my phone I didn't catch it.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Colonel M

[Inactive Account]

Check your machine for viruses. Also, what version of Windows are you using?

[Colonel M]

Vista.

[Inactive Account]

32 or 64-bit?

[Colonel M]

...I think it has something to do with the ports: not the system in general.

[Fei Mao]

Ports are for if you are sending information from your computer to another computer. (IE hosting online games)

Did you try going to task manager--->process---> find if firefox.exe is still running and end task it.

Or I guess you could just use internet explorer and download a new version of Firefox. (If its outdated)

Edited March 1, 2010 by Generic Officer

[Colonel M]

Yup. Nothing works.

Hell Shoddy Battle doesn't work. It's like... I'm barred from the internet and don't know why. I highly doubt my mother blocked me out (she's not very technilogically inclined). Ugh, it's one of those times that I just want to know why it doesn't work. Further proof that I must pursue a career in computers when I hit college.

I just don't get how I have access to Internet Explorer but nothing else that involves the internet. WTF...

Edited March 1, 2010 by Colonel M

[Iced]

I have no idea if this will help but it worked for me when I had a similar problem (I couldn't get on certain websites and it started to spread to others until I couldn't get on at all).

Go into the C:/Windows/system32/drivers/etc/ folder and find a txt file called "HOSTS", if there is a reference to any websites in particular in there (A lot is just random IP's that are probably blocked for a reason) put a semicolon at the start of that line. then try again.

worked for me.

EDIT: it seems there are a bunch of example ones in there too and it may not be a TXT file.

just open them with notepad, and find the one with a list of sites or IP's, if there isn't one then that is obvesly not the problem.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Quac!

[Inactive Account]

The reason I asked about 32 vs 64 bit is that some things aren't designed specifically for 64 bit, and if you have that, it may be an update (either of the OS or the programs, probably the former) that's causing it-- have you installed any updates lately?

The "nothing that involves the internet" part strikes me as really suspicious, though; I don't of know anything remotely normal that would cause that.

[Colonel M]

I tried my dad's computer and IRC worked just fine. So my conclusion is that there is something wrong with the computer.

EDIT: I actually tried to do an update one day and it failed on me.

Edited March 2, 2010 by Colonel M

[Inactive Account]

What kind of antivirus have you got? This is sounding more and more like malware.

[Colonel M]

The more I think about it, the more I agree with you on that.

Got a good free program to use?

[BEST TRYNDAMERE PLAYER]

The more I think about it, the more I agree with you on that.

Got a good free program to use?

AVG. Also get Comodo Firewall, it's pretty good.

And for spyware: Get Spybot Search and Destroy.

[Inactive Account]

You can also probably get a free trial of Norton, if that's not what you have already.

What have you already got? And has it updated its definitions recently?

[Wist]

Do your other Internet related applications "not respond" or do they simply fail to connect to the Internet? Given your seeming to indicate you have no idea what could be causing an issue, have you tried using System Restore to restore to a time before this issue arose (in Vista, type "System Restore" in the search box in the Start menu, then choose the "Recommended restore" (unless the given date and time are after when you found yourself unable to access the Internet, at which point you should choose an earlier restore point))? This is probably the easiest way you could attempt to fix the issue. It's difficult to make a guess as to the issue without your having idea what might be the cause, so, as stated earlier, it won't hurt to ensure you have sufficient protection for your computer, because that may alleviate whatever is happening now and prevent it from recurring.

In regard to security (assuming you have authority over the computer; you mentioned your mother, so I don't know), I would suggest you try either Avast Antivirus or MSE (both of which are free). Also, get Malwarebytes. I wouldn't bother getting a firewall aside from Windows Defender (the default firewall, which should be enabled) or MSE (if you choose it over Avast). If you need something more advanced to restrict the connections programs on your computer are making, then you have something on your computer that shouldn't be there (which means you have a gaping hole somewhere else, and have therefore have already lost). DEP should be enabled by default. As _____ said, definitely make sure your programs are up to date (and automatic updates enabled).

Edited March 3, 2010 by Wist

[BEST TRYNDAMERE PLAYER]

You can also probably get a free trial of Norton, if that's not what you have already.

What have you already got? And has it updated its definitions recently?

Norton is quite bad though. Not recommended.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

For antivirus, I'd suggest Avast. I previously had AVG and Avast ended up being much better. I also second the Malwarebyes suggestion.

[Inactive Account]

Norton is quite bad though. Not recommended.

Agh, I keep forgetting that my school stuff isn't the usual Norton... (my university makes everyone install school-issued antivirus which is more beefed-up and generally pretty good) My bad. Though it has been improving... sort of.

Here's a list of different antivirus programs and their features...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_antivirus_software

[Colonel M]

Do your other Internet related applications "not respond" or do they simply fail to connect to the Internet? Given your seeming to indicate you have no idea what could be causing an issue, have you tried using System Restore to restore to a time before this issue arose (in Vista, type "System Restore" in the search box in the Start menu, then choose the "Recommended restore" (unless the given date and time are after when you found yourself unable to access the Internet, at which point you should choose an earlier restore point))? This is probably the easiest way you could attempt to fix the issue. It's difficult to make a guess as to the issue without your having idea what might be the cause, so, as stated earlier, it won't hurt to ensure you have sufficient protection for your computer, because that may alleviate whatever is happening now and prevent it from recurring.

Rody suggested this the other day, but for some retarded reason I couldn't go further back than the day that the whole IRC / Firefox crash happened. After I did this, I couldn't even update Spybot or reinstall it (...wtf I know right?)

[Wist]

Assuming you don't want to reinstall the operating system, I think a fair bet for would be your downloading Avast and Malwarebytes. Avast one can easily run with a boot-time scan (which is what you'd want to do). If you are unable to install Avast and Malwarebytes, I know one can install and run Malwarebytes in safe mode (hold F8 when the computer is starting up, then, when the option appears, select Safe Mode with the cursor keys and press Enter). Malwarebytes is designed specifically to remove malware already on ones computer (and it does a decent job of it). If you have problems installing and running Avast, you can run a version of it from a USB drive, which should run in safe mode at least, and then hopefully run the full program afterward if you are able (even if you choose not to keep Avast, I'd install it for this purpose).

Obviously these programs won't help if the issue lies elsewhere or you have something very nasty in your machine (it's generally easier to prevent infections than it is to remove them), but it's most probably well worth your time to try.

[Colonel M]

So I tried downloading the updated version of AVG and yep, figured, it wouldn't download. I even tried downloading the downgraded version (8.5) and tried to do the update there. No avail. I also tried doing something like look at Runescape (just to see if it worked). It threw a weird error message which I will copy -> paste in a minute. I put it in a spoiler tag:

Java Plug-in 1.6.0_13

Using JRE version 1.6.0_13 Java HotSpot Client VM

User home directory = C:\Users\mommy

----------------------------------------------------

c: clear console window

f: finalize objects on finalization queue

g: garbage collect

h: display this help message

l: dump classloader list

m: print memory usage

o: trigger logging

q: hide console

r: reload policy configuration

s: dump system and deployment properties

t: dump thread list

v: dump thread stack

x: clear classloader cache

0-5: set trace level to <n>

----------------------------------------------------

load: class loader.class not found.

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loader.class

at sun.plugin2.applet.Applet2ClassLoader.findClass(Unknown Source)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin2.applet.Plugin2ClassLoader.loadCode(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin2.applet.Plugin2Manager.createApplet(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin2.applet.Plugin2Manager$AppletExecutionRunnable.run(Unknown Source)

at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)

Caused by: java.net.SocketException: Permission denied: connect

at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.socketConnect(Native Method)

at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.doConnect(Unknown Source)

at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.connectToAddress(Unknown Source)

at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.connect(Unknown Source)

at java.net.SocksSocketImpl.connect(Unknown Source)

at java.net.Socket.connect(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.NetworkClient.doConnect(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.openServer(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.openServer(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.<init>(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.New(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.New(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.getNewHttpClient(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.plainConnect(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.connect(Unknown Source)

at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.getInputStream(Unknown Source)

at java.net.HttpURLConnection.getResponseCode(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin2.applet.Applet2ClassLoader.getBytes(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin2.applet.Applet2ClassLoader.access$000(Unknown Source)

at sun.plugin2.applet.Applet2ClassLoader$1.run(Unknown Source)

at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)

... 7 more

Exception: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: loader.class

Edited March 6, 2010 by Tyranel M

[lolDeath]

Stop visiting midget fisting sites.

[Tino]

If I read that error message correctly, it means the Java 'loader' class doesn't exist anywhere on your computer (mainly not within the directory where you installed Java).