strange internet problem

[fux96]

i am facing a rather strange problem.
working on win XP, with DSL/wireless connection to web.
though another PC on the very same connection is working properly i have the following problem:
i can only open webpages from the country where i am - or so. i can open google.com.pk (pakistan), but not google.com. i can open dawn.com (paki page) , geo.tv (paki news chanel but hosted in canada), msn is not working, skype is working, most other webpages are not opening (server error)...
i have run spybot without result, have done a system restore without result... i have no idea.
today something strange happened: i have a laptop, had hibernated (not shut down) with the above problems 2 days ago. today i opened it, it worked...
i was happy, but i lasted only for a few hours. same problem again.
as mentioned the other Pc on the same DSL is opening everything properly...
any idea?

[thetestingsite]

The only thing I can think of is your proxy or DNS settings. Compare settings between the working computer and non-working one to see if there are any differences.

Hope this helps.

[fux96]

settigs a very much same as other Pc...
strange thing: sometimes nowadays it works, i can use internet... then again not, suddenly, without new start or opening other program....

2nd Pc running always perfectly...

[BLiZZaRD]

If settings are the same and other PC works like it should, the only other option really is malware/virus/trojan/worm/spyware/adware

You should run spyware and adware removal tools. If you don't have any I can suggest a few good ones.

[fux96]

i had same thought, did a few online scans - they all cleared with 0 problem/infection
still i uninstalled my symantec, installed NOD32, which works great on the other Pc that is working perfectly... in one of the few times when my internet works i updated it sucessfully, NOD32 found one infected file (trojan downloader). i had NOD clean it, restart, scan again, clear... no infections, spyware malware or else...
problem still the same... slowly i think i have to set my whole laptop up again from the scratch...
if u have any more ideas and may it be the slightes hope... let me know...
i can set my laptop up, right, it ll take time but ok...
but i
JUST WANNA KNOW WHATS GOING ON...

[BLiZZaRD]

Ohhh.. you didn't say it was a laptop!

Is the one that is working perfectly a laptop as well?

What are the specs of the laptop that isn't working? (Make, chipset, etc etc)

[fux96]

sorry,
i mentioned in first post that its a laptop, but not the specs i think... toshiba tecra, 1.43 GHz, 512 RAM, centrino
internet via WL - can it have to do something with the wireless router... its the only thing which is different to the PC
the other one which is working is a PC, old terrible, intel III but working... directly connected to router via LAN cable...

[BLiZZaRD]

Yup, that was the clue. First thing to check is connect the laptop directly to the modem, via ethernet cable. By pass the router.

If it works, you know it's the router (or router settings)

You can then access the router (usually open browser and go to 192.168.0.1) and make sure your encryption type, password, SSID and all are correct. Check connectivity between router and modem.

Another thing to look for is the encryption sub-type. If you are using WPA2, there should be an option for SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) or AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) if AES is offered, you may also see an option for TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) TKIP and AES are slightly stronger than SAS, and the differences between the two aren't that large for your purposes. I would go with AES, though.

After you ensure everything is the way you want, reboot the laptop, open wireless connections and look for your SSID. Enter the password to connect when prompted and if everything matches you should be good to go.

[fux96]

great, now i got the thing... on my router page there is a setting where i can check or uncheck a firewall. i played around a little and saw, that if that firewall is off, my internet works perfectly...
the problem is... it has its own life ... it switches itself back on sometimes in unregular time intervals without a hint why - laptop and internet on, no other progs opening or closing, not switching laptop off, it just happens or so it looks like, i am sure theres something behind it.. - i guess thats also why sometimes my net was working in last few days and sometimes not... (or only those few paki pages)
so now as we pinned the troublemaker down... how do i keep it OFF without it switching on again

[BLiZZaRD]

There is a firewall on your router? Or the option to surpress the firewall on the PC?

What is the make/model of your wireless router?