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General discussion

I can not access a certain website all of a sudden

by uclabobby Jul 2, 2007 2:34AM PDT

computer specs: XP, 2.8GHZ, 504 ram, Avast v4.7 antivirus + protection, ZoneAlarm firewall.

My wife likes to use the website websisters.net, which is directed to http://visser.no-ip.com A couple weeks ago, their webmaster said they would be down temporarily to upgrade the server. Since they have been back online, we can not access that website from our computer.

I would appreciate any ideas as to what to check, or who to check with. Here is what I have done so far:

Neither of the two websites listed above will work. I have tried IE, Opera, and Firefox. I receive an error message that "connection has timed out" in IE/firefox, or "could not connect to remote server - You tried to access the address http://visser.no-ip.com/, which is currently unavailable." in Opera.

I have also tried to Ping the website at 74.117.123.43, and there is no response.

I have the security/firewall software listed above, but don't think I have ever made any changes to their configurations.

I CAN access other websites hosted by no-ip.com, and I can also access this website using my work computer and friends' computers. The webmaster does not seem to know what is going on.

The only other things I could think of doing were uninstalling Avast and ZoneAlarm, contacting the website's host, and messaging you all to give me some guidance. I have pretty much hit a wall. Any questions or ideas at all?

Many thanks,

Bobby

Discussion is locked

17 Posts
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It Works Fine Here...Some Thoughts..
by Grif Thomas Former Forum moderator Jul 2, 2007 4:40AM PDT

1. If you're using a HOSTS file, open it up and see if the websites have been added to it.. Such additions will cause the site to be blocked..

2. Check your antispyware programs/toolbars for HOSTS file limitations or restricted sites list which could be preventing the access to that site.

3. Have you recently scanned your computer for spyware using a good, current antispyware program? If not, then please download, install, update, then run the free program from the link below:

AVG Antispyware 7.5 Tool

4. Because you uninstalled the firewall and antivirus, please try running the WinsockXPFix tool from the link below to repair any damaged internet connection files that may have resulted:

http://www.iup.edu/house/resnet/winfix.shtm

Hope this helps.

Grif

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There's a possibility also ...
by Kees Bakker Jul 2, 2007 6:55AM PDT

that the ISP's DNS-server somehow didn't get updated when the new server was taken into service.

The 2 ways to check that:
- use another PC/laptop with your account (if dial-up) or your physical connection and logon (if cable or adsl) to your own ISP and see if that works
- contact the ISP-helpdesk with the problem. They can see if they can access the site using their own DNS-servers.

Hope this helps.


Kees

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some updates and questions
by uclabobby Jul 2, 2007 7:47AM PDT

I forgot to mention that I am connect via Qwest DSL. Also, out of curiosity, I search the hard drive for "visser.no-ip.com", the website I can't get to. It was found 3 times: my bookmark, a cookie (which I thought I had already deleted), and a file in c:/temp called msbb.log

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Yep, Looks Like Spyware...
by Grif Thomas Former Forum moderator Jul 2, 2007 8:04AM PDT

The "msbb.log" is part of the 180 SearchAssistant spyware/adware program.. Delete the file..

Did you follow the instructions I gave earlier for downloading and running the AVG antispwyare tool? If not, please do..

Hope this helps.

Grif

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It sounds promising...
by uclabobby Jul 2, 2007 8:12AM PDT

AVG is running right now... I will update shortly

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still running the anti-spyware program!
by uclabobby Jul 2, 2007 8:52AM PDT

By the way I also have msbb_kyf.dat and msbbau.dat which are related to msbb.log, correct? I do not have msbb.exe though. I also have MSBBS.HT_.... but that is in the windows\i386 drive, not the temp drive

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Don't Go Deleting Any Old Thing...
by Grif Thomas Former Forum moderator Jul 2, 2007 10:07AM PDT

At this point, make sure that AVG Antispyware identifies the file as spyware, then delete it.. Generally, if a file resides in the "i386" folder, it's genuine.. No guarantees, but make sure of your deletions before doing so.

"Temp" stuff is safe to delete in almost all cases though..

Hope this helps.

Grif

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more questions/updates
by uclabobby Jul 2, 2007 8:10AM PDT

Kees' suggestion: By "the ISP", do you mean my ISP which is Qwest DSL? I don't have access to a second computer to test my connection here.

Grif's suggestions: I had never heard of HOSTS files. I searched my hard drive and only found one file called hosts.sys which was part of Spybot-Search and Destroy. I check and that file is empty. I have a few other programs that I have installed in the past for adware, spyware, etc., but since this program occurred, I have used nothing but Avast Antivirus and ZoneAlarm firewall/security. I am currently running AVG antispyware and will then use the winfix tool you provided.

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(NT) Let Us Know How It Goes...
by Grif Thomas Former Forum moderator Jul 2, 2007 10:08AM PDT
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no success yet
by uclabobby Jul 3, 2007 4:16AM PDT

So, my temp folder had msbb.log, msbbau, and another one which are all part of that 1800search thingy. However, I can't find any reference to the 1800 search spyware itself. That AVG anti spyware only found tracking cookies, no spyware....interesting,after I delete the cookies and scan again, it shows the cookies as still being there.

I also tried spyhunter and hijackThis and I can't find anything related to msbb or 1800search. It's frustrating but I don't mind taking my time and finding a solution slowly.... I might try starting XP as a "clean boot" to see if the website works that way.

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Deleting The Problem Items While In Safe Mode
by Grif Thomas Former Forum moderator Jul 3, 2007 4:28AM PDT

It should cause them to be removed permanently.. IN addition, make sure to run a full scan with ALL your antivirus and antispyware tools while in Safe Mode.

Still, your inability to access the site is still probably caused by a blocker of some type.. The operational HOSTS file will reside on an XP computer at C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc folder.. The HOSTS file will have NO FILE EXTENSION and is simply named "HOSTS". Opening it will Notepad should show you if your URL is listed there.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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hmmm
by uclabobby Jul 3, 2007 4:57AM PDT

inside the /etc folder I do see hosts, in addition to hosts.bak and lmhosts.sam, and a few others... When I open HOSTS, I see:

# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

127.0.0.1 localhost

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by the way,
by uclabobby Jul 3, 2007 4:58AM PDT

by the way, If we end up not being able ot figure this out, my wife can do without using that one site anymore...it seems to be the only one affected.

So, I appreciate you help but when you feel like moving on, I understand.

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That's The Sample HOSTS File and ...
by Grif Thomas Former Forum moderator Jul 3, 2007 7:56AM PDT

..it's exactly as it should be.. No need to change it..

If you still can't access the site, it's being blocked elsewhere..

Hope this helps.

Grif

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ok..
by uclabobby Jul 3, 2007 8:33AM PDT

good to know! Thanks for all your help. I will keep working on it, and will post of here if I figure it out...

I'm trying to balance out the issue of spyware vs. the issue of it just being one website that can't be accessed. I'll keep you updated. Thanks again.

By the way, I am currently in clean boot mode, and nothing seems different.

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Questions???
by PudgyOne Jul 2, 2007 9:06AM PDT
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Bobby
by tomron Jul 3, 2007 8:46AM PDT
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