IE6 What does TLS in advanced internet options do

With a name like that U gotta be a nice guy. Examples where I get problem .. Sometimes everywhere .. Right here on CNet, usually get on allright, then after chase several threads, I click on one more link and get "page cannot be displayed" Also get it on NewEgg, Also Amazon. Now get this, When that happens once, then it repeats anywhere I try to go, and I just close out, break dialup connection and wait. Sometimes 15 minutes later I can get back on the same site. About the firewall, yeh, I got Ad Aware firewall that I paid for. maybe I failed to configure it right, but it was a big pain. It got in my way everytime I wanted to do something. Seemed to me that it slowed everythin down. First I disabled it, then after few days I uninstalled in Add/Remove. Thanks,Again Ol Rod

Ol Rod, I think you mis-understand.

Ad Aware doesn't do firewalls. Not if the Ad Aware you are talking about is Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE Personal. This is "just" a utility for finding and deleting those nasty ad popups that plague desktops, and also find and kill adware tracking cookies.

It is not a firewall.

If you have no firewall, then your computer is at risk of hackers invading your system. However, I note that you are on a dialup connection and some would say that hackers would prefer unprotected broadband connected computers. But personally I am not so sure.

I would re-visit your ISP's web site and see exactly what they are offering as a firewall, and then search your computer to see if you have it already installed. If not, I would consider downloading and installing a free firewall. I don't think ZoneAlarm would be good for you. It is bloated and interrupts heavily on a broadband connnection, so your dialup might slow a lot.

These CNET forums have been having problems with "Page Not Found" recently, and that might explain part of your problem.

But as for the others, I wonder if your dialup connection is the main cause. It will be slower than broadband anyway, and your browser would be prone to give up waiting and display the "Page not Found" message or "Page cannot be displayed message".

Also, dialup can depend on the time of day. At peak times, dialup will be slowed down by other internet, fax and voice useage, and this can slow page download times significantly. Do you notice any difference at different times of the day?

Your anti-malware, AVG, WinPatrol, Ewido and AdAware are all good, and as long as you keep their definitions uptodate and scan regularly, I don't believe your computer will be infected by much, if at all, except the few adware cookies, etc. So I wouldn't have thought that your internet connection has been slowed down by any pests.

I think it is just a consequence of your connection.

Mark

Lavasoft does have their own personal firewall (based on the Outpost firewall engine from Agnitum), which is occasionally referred to as AdAware Firewall because of the popularity of their primary software offering. I gave it a test run and had mixed thoughts. It's pretty basic, lacking a lot of the features other firewalls have, but it is incredibly simple to use. I wouldn't pay $30 for it, but it does get the job done and is great for the non-technical user.
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In any case, it has been uninstalled, meaning you're without a first line of defense. Like Mark, I feel everyone should be behind a firewall, no matter what connection they have. It may take longer for someone to do damage to someone using dial-up because of the slower speed, and thus be a little less attractive, but anyone connected to the net is still a potential target. For basic protection, I'd reinstall Lavasoft Personal Firewall (if that is indeed what you had), or look to ZoneAlarm firewall (free version). I'm a firm believer in ZoneAlarm and never saw any significant decrease in performance in my internet connection while using dial-up or broadband.

Now, like Mark said, Cnet has been having a lot of issues lately, so if you receive the Cnet ''page not found'' error, it's most likely due to the current problem with the forum software. An update is supposed to be rolled out tomorrow, which is said to fix most, if not all, of the problems being faced.

As for the other sites, I'd try the following:
* See if the problem is specific to Internet Explorer by trying an alternative browser such as Firefox.
* Download and run IEFix.
* Download and run WinsockXPFix.
* Click here to download Internet Explorer 6 SP1 (the latest version) and here for instructions on how to uninstall Internet Explorer. Uninstall IE, then reinstall.

Hope this helps,
John

I didn't know Lavasoft had gone into the firewall business. Sorry Ol Rod, and thanks John. I am behind the times.

And with ZoneAlarm, I now use the Pro version so perhaps it is that version that has slowed my startup times. But I realise that every PC system is different and other users may not have the same problems I have.

The free version may be less bulky.

Mark