Router "Blocking" websites / web port numbers needed?

Michael, no other changes have been made to the network (which is really only two PCs and the router) that I can think of that would have caused this problem. I did install XP service pack 2 on ONE of the machines, but not the other, but both are having the problem, and had been since before the SP2 install. Manually turning the SP2 firewall off on the one box does not improve things.

Some hijackers do that.

Try Firefox to be sure.

Bob

Hey Bob -- same problem with Firefox. Again, I can access the site when I bypass the router and plug the modem directly into a machine.

That's a lot more clues.

You now can TRACEROUTE and PINGPATH (or is it PATHPING?) to see where it fails.

Your TCPIP skills will come in handy now.

Bob

This is definitely an area I don't know much about... Allt the traces I ran, though, stop at srp-8-1-ur01.royaloak.mi.mich.comcast.net , which I assume is where my Comcast connection originates. Then I get lines with stars. ????

And same results without the router?

There may be a clue here.

1. Is the firmware in the router current?

2. Is there some firewall is said router?

3. Did you put the MAC address of your PC into the Router? (check the manual...)

Bob

And same results without the router?
--Actually, I didn't try tracing yet with the router bypassed...

1. Is the firmware in the router current?
--Yes

2. Is there some firewall is said router?
--The router (netgear RP614 v.2) does have some kind of built-in firewall.

3. Did you put the MAC address of your PC into the Router? (check the manual...)
--No, everything was auto-configured, totally plug and play. That's what bothers me; I made no changes to the router before the problem started. I'm not even sure how to manually input a MAC address (or what it is exactly -- please forgive my ignorance!).

1. Is the firmware in the router current?
--Yes

SUPER!

2. Is there some firewall is said router?
--The router (netgear RP614 v.2) does have some kind of built-in firewall.

It can interfere. Be aware that turning it off is not a bad thing. You still get the benefits of the NAT Firewall feature.

3. Did you put the MAC address of your PC into the Router? (check the manual...)
--No, everything was auto-configured, totally plug and play. That's what bothers me; I made no changes to the router before the problem started. I'm not even sure how to manually input a MAC address (or what it is exactly -- please forgive my ignorance!)."

I'd have to read your manual about this. What can confound us is that "we" didn't change a thing... But that NAT address can be seen in Windows XP if we open a command window (Start, Run, CMD, enter...) and type...

ARP -A

Here's mine.

C:\>arp -a

Interface: 192.168.0.110 --- 0x2
Internet Address Physical Address Type
192.168.0.1 00-0f-3d-00-4d-39 dynamic

That physical MAC address may be required in your router, but I can't know this since I am not your ISP. But it is one of the things I always set.

Bob

You really should dig into the manual that came with the router. To enter the router configuration you need to have an Internet browser window open (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, or AOL). In the address space type: http://192.168.0.1 - then 'Enter'.

You'll need the default login name and password that Netgear supplied with the router. Typically the username is 'Admin' and the default password is 'password'. You'll want to change that password on your first login.

This would also be an excellent time to set up some security between the router and the wireless devices. If your PC cards accept WAP security, use it because it is the most difficult to hack. If not, use WEP security, preferably the 128-bit variety.

The problem with installing setting up a wireless network by just 'plug-n-play' is that some important features like the firewall, security, etc., never get implemented.