Internet connectivity drops; No change in taskbar icon

[dragos240]

Hello,

I'm using Win 7 64 bit. Recently, over the past week or so, I've noticed that the internet connectivity will drop after a little while. It can be 5m or perhaps an hour. After this, a reboot is required to reconnect. The strange part about this, is that the icon in the corner that tells you your network connectivity status stays at 5 bars rather than the familiar 5 bars with a caution sign as if there isn't an issue.

Some tests I've tried after this happened before a reboot:

1. ping google.com in cmd
RESULT: Strangely, I receive ping packets back from google, which may explain why the status in the corner stays the same.
2. telnet to google.com on port 80 and send a request.
RESULT: telnet acts strangely. Characters appear black on black and thus are unreadable. I was unable to send an HTTP request to google, and thus the result is inconclusive.
3. Check facebook notifications in chome
RESULT: Oddly enough, I can receive notifications, but I cannot reply, nor click on a new link to open the notification.

After the connection "drops", you will not be able to use chrome, nor firefox to access the internet. Both browsers will send requests that never return packets from the host. One guess I have is that the connectivity does not drop completely, but drops to a pace that is so slow, little information can be loaded.

My initial response to this was: "I have a virus". I downloaded AVG, ran a scan, it found a few viruses, removed them from the computer, rebooted, did another scan and it came up clean. The problem still persists. What disturbs me is that one of the viruses found on my computer ended up to be a "patching virus", a virus that will bind itself to other executables and windows .dll files, slowly taking down the target computer. If this network problem can be attributed to this virus that has been removed, then what should my next action be?

Assuming the virus is not the issue, what should my next course of action be? What are some good network monitoring tools that can monitor speed, and packets sent and received? I would like to get rid of this problem as it's an irritating hindrance to my work.

Thanks,
Dragos

 

[chev65]

It sounds like either TCP/IP network stack or winsock is messed up which is a fairly typical problem but virus problems can look like many things.

If it's a virus problem run more scans.

You should also run malwarebytes to check for more virus's .
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_pro/

Windows security essentials is also worth using.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5201

If you did have a virus it may have messed up the network stack or winsock.

Winsock entries tells Windows 7 how to access your network services. Additionally, your TCP/IP protocol can be corrupted. The TCP/IP protocol is a stack of 4 layers that includes several transport layers, but when this stack is corrupt you will constantly have connectivity issues.

Type or copy each command one at a time into an elevated command prompt then hit "enter" after each one, then reboot your machine.


netsh winsock reset catalog (reset winsock entries)

netsh int ip reset reset.log hit (reset TCP/IP stack)

If it's something on the wireless side then you should install Xirrus wifi inspector. A screen shot of this will show me the wireless landscape in your area and adjustments can be made from there.

http://www.xirrus.com/Products/Wi-Fi-Inspector

 

[AlterUrEgo]

I had kinda the same problem a while back. My internet would slow down to a snail pace every so often and couldn't figure it out for the longest time. Through googling and forum readings it came to be that the culprit was my old D-Link dsl-300g modem that was getting hot and would start burping and farting. I had a 2nd one on hand and replaced it and my internet worked as normal again. I still use that old modem and have a couple spares handy since then it happens not regularly but occasionally, I just swap it with another one and it works..weird but effective.

 

[dragos240]

It sounds like either TCP/IP network stack or winsock is messed up which is a fairly typical problem but virus problems can look like many things.

If it's a virus problem run more scans.

You should also run malwarebytes to check for more virus's .
Malwarebytes : Malwarebytes Anti-Malware PRO removes malware including viruses, spyware, worms and trojans, plus it protects your computer

Windows security essentials is also worth using.
Download Microsoft Security Essentials from Official Microsoft Download Center

If you did have a virus it may have messed up the network stack or winsock.

Winsock entries tells Windows 7 how to access your network services. Additionally, your TCP/IP protocol can be corrupted. The TCP/IP protocol is a stack of 4 layers that includes several transport layers, but when this stack is corrupt you will constantly have connectivity issues.

Type or copy each command one at a time into an elevated command prompt then hit "enter" after each one, then reboot your machine.


netsh winsock reset catalog (reset winsock entries)

netsh int ip reset reset.log hit (reset TCP/IP stack)

If it's something on the wireless side then you should install Xirrus wifi inspector. A screen shot of this will show me the wireless landscape in your area and adjustments can be made from there.

Wi-Fi Inspector | Xirrus

Thanks. Malwarebytes found some 15 odd things lurking in my system. Sadly, even though they were removed, the problem still persists. I have also entered those commands into an elevated command prompt. Unfortunately, the problem still persists. Can you recommend a program that monitors network activity and can report said activity in chart form?

 

[chev65]

It sounds like either TCP/IP network stack or winsock is messed up which is a fairly typical problem but virus problems can look like many things.

If it's a virus problem run more scans.

You should also run malwarebytes to check for more virus's .
Malwarebytes : Malwarebytes Anti-Malware PRO removes malware including viruses, spyware, worms and trojans, plus it protects your computer

Windows security essentials is also worth using.
Download Microsoft Security Essentials from Official Microsoft Download Center

If you did have a virus it may have messed up the network stack or winsock.

Winsock entries tells Windows 7 how to access your network services. Additionally, your TCP/IP protocol can be corrupted. The TCP/IP protocol is a stack of 4 layers that includes several transport layers, but when this stack is corrupt you will constantly have connectivity issues.

Type or copy each command one at a time into an elevated command prompt then hit "enter" after each one, then reboot your machine.


netsh winsock reset catalog (reset winsock entries)

netsh int ip reset reset.log hit (reset TCP/IP stack)

If it's something on the wireless side then you should install Xirrus wifi inspector. A screen shot of this will show me the wireless landscape in your area and adjustments can be made from there.

Wi-Fi Inspector | Xirrus

Thanks. Malwarebytes found some 15 odd things lurking in my system. Sadly, even though they were removed, the problem still persists. I have also entered those commands into an elevated command prompt. Unfortunately, the problem still persists. Can you recommend a program that monitors network activity and can report said activity in chart form?

Windows task manager already does this. You should post the Xirrus results.

 

[dragos240]

it sounds like either tcp/ip network stack or winsock is messed up which is a fairly typical problem but virus problems can look like many things.

If it's a virus problem run more scans.

You should also run malwarebytes to check for more virus's .
malwarebytes : Malwarebytes anti-malware pro removes malware including viruses, spyware, worms and trojans, plus it protects your computer

windows security essentials is also worth using.
download microsoft security essentials from official microsoft download center

if you did have a virus it may have messed up the network stack or winsock.

Winsock entries tells windows 7 how to access your network services. Additionally, your tcp/ip protocol can be corrupted. The tcp/ip protocol is a stack of 4 layers that includes several transport layers, but when this stack is corrupt you will constantly have connectivity issues.

Type or copy each command one at a time into an elevated command prompt then hit "enter" after each one, then reboot your machine.


netsh winsock reset catalog (reset winsock entries)

netsh int ip reset reset.log hit (reset tcp/ip stack)

if it's something on the wireless side then you should install xirrus wifi inspector. A screen shot of this will show me the wireless landscape in your area and adjustments can be made from there.

wi-fi inspector | xirrus

thanks. Malwarebytes found some 15 odd things lurking in my system. Sadly, even though they were removed, the problem still persists. I have also entered those commands into an elevated command prompt. Unfortunately, the problem still persists. Can you recommend a program that monitors network activity and can report said activity in chart form?

windows task manager already does this. You should post the xirrus results.

 

[dragos240]

It may also help to see what the network does when it drops. This is a cropped screenshot of the network monitor:

As you can see, the effect is instantaneous.

 

[chev65]

You should try going into your routers wireless settings and change the encryption to AES rather than TKIP which tends to cause problems with Widows 7 drivers. Also change the DNS to something better, try using Google's DNS at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

All those virus's may have done some damage but that is difficult to figure out from here.

If you can post a screen shot of the ipconfig/all from this machine it may help me to spot other potential problems.

 

[dragos240]

You should try going into your routers wireless settings and change the encryption to AES rather than TKIP which tends to cause problems with Widows 7 drivers. Also change the DNS to something better, try using Google's DNS at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

All those virus's may have done some damage but that is difficult to figure out from here.

If you can post a screen shot of the ipconfig/all from this machine it may help me to spot other potential problems.

I'll change my DNS servers. For now, here is the result from ipconfig /all:

C:\Users\Harley>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Harley-PC
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : hsd1.ma.comcast.net.

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 4:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter #
2
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1D-7E-05-B8-BD
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter Evolve Gaming Connection:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Evolve Virtual Ethernet Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-83-A0-AA-FB
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : hsd1.ma.comcast.net.
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Ralink RT61 Wireless LAN Card V2
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1D-7E-05-B8-BC
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::f956:27d9:6531:a2b1%11(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.106(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, December 02, 2012 12:03:16
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, December 03, 2012 12:03:16
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 184556926
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-17-3E-19-8F-20-CF-30-F0-E7-BF

   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 75.75.75.75
                                       75.75.76.76
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 20-CF-30-F0-E7-BF
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter Hamachi:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Hamachi Network Interface
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 7A-79-19-43-10-54
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2620:9b::1943:1054(Preferred)
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::25c7:2a08:23ce:16b5%13(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 25.67.16.84(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.0.0.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, December 02, 2012 12:03:11
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, December 02, 2013 12:05:18
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 2620:9b::1900:1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 25.0.0.1
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 226130201
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-17-3E-19-8F-20-CF-30-F0-E7-BF

   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter VirtualBox Host-Only Network:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 08-00-27-00-B4-BB
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::4d52:3a0:f5b3:ac6%23(Preferred)
   Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.10.198(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 386400295
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-17-3E-19-8F-20-CF-30-F0-E7-BF

   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.{BD0448C7-A99F-4299-93FF-FDF449BC44A1}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{71593DCB-3FE2-4594-94BC-E9070D081CC4}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #3
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.hsd1.ma.comcast.net.:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : hsd1.ma.comcast.net.
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #4
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{93C3ECEF-D627-46FD-8C02-3719E5BCBC91}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #5
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{F4783B9D-FF40-4692-9A26-A9F3B0CCE1D8}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #6
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{ED97B127-5359-4782-B3BD-886E9068DC19}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #7
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

[chev65]

Ok here is the deal with virtual adaptors, every last one of them can and will cause connection problem on Windows systems, including Windows own virtual WiFi adaptor. Sometimes they work ok but after awhile they seem to end up causing problems on certain systems. Hamachi has caused this same problem a few times.

Sometimes uninstalling and reinstalling them fixes the problem but in general Windows sometimes has problems with multiple networks using virtual adaptors depending on the virtual adaptor or software being used.

You should go into Device Manager and disable all of them for now, test to see if that fixes the problem you are seeing.

You can enable them again, one at a time, to determine which ones may have been causing this problem.