Solved Unable to connect to hotmail

[Bibbster]

Hi Guys,

Bit of a weird issue i'm having here. All started last night when i tried to go onto Hotmail , then it was taking an unusually long time to load then eventually a page saying webpage unavailable. Every other phone , laptop etc connected to the router is able to get on it no bother so it seems to be exclusive to my laptop. I've tried a variety of things as listed below and cannot seem to figure out whats going wrong.

1. Cleared cache
2. Different browsers (IE & Chrome)
3. Disabled firewall
4. Flushed DNS
5.Rebooted Router
6. Rebooted Laptop

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Lee

 

[Sir George]

Hi Guys,

Bit of a weird issue i'm having here. All started last night when i tried to go onto Hotmail , then it was taking an unusually long time to load then eventually a page saying webpage unavailable. Every other phone , laptop etc connected to the router is able to get on it no bother so it seems to be exclusive to my laptop. I've tried a variety of things as listed below and cannot seem to figure out whats going wrong.

1. Cleared cache
2. Different browsers (IE & Chrome)
3. Disabled firewall
4. Flushed DNS
5.Rebooted Router
6. Rebooted Laptop

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Lee

Just a shot in the dark, have you downloaded any new MS patches on the laptop?

 

[Bibbster]

Hi Guys,

Bit of a weird issue i'm having here. All started last night when i tried to go onto Hotmail , then it was taking an unusually long time to load then eventually a page saying webpage unavailable. Every other phone , laptop etc connected to the router is able to get on it no bother so it seems to be exclusive to my laptop. I've tried a variety of things as listed below and cannot seem to figure out whats going wrong.

1. Cleared cache
2. Different browsers (IE & Chrome)
3. Disabled firewall
4. Flushed DNS
5.Rebooted Router
6. Rebooted Laptop

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Lee

Just a shot in the dark, have you downloaded any new MS patches on the laptop?

Last one according to the update history log was on 21/12/14. This being 'Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB3025390)'. So was installed a good few days before issues began

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi and welcome to SevenForums,
Have you tried to use a different network via wifi from a library or a neighbors wifi...?

 

[Bibbster]

Hi and welcome to SevenForums,
Have you tried to use a different network via wifi from a library or a neighbors wifi...?

I've not tried that yet partly cause i live in the middle of nowhere and have no neighbors lol.

 

[ThrashZone]

Ha time for a road trip

 

[Slartybart]

What client do you use to connect to Hotmail on the laptop. MS made some changes back when they migrated users to Outlook.com (essentially Hotmail, but not exactly). I think this would have been apparent a while ago, but you never know.

There are also some new account security features (although not necessarily that new).

And then ... there's the Outlook Connector (I'm not familiar with that at all, but it might be part of the equation)

Suggestion: Log into your Hotmail account on the web and check the configuration there. If there are any 'verify my account' links, try those. If there are additional security features, look through those and see how they might apply to the client you use.

The fact that different devices connect doesn't help troubleshoot the issue on your laptop, other than prove that it's not a router issue - that's a good thing. Thanks for that information. Those devices use different clients no doubt.

There's always the option of changing the protocol from HTML to Imap or POP3 - but save that for last (some research is required).

That's all I can think of given the information I have. You could preempt my next request by posting the configuration on your client.

:warn: Be sure to clear anything sensitive from the information you post, such as your eMail address (double check before posting ... sometimes the eMail address is also shown in the title bar of a window).

Bill
.

 

[Bibbster]

What client do you use to connect to Hotmail on the laptop. MS made some changes back when they migrated users to Outlook.com (essentially Hotmail, but not exactly). I think this would have been apparent a while ago, but you never know.

There are also some new account security features (although not necessarily that new).

And then ... there's the Outlook Connector (I'm not familiar with that at all, but it might be part of the equation)

Suggestion: Log into your Hotmail account on the web and check the configuration there. If there are any 'verify my account' links, try those. If there are additional security features, look through those and see how they might apply to the client you use.

The fact that different devices connect doesn't help troubleshoot the issue on your laptop, other than prove that it's not a router issue - that's a good thing. Thanks for that information. Those devices use different clients no doubt.

There's always the option of changing the protocol from HTML to Imap or POP3 - but save that for last (some research is required).

That's all I can think of given the information I have. You could preempt my next request by posting the configuration on your client.

:warn: Be sure to clear anything sensitive from the information you post, such as your eMail address (double check before posting ... sometimes the eMail address is also shown in the title bar of a window).

Bill
.

I'm just accessing it through a browser , predominantly Chrome but have also resorted to trying IE cry.
It seems to be anything with live.com(or.co.uk) just won't load.

So mail.live.com , live.com ,outlook.com all wont work. Just getting a message saying 'This page can’t be displayed'.

 

[ThrashZone]

There's always Clean boot and or Safe mode with networking to try,
No traveling
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/179159-troubleshoot-application-conflicts-performing-clean-startup.html

Safe mode with networking,
Shut down your machine, Unplug-Hold the power button down for 30/45 seconds (Power Drain)
On a laptop remove the battery and do power drain
Power up and Tap the F8 key continuously until you see a black page with white text,
Use the down arrow key to toggle to safe mode with networking/ hit the enter key.
Login as usual
Other advanced methods,
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/69585-safe-mode.html
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode

 

[Slartybart]

Follow Mike's advice and try Safe mode.

After that, see if AdwCleaner finds anything

---

AdwCleaner is a two step process. Scan then Clean

Click here to download AdwCleaner (author: Xplode)
--> save the application to your Desktop.

• Right-click AdwCleaner.exe on your Desktop and select Run As Administrator to run the scanner with full privilege rights.
  AdwCleaner is a standalone executable, there is no install.
  
  
• Click on the Scan button.
  • AdwCleaner begins scanning your system. It might take some time to complete.
    
    
  • Review the detected objects grouped under each of the tabs.
    --> If there is something you KNOW should NOT be cleaned, clear the checkbox
    
    next to the object. If you're not sure about an object, paste the scan logfile (AdwCleaner[R#].txt) in a new post for a member to review and advise you.
    Otherwise, go to the next step.
  
  
• After the scan has finished and you have reviewed the objects to be cleaned, click on the Clean button.
  • Answer OK to the close all programs prompt, then follow the onscreen prompts.
  • Answer OK to the restart the computer prompt to complete the removal process.
    The AdwCleaner log file is opened in your default Text editor when the machine has restarted.
    Each time AdwCleaner runs, the log file number [#] is incremented, the highest number is the most recent. There are two log files, one for the scan (AdwCleaner[R#].txt) and one for the clean (AdwCleaner[S#].txt).

Paste the entire clean logfile (AdwCleaner[S#].txt) in your next post.
--> AdwCleaner logs are located in the C:\AdwCleaner folder if you need to reference them again

 

[Bibbster]

There's always Clean boot and or Safe mode with networking to try,
No traveling
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/179159-troubleshoot-application-conflicts-performing-clean-startup.html

Safe mode with networking,
Shut down your machine, Unplug-Hold the power button down for 30/45 seconds (Power Drain)
On a laptop remove the battery and do power drain
Power up and Tap the F8 key continuously until you see a black page with white text,
Use the down arrow key to toggle to safe mode with networking/ hit the enter key.
Login as usual
Other advanced methods,
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/69585-safe-mode.html
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode

I booted in safe mode and it worked withouth a hitch , then went on to the Bitdefender forums and have found people having a similar issue to me over past 24 hours. Was a simple case of disabling SSL scanning for the time being until this issue is resolved.

Thanks for the help guys

 

[Slartybart]

Great news Lee, thanks for the update re: Bitdefender

- great support Mike!

Bill
.

 

[ThrashZone]

Thank you SlartyBart

SSL should be disabled are you running a current version of Firefox/ Chrome or Internet explorer ?
Not sure which browser your using I missed that one :/
Internet explorer open it and go to Gear symbol and Internet options/ Advanced section/ Scroll to the bottom of the list and Unchecl all of the SSL listings I believe only SSL 3.0 will be checked,
Save the settings and restart your machine,
Cheers.

 

[PaulHat]

This is a fix if you have Bitdefender

Open Bitdefender
Go to "Settings" the cog at top right
Go to "Privacy Control"
select the "antiphishing" tab
Switch OFF the option SSL

I spend 2 hours this morning trying to fix this until I came across this fix buried in another site... good luck

 

[Slartybart]

Thank you SlartyBart

Internet explorer open it and go to Gear symbol and Internet options/ Advanced section/ Scroll to the bottom of the list and Unchecl all of the SSL listings I believe only SSL 3.0 will be checked,
Save the settings and restart your machine,
Cheers.

Actually Mike, SSL 3.0 has a vulnerability and it should be disabled in favor of TLS 1.0, 1.1, or 1.2

See: Vulnerability in SSL 3.0 Could Allow Information Disclosure
Published: October 14, 2014 | Updated: December 9, 2014

Microsoft is announcing that SSL 3.0 will be disabled in the default configuration of Internet Explorer and across Microsoft online services over the coming months. We recommend customers migrate clients and services to more secure security protocols, such as TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1 or TLS 1.2.

 

[ThrashZone]

Thanks for posting the article almost 2 months old now
SSL 3.0 is still checked by default in internet options so Microsoft has not done that for anyone yet
I reinstalled my laptop just a couple of days ago and sure enough still checked so I manually unchecked of course
Cheers.

 

[Slartybart]

.....
Apply Workarounds

Workarounds refer to a setting or configuration change that does not correct the underlying issue but would help block known attack vectors before a security update is available.
• Disable SSL 3.0 and enable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and TLS 1.2 in Internet Explorer
.....
See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 3009008 to use the automated Microsoft Fix it solution to disable SSL 3.0 in Internet Explorer only.

• Disable SSL 3.0 and enable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and TLS 1.2 for Internet Explorer in Group Policy
You can disable support for the SSL 3.0 protocol in Internet Explorer via Group Policy by modifying the Turn Off Encryption Support Group Policy Object.
.....

revisions
•v1.0 (october 14, 2014): Advisory published.
•v1.1 (october 15, 2014): Revised advisory to include a workaround for disabling the ssl 3.0 protocol in windows.
•v2.0 (october 29, 2014): Revised advisory to announce the deprecation of ssl 3.0, to clarify the workaround instructions for disabling ssl 3.0 on windows servers and on windows clients, and to announce the availability of a microsoft fix it solution for internet explorer. For more information see knowledge base article 3009008.
•v2.1 (december 9, 2014): Microsoft is announcing the availability of ssl 3.0 fallback warnings in internet explorer 11. For more information see knowledge base article 3013210.

It's an advisory - as such it advices you to disable SSL 3.0
The next best thing is Update enables SSL 3.0 fallback warnings in Internet Explorer 11
https://support.microsoft.com/kb/3013210

MS is taking baby steps on this - Secure Socket Layer is widely used and they have to take the slow approach to avoid disrupting existing installations. It is up to the user or IT dept to implement the fix - no large corporation moves quickly enough to reconfigure their security layer overnight. It used to take me 4 to 6 months just to get IT to sign off on a network design.


+edit
Now that I think of it, there has been a known vulnerability in Secure Socket Layer for a while. I recall testing different security scenarios, based on a different advisory, before I installed Win8 (7 months ago -but I think it was closer to a year ago that I was testing that).
I needed TLS 1.0 enabled to do online banking - but that's just my bank. Milaeage might vary for other members
-edit