Strange connection issue - problem accessing web pages

[skwark]

Hi,

I have an odd problem which I can't seem to resolve with my net connection on a Vista PC.

I often find I have to request web pages twice (i.e. double-click links) to get pages to load. If I don't sometimes all the browser does is load/display the HTML header of the page and there is always a pause while it waits for the site to respond.

This is also effecting flash-based speedtest results (Java ones work fine). E.g. Speedtest.net does the download test and there is a few second delay then a sudden burst and it reports 30Mb!!! (I'm on a standard ADSL 8Mbps line). It's like my PC is "caching" the download then releasing it distorting the results.

The XP laptop is fine so it's not the line. Any ideas? It wasn't always like this... I suspect a trial copy of System Mechanic may have screwed it up.... it's gone now but left it's mark in other areas.

MTU is 1500
RWIN is using Vista auto-tuning
NETGEAR DG834G
Connection Speed     8128 kbps     448 kbps
Line Attenuation    19 db    4.5 db
Noise Margin    11 db    24 db

[Rik]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

It does sound like a software issue, can you restore to a point before System Mechanic?

[Inactive]

 

Welcome.

[skwark]

It does sound like a software issue, can you restore to a point before System Mechanic?

Hi - Thanks for the warm welcome.

Unfortunately no (hindsight is a wonderful thing - forgot it was turned off!) - I was hoping I could manually restore whatever it did (if indeed it was that at fault). I've checked TCP/IP values and they all seem normal. Tried disabling anti-virus, firewall... are there any diagnostic tools worth a try?

[Rik]

Unfortunately, I don't use Vista, hopefully someone who does will be along shortly. Have you tried a different browser?

[Inactive]

Unfortunately, I don't use Vista,

Shouldn't that read; " fortunately I don't use Vista.."

[Rik]

It's a matter of viewpoint, In.

[Sebby]

Funnily enough, I've had exactly the same issue for a few weeks now. I didn't think anyone else was affected, so I assumed my router was to blame, hence the reason I've ordered a new one.

I'm running XP and OpenDNS, though the issue affects all PCs in my house, some of which are Vista.

Is anyone else seeing this problem?

[MoHux]

Hi - Thanks for the warm welcome.

Unfortunately no (hindsight is a wonderful thing - forgot it was turned off!) - I was hoping I could manually restore whatever it did (if indeed it was that at fault). I've checked TCP/IP values and they all seem normal. Tried disabling anti-virus, firewall... are there any diagnostic tools worth a try?

Try CCleaner I find it clears out the cobwebs!

Suggest you untick 'cookies', or you will have to log-on to sites you have 'remembered' again. 

I also untick the advanced ones at the bottom, unless I specifically want to clean one of them.

BTW  I use Vista (Business).

HTH

Mo

[skwark]

Don't want to start a battle of the OS (I've made me choice and I'm sticking with it!!) Doesn't seem so bad in IE7 - the flash based speed tests seem to work as expected. I did find a more detailed test and apparently QoS is 42% (I'm stretching the limits of my technical knowledge here!) which I guess is bad.

I use TuneUp to keep the registry in shape - but will give CCleaner a try

What router are you using Sebby?

[Sebby]

I have a 2Wire 2700HG (the single SSID one with SBC firmware). And I use Firefox...

[jane]

With Vista I think some people have reported this to be due to an issue with autotuning and/or ipv6 being enabled by default

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/vistaMTU.htm

I've set mine to "autotuning=highlyrestricted" and turned off ipv6

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/09/09/disable-and-turn-off-ipv6-support-in-vista/

In firefox you could also try turning off ipv6 in about:config

Most registry cleaners that worked with XP don't work well in Vista even though they say they do. CCleaner is fine and does an adequate job and you can always use the options menu to protect cookies that you want to save.

J.

[skwark]

Well IPv6 is off (needed a restart to get things talking to the web again) and I've tried with RWIN auto-tune disabled.

I'm beginning to think this is a FireFox issue (tried FireTune to tweak settings to see if anything was knocked out of joint)... since I can't replicate any of these issues in IE7. May be a temporary wobble with the latest update, which could coincide with the start of my issues, but my memory isn't that detailed as to when exactly that was.

I shall continue to dig....

[skwark]

*** SOLVED ****

It turns out it was my anti-virus (AntiVir 8 Premium) and its WebGuard feature. I realised that shutting down the thing wasn't having the same affect as deactivating the WebGuard feature first. With this off Firefox (doesn't affect IE7 for some reason) performs as normal. Turn it on and hey presto speedtest.net goes loopy again.

I upgraded from AntiVir v7 Classic (doesn't have WebGuard) to v8 Premium recently (since they're giving it way at the mo) and didn't think to check for additional functionality 

ah well... at least I know now, so thanks for all the suggestions!

[Gary]

Unfortunately, I don't use Vista, hopefully someone who does will be along shortly

Try CCleaner I find it clears out the cobwebs!

Suggest you untick 'cookies', or you will have to log-on to sites you have 'remembered' again. 

I also untick the advanced ones at the bottom, unless I specifically want to clean one of them.

BTW  I use Vista (Business).

HTH

Mo

You can add cookies to by going to tools, cookies and moving them from the left hand colun to the right hand one, so it will not clean those you want, that's what I do, gets rid of the crapola and keeps the ones I need

[Rik]

ah well... at least I know now, so thanks for all the suggestions!

Thanks for posting back with that, one for the forum database.  

[skwark]

And here's the response from the developer

"WebGuard acts like a HTTP proxy and needs to cache some data in order to scan it. After scanning, it delivers data to the browser at full speed. WebGuard is very fast, so the scanning itself will take very little time. As a result, you will have almost the same download speed, but it may seem slower because the data comes to the browser with a delay. For the same reason a lot of speed-test sites/programs will turn out to be inaccurate."

Apparently people using similar products/features like Kaspersky will have the same problem, unless you're using NOD32 (but that comes with a trade-off of slightly lower detection rates).

[Rik]

It demonstrates the fallibility of speed test sites. They use a number of tricks to simulate a download, some of which may fall foul of security software.

[Sebby]

Well, I've still got the issue, and I've since got a new router. I use Kaspersky Antivirus (not Internet Security) so I don't think it could be that. I'll keep digging.

[skwark]

Well, I've still got the issue, and I've since got a new router. I use Kaspersky Antivirus (not Internet Security) so I don't think it could be that. I'll keep digging.

Their standard Anti Virus does indeed filter Internet traffic (the security suite just adds firewall and anti-spam). So I would recommend you try disabling the internet filtering (I think it's referred to as Web Anti-Virus in Kaspersky) before closing the application - then see if it still occurs.

[Sebby]

Thanks for the info, I'll check later.