I'm using a DSL ISP, and Windows XP. I've been having issues with a lot of downloads, programs and games lately where the internet goes haywire and decides to quit or stop working. As well as many other issues. Everything I read points to a firewall issue. I've disabled Windows Firewall and I've also taken the time to skip my router which has a built in firewall. When I run programs they tell me I still have a firewall up. Is there a way I can trace where this firewall is coming from? Could it possibly be hidden on my PC, or could the ISP be putting one on for me without me knowing?
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If your setup as the DMZ host on your router and windows firewall is turned off it is more than likely something installed with your ISP software. If you give us the name of the ISP we can come up with some better answers.
Try this site to see what ports are being blocked if at all.
My service is called Ycom. The website you gave me was a bit confusing as I am no guru. You can only plug in 64 ports at a time, I believe. And I tried out a few numbers and came up with a lot of closed ports. I'm not sure if I should be testing specific ports or not.
This could also be a malware issue. Update and scan with two spyware scanners from Safe Mode (Microsoft AntiSpyware and Spybot are fine if you need something).
Your DSL modem could also be dropping the connection. Check with your ISP regarding how to test the modem. It involves typing your modems' IP address into the IE address box, entering your username/password to enter modem setup, then testing the modem itself while you are disconnected from the Internet. Call your ISP regarding this.
I would start simple, ping everything, constantly, and wait to see what breaks.
Open a command prompt and Ping your router's internal address i.e. ping 192.168.0.1 -t
if this stops responding, the problem is in your local network.
while that's running, ping your router's external address in another window
ping 123.123.123.123 -t
if this stops responding, but the above keeps working, the problem is with the DSL router, or your ISP's DSLAM (not to mention the lines in between) either way, it's your ISP's problem.
then in a third window, ping something out on the internet, but close. (like your ISP's DNS server)
Ping 123.123.123.55 -t
if this is the only one that fails, it could be the server, or something within your ISP's network (if you're pinging their DNS server.
I pinged all 3, and they all 3 timed out. I contacted my ISP and they tried to tell me I need to get a Static IP assigned. Which of course costs extra per month. Could this actually fix my problem?
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Hidden Firewall Issues