Losing IP address

[Vivienne]

Hi

I have a Linksys Router BEFW11S4 and a wireless adaptor Linksys WUSB54GS. The main computer where the router is connected to the computer gives no problems. The one that is connected by a wireless adaptor loses the IP address many times a day. Sometimes a repair will fix it but most often I have to reboot the computer and that will always fix it. I have spoken to Linksys many times. They have changed settings, changed channels and helped me do a hardware upgrade - all to no avail. They now no longer know what more to do and suggested that perhaps it is my phone. I have nothing in the house running on 2.4 mhz. They suggested it might be the neighbour's phone.

Any idea on what is going wrong and how I can fix it?

Thanks!!!

Vivienne

[Seth]

Hi Vivienne.

What does the signal strength show?

When you say "losing the IP", do you mean it's 0 or 169?

[Vivienne]

Seth:

The signal strength shows Very Good or Excellent most of the time.

What I meant by losing the IP address is that when I do a 'repair', 'Finidng IP address' is what it does. I cannot connect to the internet or get email although signal strength is excellent. I *think* it's 169. I shall look next time it happens.

Vivienne

[PeteF]

I don't have any real answer just as Linksys is no help.
All I can tell you is that this kind of problem can be very
hard to troubleshoot and solve. On occasion I've heard of
people who reset the router to the factory defaults and
setup from scratch and that fixes it.

Other than that, I'd physically move the problem computer
to be within 15 feet of the router for a day just to see
if it's a signal strength issue. If the connection still drops
when it's so close you know for sure it's NOT a signal
strength problem.

I've also read at the manufacturer's sites that a virus
or spyware can cause a connection to be dropped.
So ensure you are virus and spyware free.

For anyone else with a similar problem:
If you have a wireless adapter in a PCI slot, you might try
removing it physically, and deleting it from device manager
in safe mode. Then reinstall from scratch using a different
PCI slot.

Other than that, subsitution would be the next thing to
try where you try a completly different PC with the same
wireless adapter and test from the same location that
was giving you trouble. Then try a different wireless
adapter in the original PC.

Of course substituting the wireless router is another
thing that can help pinpoint the problem.

Yes, It requires a lot of time, effort & resources to do all
these things but it's the only way I know to pin down
problem component. It amazes me that even the
manufacturer does not have a way to pinpoint the
problem.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

---pete---

[Dan18960]

Vivienne,

Sometimes setting the wifi to a static IP address works. That way the computer is not aways looking for an ip to negotiate the connection and the resolve dns settings.

Now on a more "user" based solution.

Go to your Network Places, right click on the Wireless icon, left click on Properties, and find the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) listing. Click once on that and then click on Properties BUTTON.

You should be at a screen that has you get the IP address automatically. Click on the selection below to assign an ip address and you will notice that the greyed out area changes for you to enter information,

In the IP address - 192.168.1.151 (Linksys by default assigns 100 - 150)
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Gateway - 192.168.1.1

DNS - 192.168.1.1 (IF the router is setup to negotiate the DNS resolving - which is the default - it will forward out to the internet to get the servers needed to resolve your web page request).

You don't "need" the secondary DNS if the router is resolving.

[kelly]

What are you using for a Firewall? I ran into a similar situation on a wired computer that was running Zone Alarm. It was intermittent. Kept having to renew the IP to get online. Last week, I disabled Zone Alarm and went with XP's firewall. I don't know for sure if that's the culprit, but so far I haven't received a complaint.

I have ZA on other installs, no one has an issue, just this one customer. Maybe it's a combo of Comcast, the particular router and particular computer.
- tony

[Vivienne]

Hi Pete, Dan and Tony

Sorry not to have answered you sooner. I received no notification that there was a reply!!! I only knew now when I wanted to give you some more info.

Pete:

Linksys set it to factory default and that did not help.

The computer is *permanently* about 15' away.

I'm virus and spyware free - according to Nod32 and Ewido.

I have no computers, etc. to try different things. :-(

Dan:

When setting to a static address, do I do exactly what you say or did you just give an example? Doesn't my IP address change all the time?

Tony:

I shall try it with Zone Alarm disabled and see what happens.

Thank you all for your suggestions - hopefully one of them will work. I shall try one at a time so we'll know what worked.

Again, I'm really sorry that I did not check for responses as I was kind of relying on being notified. I don't want you to think I'm not appreciative of your help as I am *very* appreciative. Thanks again and I'll let you know what happens.

Vivienne

[Dan18960]

Vivienne,

You can use the numbers I entered. That is the default settings for a Linksys router.

Dan

[PeteF]

The computer is *permanently* about 15' away.


Sounds like you are doing everything correcty.
If all else fails, consider using a wired connection if the computer
is only 15 feet away. Wires is so much better anyway; faster &
more reliable. I have that same exact model as you have and it
works flawlessly on all my wired connections. I'm not a big fan
of wireless. Dropped connections are so frustrating.

I think you are getting to the point where only substituting
a known good router or USB adapter is going to pinpoint
the problem.

---pete---

[Vivienne]

Dan:

Vivienne,

You can use the numbers I entered. That is the default settings for a Linksys router.

Dan

Thanks, Dan. I'm going to try that. But will it still work if my ISP changes my IP address? Do I have to watch for that and keep changing it?

Pete:

The only reason we do not have it wired is because we didn't want a wire across our hallway. :-(

I have so far disabled Zone Alarm and I'll see if that fixes it. If not I shall try Dan's idea of making the IP address static. And I guess worse case scenario we will trip over wires. ;-)

Thanks so much. I will let you know how it goes!

Vivienne

[dale@fcg]

Vivienne,
You don't have to worry about your isp changing it's ip address. The ip address you setup manually on your laptop is only to keep the connection between that pc and your Linksys router. Your Linksys router will take care of any IP changes or such with your ISP. That's the idea of using 192.168.1.1 as the gateway on your laptop- the laptop relies on the router to get out to the internet (the router's ip address is 192.168.1.1, so that's why you would set the laptop's gateway settings to that address).

Also, it would be a good idea to hardwire the laptop temporarily to see if that resolves the problem. Disable/remove the wireless adapter temporarily. If you have no problems, that absolutely means it's a wireless issue, but if you still have problems then it's a problem with the pc (or OS)

[Vivienne]

Hi Dale


You don't have to worry about your isp changing it's ip address.

That's great! Thanks.


Also, it would be a good idea to hardwire the laptop temporarily to see if that resolves the problem.

What do I need to do this? When I go to the store, what should I ask for?



but if you still have problems then it's a problem with the pc (or OS)

Could it not also be a problem with the modem or the router ? or the settings in the modem or router? How can it be the PC or OS ? Do you mean a corrupt setting or something like that?

Thanks very much!

Vivienne

[Vivienne]

Hi

I tried the static ip route but could not get on the internet. I had tried with Zone Alarm disabled at startup and that didn't work. I wanted to pursue Pete's suggestion of using a working router and wireless card but have no access to them.

Perhaps I'll try the hard wiring just to see if that works. Is whatever I have to buy expensive? What is it called?

Thanks!

Vivienne

[kern]

Could it not also be a problem with the modem or the router ? or the settings in the modem or router? How can it be the PC or OS ? Do you mean a corrupt setting or something like that?

have you tried updating the driver and/or software for the wireless card and router?

[Vivienne]

Hi Kern

have you tried updating the driver and/or software for the wireless card and router?

Drivers are up to date and firmware was just just upgraded a couple of weeks ago.

:-(

Vivienne

[kelly]

Can you exlain a bit more about disabling Zone Alarm at startup. You said it didn't work. Are you saying it didn't start or that you're still getting intermittent Internet access.

Earlier you noted that the signal strength is good or excellent most of the time. At times when you've lost Internet access is it still good to excellent?

'm thinking it's lloking like the router.

-td

[Vivienne]

Hi Tony

Can you exlain a bit more about disabling Zone Alarm at startup. You said it didn't work. Are you saying it didn't start or that you're still getting intermittent Internet access.

Sorry I wasn't clear! I meant that I'm still losing internet access from time to time.


Earlier you noted that the signal strength is good or excellent most of the time. At times when you've lost Internet access is it still good to excellent?


Yes, the signal strength is still good to excellent.


'm thinking it's lloking like the router.


:-(

I shall try the hard wiring - if it is not too expensive. If that works, is it then the wireless adapter that is not working well?

Thanks!!

Vivienne

[kelly]

If you try the hard wire and it works, you still have to determine if it's the router or the wireless adapter. Can you borrow a router or adapter, or even another wireless computer to try to narrow things down?
-td

[Vivienne]

Hi Tony

If you try the hard wire and it works, you still have to determine if it's the router or the wireless adapter. Can you borrow a router or adapter, or even another wireless computer to try to narrow things down?
-td

That's a good idea about another wireless computer. I can borrow my son's laptop!! I'll do that this weekend and let you know what happens.

Thanks very much!

Vivienne

[kern]

I shall try the hard wiring - if it is not too expensive. If that works, is it then the wireless adapter that is not working well?

Thanks!!

Vivienne

Before you buy, try the Linksys troubleshooting utilities- "Easylink Advisor" and "Home Network Tools" ---> http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Content_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1155929453836&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

[Vivienne]

Hi Kern

Before you buy, try the Linksys troubleshooting utilities-

I had thought this was just a connection helper. I will try that and let you know what happens.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Vivienne

[kern]

Hi Kern



I had thought this was just a connection helper. I will try that and let you know what happens.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Vivienne

"Network Tools" helps you setup you network, "Easylink" helps you troublshoot connection problems

[Vivienne]

Thanks, Kern!

"Network Tools" helps you setup you network, "Easylink" helps you troublshoot connection problems

I had missed that. Thank you!

Vivienne

[dbarrow]

Vivienne, I have been chasing a similar and elusive problem for a couple weeks now.
Netgear router retains the IP but loses the subnet, default gateway, DNS and DHCP info.
I still can't determine if it is a Comcast issue, a modem issue, or a router issue.
The next time it happens, I am going to swap out the router with a spare I have.

[dale@fcg]

Vivienne, in your original posting you stated:
The main computer where the router is connected to the computer gives no problems.

This is a hardwired pc, correct? You would set up your laptop the same way to be hardwired. As long as your laptop has a network port (also called an rj-45 jack- looks like a phone jack but twice as big), then all you need is a network cable (sometimes referred to as a patch cable or category5 or category 6 or cat5 or cat6 cable) to go from your router to your laptop. Since you can move your laptop over near the router, all you need is a short cable of 6 ft or so, which could be picked up at a local store or web site for under $10. In fact, if you dared, you could temporarily move the one from your main computer to your laptop to try hardwiring the laptop.

Also, to answer your last question from Post #12, what I meant was that if you hard wired the laptop and the internet and everything worked fine thru your hardwiring, then that would mean that the problem was not in the computer or the OS. That would pinpoint that the problem was with the wireless card as or the router.

If it works hardwired and not wiereless, another option would be to look on ebay for a Linksys wpc 11 wireless b card (or a wireless g which is backward compatible to wireless b) and see if you can get one for a song.

[Vivienne]

kern:

Linksys utilities tells me everything is fine.

dbarrow: I'd be interested in knowing how you make out.


This is a hardwired pc, correct?

It is a hard wired PC but the other PC is not a laptop so it would be a pain to hardwire it and have a wire running through our hallway. Hubbys says no way. :-)



Also, to answer your last question from Post #12, what I meant was that if you hard wired the laptop and the internet and everything worked fine thru your hardwiring, then that would mean that the problem was not in the computer or the OS.

That makes sense! Sorry I had misunderstood.

Something strange happened today and the internet so far has worked all day without losing the IP address. Tony, are you there? At Tony' suggestion I disabled Zone Alarm at start up but did not reboot the computer and I kept losing the IP address so I told you that this route did not work. A few days ago, I turned off the computer and because no one was home to use it, I didn't turn it on again until this morning. Zone Alarm was still disabled and I left it that way as I didn't have time to reset it. The result is that I have not lost the IP address even once today!! I shall monitor it again tomorrow and if I am still good, I shall mark this solved!!!

Is there a firewall that doesn't cause the problems that Zone Alarm does?

Thanks so much everyone for being so helpful!! Thanks Tony for hopefully solving the problem!!

:-)


Vivienne

[dbarrow]

ZA? for you.
Did you: Open ZA control, Firewall Tab/ ZONES
ADD the IP of your router (192.168.0.1)
ADD the IP RANGE of your network (192.168.01 - 192.168.0.10)
ADD SUBNET 255.255.255.0

Firewall tab/MAIN
Set sliders for Trusted Zone and Internet Zone to MEDIUM

One big problem with ZA is not setting up the TRUSTED ZONE with the IP and IP range of all your Trusted devices (router and other machines on your network).
It may initially work and you will see/connect to your network but after a short time, ZA will start blocking these out. (don't ask me why it takes a while to happen).
If you turn off ZA, things work again. Turn it back on and it works for a short while.

You have to have a Trusted Zone and the IP and gateway to the router have to be included.

More recent versions of ZA, upon fresh install, will find and setup the Trusted Zone for you as it discovers your network.
If you add or change anything, after the fact, and additional IPs for more machines are added, they have to be manually configured in the Trusted Zone.

[Dan18960]

Doug,

V has a Linksys router and the default ip is 192.168.1.1 (just a note in case V was looking for EXACT info).

[Vivienne]

Hi

Doug: Thanks. I believe that ZA configured it automatically as I did not do anything. I looked at the settings and I found that the main computer that is hard wired has one network in the trusted Zone 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0 but the computer that is on wireless has *three*! All are in the trusted zone. One is the same exactly. The second has 192.168.1.1 and the third has 24.153.22.67. My son and grandson have laptops that are sometimes used here. Is that why I have three on the wireless? Should they not also be on the hard wired one?

On the first one - 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0 it says the IP address cannot be edited!

Doug,

V has a Linksys router and the default ip is 192.168.1.1 (just a note in case V was looking for EXACT info).

Dan: Thank you. You are right. I do need to know exact info as I have no idea what I am doing! Shall I just remove everything? Will it configure it anew? or shall I uninstall Zone Alarm and download the latest version ?

Thanks very much for helping me out!!

Vivienne

[dbarrow]

Always have the latest version as they update almost monthly anymore.
No need to uninstall,upgrade works fine.
Just be sure to go through your Trusted Zone and add all the numbers and you should be fine.

[Vivienne]

doug:

Always have the latest version as they update almost monthly anymore.

I didn't update because I heard that the newer versions were causing all kinds of problems.


No need to uninstall,upgrade works fine.
Just be sure to go through your Trusted Zone and add all the numbers and you should be fine.

If I don't uninstall, it won't find the 'network' automatically ? I think I should uninstall to start fresh. Do *I* have to add numbers, etc?? Ugh! I thought that this was automatically done.

Any idea why Zone Alarm has the three IPs on the computer with the wireless adapter?

Thanks!!

Vivienne

[dbarrow]

New updates often contain security or program fixes. ZA does often address new MS vulnerabilities by adding protection to block specific exploits if that can be done through the firewall with port blocking, etc.

A fresh install may be in order if you have problems with it. An update install keeps your settings, preferences, approved program list.

192.168.1.1 should be your router as the gateway, needs to be in Trusted zone.

24.153.22.67 does not belong to your network unless it is one of the notebooks and it is setup to use a static IP. Check the network settings on each of those machines.

Have you configured wireless security on your router?
You should be using WEP or prefferably WPA key security and have SSID broadcast turned off.

[Vivienne]

Hi Doug

New updates often contain security or program fixes. ZA does often address new MS vulnerabilities by adding protection to block specific exploits if that can be done through the firewall with port blocking, etc.

Okay. I will update with a fresh install.



A fresh install may be in order if you have problems with it. An update install

[QUOTE]
192.168.1.1 should be your router as the gateway, needs to be in Trusted zone.

Shall I remove 192.168.1.0 ?


24.153.22.67 does not belong to your network unless it is one of the notebooks and it is setup to use a static IP. Check the network settings on each of those machines.

I shall remove it as there are no computers using a static address.
Should these extra networks have been showing on the main computer as well? How come they only show on the computer with the wireless adapter? If that happens again shall I just remove them and have both computers read the same?


Have you configured wireless security on your router?
You should be using WEP or prefferably WPA key security and have SSID broadcast turned off.

I use WEP. Where do I find SSID broadcast to turn it off?

Thanks!!!!

Vivienne

[Dan18960]

Hi Doug


Shall I remove 192.168.1.0 ?

Thanks!!!!

Vivienne

YES - you should NEVER use nnn.nnn.nnn.0 (zero) in any settings EXCEPT the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Replace the gateway IP address with 192.168.1.1

[Vivienne]

Dan:

YES - you should NEVER use nnn.nnn.nnn.0 (zero) in any settings EXCEPT the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Replace the gateway IP address with 192.168.1.1

Thanks very much!! Wonder how these others got there.

Tonight I shall download and install the most up to date Zone Alarm, see what it does automatically and then go from there. I shall let you know what happens!

Thanks again!

Vivienne

[Vivienne]

Hi

I have a problem now!!! This is so sad!

YES - you should NEVER use nnn.nnn.nnn.0 (zero) in any settings EXCEPT the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Replace the gateway IP address with 192.168.1.1

I reinstalled Zone Alarm. It still read the network ip address as 192.168.1.0
Zone Alarm does not allow you to remove or edit it. I called Linksys and they said that this is probably the reason why I am losing connection. They did not think that adding it as a subnet would work. They suggested Norton Firewall. I didn't want to use Norton anything so I uninstalled Zone Alarm and installed Kerio which found the right Network IP but I do not like Kerio but maybe it is because I do not understand it. So I uninstalled Kerio and installed Norton Firewall which also read the IP address incorrctly (ending in 0). So I uninstalled it and reinstalled Zone Alarm. I tried changing the IP address from automatic to static but a box came up and said that 192,168.1.1 was already in use and to use something else. So I put it back to automatic. I don't know what to do next. I would really like to continue to use Zone Alarm.

Please do you have any suggestions?


Thanks!

Vivienne

[dbarrow]

It may have something to do with your router . Does the instruction manual tell you a specific "default gateway" to use?
The Trusted Zone is a list of IPs for the computers on your network and a default gateway to the router. It is simply telling the firewall to allow traffic among the machines/devices.

Leave the 192.168.1.0, for whatever reason it is detecting and including that with both firewalls, just ignore.
Create an IP Range for the rest of the network
192.168.1.1 - 5 (highest IP you have plus spares for your "visiting" laptops)
Create one labled gateway 192.168.1.1 with subnet just to make sure you can reach the router.
Set ZA on the other machines the same identical way.
So long as you have the gateway to the router and the IPs of the other machines, they should all see each other and access the web through the router.

Try this for a few days and see how it works.

BTW: open your browser and enter 192.168.1.0 and see if it opens anything, like your modem log
My router control panel is 192.168.0.1/start.htm
SB5100 cable modem is 192.168.100.1/logs.htm

[Vivienne]

Doug:

Thanks for your reply.
It may have something to do with your router . Does the instruction manual tell you a specific "default gateway" to use?

I have no manual. It didn't come with one. When I run ipconfig it says that the default gateway is 192.168.1.1. Do I check this against anything?


Leave the 192.168.1.0, for whatever reason it is detecting and including that with both firewalls, just ignore.

Okay - done.


Create an IP Range for the rest of the network
192.168.1.1 - 5 (highest IP you have plus spares for your "visiting" laptops)


When I run ipconfig it says that the computer on the wireless adapter is 192.168.1.102 So do I say the range is 192.168.1.102 -.105?? or do I create it the way you said ?


Create one labled gateway 192.168.1.1 with subnet just to make sure you can reach the router. Set ZA on the other machines the same identical way.


Okay done on the ones here. I shall do the laptops when they come.

Since updating my Zone Alarm I found a new entry that reads Loopback adapter 127.0.0.1 Do you know if I have to do anything about that or just leave it I guess? I don't know what that is for.


Try this for a few days and see how it works.


Okay will do and I'll report back in a few days.


BTW: open your browser and enter 192.168.1.0 and see if it opens anything, like your modem log

There is nothing that shows up. It says it cannot find it.


My router control panel is 192.168.0.1/start.htm
SB5100 cable modem is 192.168.100.1/logs.htm

I think mine would be different as it is a Linksys??

Thanks very much for your help!!

Vivienne

[dbarrow]

127.0.0.1 Loopback adapter is what the host file uses to display "page not found error" or internal DNS resolution.
Leave that in there.

Set your IP range to whatever you use for the machines on your network.
192.168.1.101 - the highest number on the other machines.
Whatever the IP assigned to the machine (view in ipconfig), it needs to be in the IP range or an individual entry on each machine's ZA Trusted Zone in order for them to see each other.
Enter one for Router 192.168.1.1 as the default gateway.

[Vivienne]

Thanks, Doug, *very* much!!!

And thanks to all of you. You were so patient and helpful.

So far so good! I shall keep an eye on it the next few days and hopefully this thread will be marked 'solved'. Is there a solved button somewhere??? Just getting ready. :-)

Thanks again.

Vivienne

[dbarrow]

Problem solved ... one on my end.
The intermittant problem with the router losing the subnet and gateway settings drove me over the edge.
Swapped the router out with one I had bought for daughter (identical Netgear), backed up settings from old one and restored to new one.

Had to be the router as it has not done it since.

[Vivienne]

Doug:

Problem solved ... one on my end.
The intermittant problem with the router losing the subnet and gateway settings drove me over the edge.

I well know the feeling. :-)


Swapped the router out with one I had bought for daughter (identical Netgear), backed up settings from old one and restored to new one.

Had to be the router as it has not done it since.

I was beginning to think that was the case for me as well but I no longer think so. If I turn off Zone Alarm, it works. I turn it off and then turn it back on again and it's good for a few more hours. It's liveable as I do not have to turn the computer on and off all the time the way I did before.

Thanks!

Vivienne

[dbarrow]

IF you turn off ZA and it works, obviously a ZA problem.
Are you absolutely SURE you have all that is required in the TRUSTED ZONE?
Gateway IP
Subnet
Other machines
DNS servers

Don't just trust to ZA to auto-detect and setup on install, verify and add.

The fact that it is "good for a few hours" is the exact symptom indicating something missing in Trusted Zone where it works for a while and then starts blocking things.
Been there, done that!

Uninstall/re-install latest build of ZA?
BTW: there is a ZA forum on their site, mabybe some insights there.

[Vivienne]

Doug:

IF you turn off ZA and it works, obviously a ZA problem.
Are you absolutely SURE you have all that is required in the TRUSTED ZONE?
Gateway IP
Subnet
Other machines
DNS servers

Don't just trust to ZA to auto-detect and setup on install, verify and add.

No, I do not have these things as it is set up to get IP automatically. None of this information is given. :-(

Uninstall/re-install latest build of ZA?

Yes, I have the latest.


BTW: there is a ZA forum on their site, mabybe some insights there.

I asked there and was told that it was okay that it reads 192.168.1.0 because that is the beginning of the range. They said that I did not have to add the other IP address but I did add it. It was not that helpful. I am ready to give up and just live with it! :-(

Thanks, Doug!

Vivienne

[Vivienne]

An update:

I continued to have trouble with ZA no matter what I did. I decided to follow Rich's lead, as he was so happy with it, and installed the AVG Firewall. This is Day Three and so far no problems. Not once did I have to reboot!!!! So far so good. It seems to have also solved another problem which I had no idea could even be connected to a firewall. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard combination and very often - most every day - the mouse wouldn't work. I would have to reboot and then the mouse would work but the keyboard wouldn't. After much fiddling both then worked. It was such a hassle. Now there are no problems there either. I know that it is only Day Three but I am so optimistic!! Only problem is that I *must* use AVG Anti-virus which I am not that happy about. I would rather be using NOD 32!

There is one thing, though, that happened but it has happened once before the AVG Firewall install:

Once when I booted the computer, it did not recognize a network connection at all - no little monitor icon in the system tray and no connection to the internet. A reboot fixed it. Any idea what that is all about???

Thanks everyone for your help!!! What a wonderful Forum this is and how happy I am that Rich introduced me to it!!

Thanks again.

Vivienne

[jflan]

Hello Vivienne,

Glad to hear that you have things sorted.
If you find that you need to go back to NOD 32 and need another firewall, I can vouch for Sygate 5.6
I have had very good luck with it, yes it has been bought up by Symantec, but it is still available at a few sites for download.
It's very easy to set up and behaves well. It plays well with AVG so you could give it a try with your current arrangement with the AVG FW turned off of course.
Here's a link:
http://www.tucows.com/preview/213160

JF

[Vivienne]

Hi jflan


If you find that you need to go back to NOD 32 and need another firewall, I can vouch for Sygate 5.6

Thanks very much!! I notice it is freeware - which makes it even better. :-) Symantec isn't one to give things away! Is it because this particular version was from before Symantec days?

JF, is it a good idea to be using something that is no longer supported or upgraded or does it matter with something like a Firewall? I have downloaded it so I'm ready to use it any time. Just waiting to see what you think. :-)
Maybe I should wait for my first virus infection with AVG. That would push me to do it!! :-)

Thank you very much for directing me to that software!! It's nice having a backup plan. Much appreciated!!!

Vivienne

[jflan]

I think it's as simple as Symantec knew Sygate was good and wanted the technology to incorporate into one of their paid-for solutions.

I feel very comfortable using Sygate as my software firewall and while I'm no security expert, I would think that a firewall could do without an upgrade for some time.
If there were issues with Sygate 5.6 it would be all over the web and at that time I would retire it.
And who knows, maybe someone would write a free patch :)
JF

[Vivienne]

Thanks, JF.

I have downloaded it and am saving it till needed. :-)

Thanks very much!

Vivienne

[Vivienne]

It seems to have also solved another problem which I had no idea could even be connected to a firewall. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard combination and very often - most every day - the mouse wouldn't work. I would have to reboot and then the mouse would work but the keyboard wouldn't. After much fiddling both then worked. It was such a hassle. Now there are no problems there either.

I spoke too soon. The mouse and keyboard problem continue but the good news is that I still have had no problem accessing the internet.

:-)