Subscriber Cathy was having connection problems with her DSL connection, but I needed more information in order to try to help her further. I wrote to remind her that she had not mentioned what operating system she’s using, what web browser, what email program, what firewall.
Cathy quickly responded:
I am using Windows, Vista on my laptop, XP on the desktop, which is also Windows. MSN web browser on the desktop, and Google on the laptop, Verizon email on both laptop and desktop.
I’ve disabled the Windows Firewall, because I thought it was included in the Vipre (Sunbelt). Am I making a mistake doing that/disabling it?
Yes, that’s a mistake. VIPRE is anti-virus + anti-spyware. It’s not a firewall program. Sunbelt’s firewall program is Sunbelt Personal Firewall, which is available for 32-bit XP and Vista. It’s not available for 64-bit Windows. Sunbelt added their 64-bit firewall into their premium product Sunbelt Antivirus Premium, which does antivirus, antispyware/antimalware and firewall for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows systems.
Are you running any other antivirus or antispyware program at the
same time? If so, uninstall it. If you have two firewalls they’ll
fight each other. If you have two antivirus programs or two
antispyware programs running, they’ll also fight each other.
I uninstalled and reinstalled the Vipre this evening, using an updated version. I looked in the Programs and only see the one Antivirus, which is Vipre. I’m a little confused as to whether to enable/disable the Windows version of the Firewall. Lord, I wish I knew more about this stuff!
Turn on the Windows firewall, or, if you use 32-bit Vista or XP, get Sunbelt Personal Firewall. It has a free license for home, non-business, use that doesn’t do all the things the paid license does, but it’s much better for you than the Windows XP firewall.
The trial version is the fully-functional program. After the trial period, it reverts to the free version (which you’re only licensed to use for free if you meet the non-business home use terms of the license agreement.)
http://terryscomputertips.com/SunbeltPersonalFirewall
Are you up-to-date on your Windows Updates and web browser versions?
I have the computer to do updates daily, so they should be up to date. I didn’t realize the browser versions needed updating.
Is this a notebook that you’re able to take elsewhere and connect to
someone else’s Verizon modem? I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.
I have a laptop, which is only a couple of months old, and a desktop which is about 3 years old. Yes, I am able to easily access all functions on the laptop when away from home.
Regarding Verizon email, I needed to know if that was a specific program, or if she is using her web browser to access her email? Since I’m not a Verizon subscriber, I don’t know what her service provides — or even if they provide both POP3 and webmail, which she is using.
If you access using IE (which is also called the MSN browser, if you installed MSN), then it is more clear to say that you use Verizon web mail — you access your Verizon email via their webmail function using your favorite web browser.
Given that Cathy has mentioned that one of her computers is a laptop, that she’s tried direct connecting it to the Verizon DSL modem and continued to have problems, and connected the laptop to a Verizon DSL modem somewhere else, such as a friend’s house, where her connection worked fine, then the problem sounds like its either the DSL modem or the phone line.
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Thanks for giving the opportunity to post our comments.
I recommend you follow these steps.
1. Since this is a Registry hack, all the usual caveats about editing the Registry apply. Before doing anything else, you want to see if by some happenstance your system is already optimized using the Registry “DefaultRcvWindow” hack.
1. a. Click Start, choose Run, type “regedit” and press Enter.
1. b. Browse to the key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\
Services\VxD\MSTCP
1. c. Check to see if there’s a value named DefaultRcvWindow.
1. d. If there is no DefaultRcvWindow value, then your system is not yet optimized; if there is, note its setting but leave it alone for now.
If there is a DefaultRcvWindow value your system may have been optimized already.
1. e. Close the Registry Editor.
2. Close all running applications.
3. Start your browser and clear its cache. For IE5, select Tools, Internet Options, click the Delete Files button then click OK. For Navigator, select Edit, Preferences, Advanced, and click on Clear Memory Cache and Clear Disk Cache.
4. Close your browser then re-open it to the speed test link.
5. Follow the DSLReports remember to select the nearest download speed (nearest to what you’re paying for) from the speed drop-down control, click the Test button and wait for the test to finish. The test takes about 30 seconds on my 768/128 Kbps downstream/upstream DSL connection.
Please visit http://www.knowurpc.org/ to get more help on this topic.
Hello,
I also have Verizon DSL and to make a long story short, I had similar problems. Verizon techs came out to me many times as well, all to no avail. My connection was awful, I was constantly being disconneted, many times I had no internet for days, even a week or so at a time. It was so frustrating. Anyway, I did some research on the internet at a bunch of tech forums and found that there seemed to be quite a few defective Verizon modems out there. I decided to try on my own and purchased my own modem. It was a wired modem/router combo by D-Link. I had to end up calling D-Link for help setting it up, but after that, wow, what a difference. Suddenly my internet connection was awesome, very rarely was I disconnected. Then last year sometime I also purchased a D-link wireless router, which is connected to my first modem/router combo. I did have to call support again for set up help, but after everything was set, it was great. Since then, I’ve had maybe 1 or 2 times where my connection was slow, but I can’t even recall having any disconnect issues. I also noticed that my connection speed was much faster than before.
So I suggest that if all else fails, you try purchasing your own modem and or router. The only issue with that is that if you have any more problems, Verizon probably won’t help being you don’t have their equipment. Since I’ve not had any of their equipment, I’ve never had to call them for trouble…go figure.