weird problem...can't access site from home PC

JWilbur26JWilbur26 Registered Users Posts: 90 Big grins
edited January 15, 2007 in SmugMug Support
Hi All...I am hoping someone can help. I am unable to get to Dgrin or my smugmug site from my home PC. I did have norton give me an intrusion message last week which I ignored and it seemed to cause the problem. I have gone through and cleared the logs within norton (antivirus and internet security) and I have also tried disabling both programs. Nothing seems to work.

any thoughts?

www.sunshinestatephotography.com

"There are 3 kinds of people in this world...those who can count, and those who can't" :scratch
~Anonymous


Please feel free to edit my images...I can only learn from it.

Comments

  • BarbBarb Administrators Posts: 3,352 SmugMug Employee
    edited January 15, 2007
    JWilbur26 wrote:
    Hi All...I am hoping someone can help. I am unable to get to Dgrin or my smugmug site from my home PC. I did have norton give me an intrusion message last week which I ignored and it seemed to cause the problem. I have gone through and cleared the logs within norton (antivirus and internet security) and I have also tried disabling both programs. Nothing seems to work.

    any thoughts?
    Hi :)

    I see you are in Florida. Do you happen to use Comcast?

    In the past few days, we have had about 10 people who reported this issue, and continue to experience this issue, are using Comcast as their ISP and all live in Florida. We have other users in FLA using Bell South that report no problems. Millions of other viewers also report no problems.

    We suggest contacting Comcast and letting them know this. If they try to brush you off, ask to speak to a supervisor. Do not take no for an answer. Our hands are tied. Comcast needs to fix this problem.

    If you are not with Comcast and are still experiencing this problem, please email the helpdesk. We will be able to help you troubleshoot your connection better from there :)
    Barb
    Smug since 2006
    SmugMug Help
    PhotoscapeDesign
  • JWilbur26JWilbur26 Registered Users Posts: 90 Big grins
    edited January 15, 2007
    Thanks Barb!

    I am on comcast regretably...

    I was speaking to our IT guy (and fellow smugmugger)about a solution and he mentioned the host file of the PC. He hasn't noticed an issue but it has been a couple days since he got on his site. He said some security programs will make entries to the host file when intrusions and virus' are discovered. The entry will try to resolve the domain to my own PC, hence timing out. I haven't had a chance to try but will when I get off work and respond to this post with the outcome. Seems to me if this is the solution, the problem would be more widespread than florida comcast...but it wouldn't shock me in the least.


    Thank you for your help,
    Jonathan

    www.sunshinestatephotography.com

    "There are 3 kinds of people in this world...those who can count, and those who can't" :scratch
    ~Anonymous


    Please feel free to edit my images...I can only learn from it.
  • TonyTony Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
    edited January 15, 2007
    JWilbur26 wrote:
    Thanks Barb!

    I am on comcast regretably...

    I was speaking to our IT guy (and fellow smugmugger)about a solution and he mentioned the host file of the PC. He hasn't noticed an issue but it has been a couple days since he got on his site. He said some security programs will make entries to the host file when intrusions and virus' are discovered. The entry will try to resolve the domain to my own PC, hence timing out. I haven't had a chance to try but will when I get off work and respond to this post with the outcome. Seems to me if this is the solution, the problem would be more widespread than florida comcast...but it wouldn't shock me in the least.


    Thank you for your help,
    Jonathan

    There is no doubt in my mind this is a COMCAST issue (I am in NE Florida). I spent most of the weekend emailing and chatting on their help system trying to convince them that this is the case. Right now, I am accessing dgrin using my verizon cell phone. Here's how I know it is a comcast issue:

    There are three sites I am experiencing trouble with - I can either load them once in awhile but not get to far into the site or not load them at all. Here is my latest correspondence with them (read from the bottom up - I have deleted some personal info but posted the entire email chain - sorry for the length):

    Unfortunately - I will be away for a few days and the off to Europe, so I won't be able to follow up on this until maybe Friday or the following week.
    Dear Tony,

    Thank you for your message.

    Thank you for all the additional information. At this time I feel it may be necessary to escalate a further investigation into this issue. I would be more than happy to assist you with this matter, however, for your security more account information is needed. You will need to chat with us to provide this information, and to get the assistance you need.

    Asking for this account information is for your own protection and guards against someone changing your account information without your permission. This also helps our agents process your request quicker. Please remember that you must be the primary account holder to make any changes.

    You can chat with one of our Online Customer Support Specialists 24 hour a day, 7 days a week at

    http://www.comcastsupport.com/chat

    Thank you for your patience. I know your time is important.

    Please feel free to contact us if you have any more questions.


    Thank you for choosing Comcast.

    Sincerely,

    Ashley M.
    Comcast Customer Care Specialist

    ********************************
    The response contained in this message is intended for the addressee only and may vary from other responses depending on geography, promotional campaigns or other factors. If you are not the intended recipient of this response, please delete this message. Any unauthorized use or dissemination of the information contained in this message is prohibited.



    Original Message Follows:

    I have done this and it does not change anything - nor has removing my router and connecting straight to my cable modem. Let me resummarize my problem:

    I am able to access most web sites with no apparent issue. So far, I have had problems with the following:

    www.smumgmug.com
    www.dgrin.com (a smugmug discussion forum)

    and

    http://forums.comcast.net/ (the comcast help forum...the main comcast.net site loads fine).

    I also am having sporadic problems with My Yahoo which sometimes loads a substitute page and tells me there was an error accessing my normal yahoo page.

    These issues all started over the weekend. The smugmug issue is affecting my home based photography business.

    I have eliminated the router as a problem by taking it out of the picture. I have eliminated software and operating systems by consistently being able to recreate this issue on the following combiniations:

    HP desktop with both firefox and IE

    Dell Notebook with firefox, IE and Opera

    Mac Mini with Safari and Firefox

    When I connect using my cell phone based broad band access from Verizon, none of these issues occur, which leaves only my comcast cable modem and the comcast network as possible sources of my problem. A few months back, you had issues in the northeast that shut people out from only google, so I am wondering if this is something similar. I would think others are having these issues as well, but if not, than maybe there is an issue with my modem (which I have power cycled several times as part of my troubleshooting efforts). When I run tracert, I also have noticed that there are many *s and also latency times above 90ms (around 95) so this would also indicate something with the network (I don't know how to really interpret these results since I am not technical, but the tech support person I spoke with last night via chat session seemed to know even less). I've enjoyed comcast, but if I can't get this fixed soon, I will have to give DSL or clearwire a shot since the
    current situation is unacceptable.


    Tony Klimas | Jacksonville, FL


    Original Message ----
    From: Comcast Jacksonville <ecareonline_jac@cable.comcast.com>
    To: Tony
    Sent: Monday, January 15, 2007 3:09:06 AM
    Subject: Re: Web Form Submission: Connection/Other (KMM24316650V48497L0KM)


    Dear Tony,


    Thank you for your message concerning the Comcast High-Speed Internet service.

    I am confident I can help you with the issue you described, Tony.

    It appears as though you need to clear your cache, cookies and history files. While browsing the Internet, your computer uses cache, cookies and history files to store specific information about a web page on your hard drive. These files enable the browser to find the same pages quicker the next time you access them. Allowing these files to get too large, however, can cause performance issues. Clearing cache, cookies and history files on a regular basis can improve performance and ensure that you are viewing the latest versions of frequently visited web sites.

    I have included the steps for clearing your cache, cookies, and history files below, as well as a link to our help site that contains the same instructions with helpful, easy-to-understand illustrations.

    Please click on this link to view the detailed instructions with graphical illustrations:

    http://www.comcast.net/help/faq/index.jsp?faq=BrowserInternet_Explorer17896&CM.src=esupm

    Or if you prefer you can follow these step-by-step instructions:

    To clear cache, history, and cookie files for Internet Explorer 6.0 using a Windows Operating System:

    1. Open Internet Explorer
    2. Click Tools
    3. Select Internet Options at the bottom of the drop-down menu
    4. Click the General tab
    5. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click Delete Files
    6. Place a check in the box labeled Include All Offline Content
    7. Click OK
    8. Back in the Temporary Internet Files section, click Settings
    9. Make sure Every Visit to Page is selected
    10. Move the slide bar to the amount of disk space you prefer to dedicate to your temporary Internet files. A smaller amount of space is recommended for smaller hard drives. It is recommended that this amount be no more than 25 MB
    11. Click OK
    12. In the History section, click Clear History
    13. A box will appear asking if you are sure. Click Yes.
    14. Set the number of days you want to store your history files. A lower number (0 to 10) is recommended
    15. Click on the Delete Cookies button above the history section
    16. Click OK on the confirmation box
    17. Click Apply in the lower right-hand corner of the Internet Options Screen
    18. Click OK

    To clear cache, history and cookie files for Internet Explorer 7 using a Windows Operating System:

    1. Open Internet Explorer
    2. Click Tools
    3. Select Internet Options
    4. Click the General tab
    5. Click the Delete button under the "Browsing history" heading
    6. Click Delete cookies in the Cookies section; click Yes in the confirmation box
    7. Click Delete files in the Temporary Internet Files section; click Yes in the confirmation box
    8. Click Delete history in the History section; click Yes in the confirmation box
    9. Click Close
    10. Click the Settings button under the "Browsing history" heading
    11. Select "Every time I visit the webpage"
    12. Set the "Disk space to use" field to 25 MB or less
    13. Set the "Days to keep pages in history" field to 10 or less
    14. Click OK
    15. Click Ok again

    To clear both the cache and history files for Internet Explorer 5.x using a Macintosh Operating System:

    1. Open Internet Explorer
    2. Click Explorer
    3. Select Preferences
    4. Choose Advanced
    5. Click the Clear History button. When asked if your are sure, click OK
    6. Click the Empty Now button in the Cache section
    7. Click OK

    To clear the Cookies in Internet Explorer using a Macintosh Operating System:

    1. Open Internet Explorer
    2. Choose Preferences from Explorer menu
    3. Select Receiving Files options
    4. Select Cookies
    5. Select the Cookies to be deleted from the list. (To delete all cookies press and hold the CTRL and Apple and A keys)
    6. Press Delete button on the keyboard



    For answers to frequently asked questions and updates on new features, please visit www.comcast.net and select Help.

    Remember that Comcast will never ask for your password or billing information via e-mail.

    Thank you for choosing Comcast.

    Sincerely,

    Greg P.
    Comcast Customer Care Specialist

    ********************************
    The response contained in this message is intended for the addressee only and may vary from other responses depending on geography, promotional campaigns or other factors. If you are not the intended recipient of this response, please delete this message. Any unauthorized use or dissemination of the information contained in this message is prohibited.



    Original Message Follows:

    The following information was submitted from the Comcast Web site:
    Name: Tony Klimas
    Problem: Connection/Other
    Address:
    City: Jacksonville
    State: FL
    Zip: 32259
    Home Phone:
    Email:
    Re: Web Form Submission: Connection/Other
    Browser: Firefox
    OS: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.0.9)
    Gecko/20061206 Firefox/1.5.0.9 Creative ZENcast v1.00.12
    -
    Comments:
    There is something going on with Comcast right now in North East
    Florida and before I run out and order DSL, please provide me some
    information as to what the problem is and when it will be fixed.
    Certain sites will just not load. Most of the internet works fine,
    but on three different computers (one a Mac) with three different
    browsers (IE, Firefox and Safari), I am having troubles with the
    following web sites (no problems when I connect using my verizon
    wireless card - only comcast):
    www.smugmug.com -- this site barely loads and is impossible to
    navigate around in. When I contacted their technical support, they
    told me that they were aware that something is going on at Comcast.
    www.dgrin.com -- the smugmug technical support site
    my.yahoo.com -- not all the the time, but much of the time, I get a
    page telling me my normal page could not be loaded
    and, believe it or not, the Comcast Forums where I was trying to go
    and see if others were experiencing these problems. Many other pages
    load fine with no problem. I run a small part time home business
    through my smugmug site, so if I can figure this out soon, i will have
    to go for DSL which is also available here.
    Tony, Jacksonville, FL

    http://tonyk.smugmug.com
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