Cannot acces msn microsoft angelfire or update browser etc. (connection problem)

[JessicaHope]

Hi, Simple and Short is the best way to do this I guess.

Problem: Cannot access msn, microsoft, angelfire, excite, webpages.

Problem: Cannot update anything related to microsoft, cannot view support by microsoft, cannot update brower etc.

Details: When trying to enter msn or microsoft etc, error says could not find server, chech network connections or try again.

I have checked all settings in my IE5. cipher 128 bit.
Problem exsists with or without zonealarmpro. firewall.
Security and java and scripts etc are all set to med.
I have tried med-low low and or off. Nothing works.
I don't know much about using proxy's and wonder if this might help. If I log onto msn or microsoft using my dial up on another computer everything is fine. The problem only exsists on this computer so I tend to believe that my ISP is fine.

As well my server assigns me an new IP address everytime I log in so if I am black listed where is the flag. It wouldn't be my IP as it changes all the time.
What are the flags in the registry?

Additional: I would like to know how to change the id of my browser as It says mozillia compatible with IE. would like to to read IE 5. I wonder if hiding my IP address with help or if I can change my IP without contacting ISP. Is it possible that I have been black listed by all the above sites and products by microsoft?
If so I don't know why and what do I do?

Note: I know that was long winded, im sorry. I have had this problem now for over a year and I have alot of ideas but no confirmation or help. Everyone tells me to check the IE security settings then they give up. Thanks for you time and input.

[AnnMarie]

Hi JessicaHope - Welcome to CTH. I gather that your OS is either Win95 or Win98. If so, go to Start > Search (or find) and look for a file named hosts (no file extension - not hosts.sam). When you find it, open it with notepad or wordpad and you will see some entries that look like this.

127.0.0.1 local host

Search the list carefully and see if there are any references to the sites that you cannot access. If you find any, delete the entry. When you have finished, save the file and close it. Now open IE and see if you can connect. Let us know how you get on.

[JessicaHope]

:-S AnnMarie

Wow, Hats off to you. What can I say this is the first time someone gave the problem any consideration beyond the initial responses.

Can you tell me more about this, why it worked deleting the entries in the host file. As well what will happen if I just delete the host file.

Im glowing with happiness, thank you very much. Dont hesitate to email me or reply...much respect thank you.

[AnnMarie]

Hi again Jessica - I'm really pleased that we fixed your problem and thank you for posting back.

The hosts file is a bit like an address book. When you type an address like www.microsoft.com into your browser, your computer first looks up the hosts file to see if you have the IP address for that site. If you do, then your computer will connect and the site will open. If not, your computer will ask your ISP's DNS server for the IP address before it can connect to that site.

127.0.0.1 Local Host is the address of your computer (everyones actually) and if 127.0.0.1 is placed in front of the site name, all attempts to connect will be blocked as they lead back to you. This is what happens when you block sites in Internet Explorer or place them in your restricted zone. The IP address of the site becomes 127.0.0.1 and the computer then cannot connect.

Thats one side of the coin. The other is that placing the correct IP address in the hosts file can speed up opening sites. If it finds the IP address in the hosts file, it then does not have to contact your ISP's DNS to find the IP address. So if you place

208.178.180.125 www.cybertechhelp.com

in your host file, the next time you visit you should connect quite quickly. I hope this answers your question.

[Steven.Bentley]

Just to add that if you have any of the software that claims to speed up your net connection, what that often does is make entries in the hosts file, which as AnnMarie says it will speed you up a bit but that's because you're not having to talk to a DNS server to get the IP address of the site.

Which is ok until a site moves to another IP address, and you're still looking for it at the old address

[AnnMarie]

Which is ok until a site moves to another IP address, and you're still looking for it at the old address

Thats a good point Steven. I hadnt thought of that.