Need help troubleshooting an internet issue

[RickZarber]

So my sister got a brand new laptop as an early graduation present and I've been helping her set it up. The only problem is that it came with Vista, and I've no experience with Vista at all. She prefers Firefox to IE, so we installed the latest version. Got her to put Avast, Ad-aware, SpybotS&D, ZoneAlarm on there too. Everything seemed to be running smoothly.

But for the past few days she's been complaining that her internet stops working. She'll just be browsing away when suddenly the wheels just start spinning (in both Firefox and IE). Other internet-connected programs, such as the iTunes store, still work. The wireless signal is still strong, but she has to restart her computer before the browsers will access the web again. I went through as many browser-related setup options as I could find without any luck. I'm completely clueless about where to even start looking to solve this.

Help? :sweatdrop

[Demetrius]

Have you checked to see if windows is updating automatically? I have that issue when it decides to download updates. Also p2p applications and some streaming stuff freak mine out.

[Zilla]

Got her to put Avast, Ad-aware, SpybotS&D, ZoneAlarm on there too.

AVG.

It beats all of those.

Also, see if clearing the cache works, and definately check settings in My Network Connections to be sure things are working okay. I'm assuming the laptop has WiFi? It could be a problem with some dropped packets, but that doesn't seem likely.

Are you sure you have to reboot the whole computer, and not just close down the browsers with taskman? Or perhaps just logging out and back in again?

Also, I have very VERY limited experience with Vista, so it could be some bug that I don't know how to diagnose.

Edit: Also intriguing is that you're not getting 404 pages? Or Network Connection Timed Out pages in Firefox?

The last time I encountered a problem like this, spyware was to blame, and for that, I highly suggest AVG over the plethora of other programs you have installed. That list of programs is pretty outdated, those programs haven't been on top of their game for about 3 years now.

[Demetrius]

You may also want to make sure that Vista isn't blocking those programs when they try to update as part of its automatic annoying settings.

[Zilla]

You may also want to make sure that Vista isn't blocking those programs when they try to update as part of its automatic annoying settings.

I haven't seen it suddenly block web browsers, but then again, it IS Vista...

[Demetrius]

I've had to mess with mine lots to get it into a reasonable working order, and finding your way into things is much more difficult now.

[Preturbed]

AVG.

It beats all of those.

[...]

The last time I encountered a problem like this, spyware was to blame, and for that, I highly suggest AVG over the plethora of other programs you have installed. That list of programs is pretty outdated, those programs haven't been on top of their game for about 3 years now.

To be fair, AVG hasn't been at the top of it's game in some time either. I've heard Avira was winning most recently in the free virus scanner market, but really it's best just to splurge and buy Kaspersky.

But yeah, run a good virus scanner, run a couple different spyware removers (Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, etc) and Malwarebytes Anti Malware. If it's a problem coming from that area, then those'll kill it dead.

[Zilla]

To be fair, AVG hasn't been at the top of it's game in some time either. I've heard Avira was winning most recently in the free virus scanner market, but really it's best just to splurge and buy Kaspersky.

Avria, I haven't heard of, but I could understand if AVG was losing it's prime. It seems to be about time for it to fall behind.

But Kaspersky? That's OLD, it's surprising they're still around... Reviews seem to be mixed on that, some claiming it's one of the best bug-finders out there, while others lament that it crashes their PC or causes horrible slowdowns. It seems to rival AVG in most other regards though, but you only purchase a year license, while AVG is for-life. I used to use Kaspersky, and it's pretty decent, but I actually think PestPatrol seemed to outperform it, and that's kind of embarassing. Then again, it's been four years since, they could have made a comeback, which is rare.

AVG is nice on resources, thorough, and the worst I've had since I installed it were some tracking cookie problems.

[Preturbed]

Here we go, I found this earlier after my first reply:
http://www.virusbtn.com/news/2008/09_02

It's a breakdown of how well each of the virus scanners perform as tested by AV-test.org

EDIT: I'm not saying AVG isn't good; I've been installing free copies as a courtesy to customers who don't have it, but I'm about to switch to Avira.

[Tendronai]

I'm just going to hijack this thread, since I've been having the same problem lately.

The laptop I've been using for roughly a year now with Vista decided a couple days ago that it didn't like the Internet anymore. Peripheral things like MSN, uTorrent, etc. still work fine, but whenever I try to actually do any browsing - either in IE or Firefox - I get a "We can't reach this page, go to hell" message. Any attempts to fix the connection through browser options in IE tell me that there's no connection problem and I'm just a moron for thinking there is.

So far I've run a virus scan to no avail, tried everything Vista suggested, made sure my firewall wasn't blocking either browser, toggled my wireless card off and on, went to other wifi spots, and shouted numerous profanities. Any ideas?

[bluestarultor]

I run Vista on a laptop, but I haven't had those kind of issues.

I suggest a few things:

Make sure you have enough RAM to go around. Even with 2GB, I still sometimes have FF stop responding on me, albeit temporarily and not for very long. FF takes a good deal of RAM, so if you're running out, that's an issue.
Does she have an admin account? If not, I recommend it for easier overall ability to do stuff and change settings. It probably isn't your issue, but it may help you solve it more easily.
Back on track, there is the occasional bug where a browser might not close properly. The program ends, but the process doesn't, so you need to Ctrl+Alt+Del and do it manually.
I personally use AVG and am happy with it. It's free and effective. Getting a copy can't hurt.
I second clearing out the cache, cookies, etc. You never know what junk might be in there.
It would help to know what kind of card is in there. Seriously. Some cards (Linksys) are just crappy. Aside from that, maybe you don't have the best driver for it. Windows likes to think it's so smart about having "the best" drivers, but it's honestly better to get it off the manufacturer's site.
Also, is it 32-bit or 64-bit Vista? I run 32, but I hear 64 has additional issues.