Re: Wireless connection problems caused by virus??

Nickyxx5 wrote:
My friend has a Dell Inspiron laptop running Windows XP. He has recently found that he is unable to connect to his home wireless network. He receives the error message that there is "limited or no connectivity", but at the same time the signal strength is reported as good, and when he goes into the "View Wireless Connections" window, it reports that he is connected to his wireless network. But he is unable to connect to the internet or Skype. I don't understand how the computer can be reporting limited connectivity and good signal strength + connection to network simultaneously.

It is definitely not a problem with the router as other laptops in his house are able to connect to the router and to the internet without difficulty.

In order to try and resolve the problem we performed a system restore back to a date last week when he thought everything had been functioning normally. This did not resolve the problem, but at this point I noticed that the wireless network connection icon had disappeared from his taskbar (it had definitely been there before), and that a red security centre icon was in the taskbar, reporting that no virus protection could be detected. (I am not certain whether or not this had been there before). He had previously been running Windows' own virus protection, but now Windows cannot even detect its own anti virus software.

I think the next step must be to reinstall some virus protection but I wonder if anyone else could offer us some advice....
o Is it likely that the original wireless network connection problems could have been caused by a virus, which has now also disabled Windows' antivirus software?
o If so, are there any particular viruses that are likely culprits? (If we could identify these I might be able to download removal tools on my internet connection that he could then try).
o If it is unlikely that the networking problem was caused by a virus, what are other likely causes and solutions?


Many thanks in advance.





Windows XP messages concerning wireless "signal strength" or that a wireless network is "connected" can be misleading. A common reason for the "limited or no connection" message despite good signal strength is that connectivity is being blocked by some security feature: a network encryption password mistyped; wrong MAC address; or other restriction set in the router.

One way to test things is to connect the computer to the router using an Ethernet cable. This bypasses all wireless security, and if it works, the next step is to either double-check all wireless security settings on the computer or disable all wireless security settings on the router and see if you can then connect wirelessly.

OTOH, there definitely are viruses and other malware that disable antivirus application. When you say you have "Windows' own virus protection" do you mean Windows Live OneCare? I haven't heard very many good things about that. What do you have for checking for non-virus malware (e.g., Spybot Search & Destroy, Ad-Aware)?

Here is some good, although generalized, malware removing advice from MS-MVP Malke: http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

At the very least, go to the website of one or more of the reputable a/v mfrs who offers a free on-line scan, and do it:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym
http://onlinescan.avast.com/
http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/

--
Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
.

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