It started about 4 months ago. I tried to update Quicktime using the software's update feature, it said "cannot connect to server" So maybe a firewall issue, I turned off Wndows Firewall still no luck. So I gave up and just ordered the new QTPro7. Then my virus subsciption expired for Norton NAV so I resubscribed but could not update the new subscription because the update feature could not connect to the server. After several emails to and from Norton, their tech support people gave up on trying to diagnose the problem and said I should just buy the CD instead. Then I tried to get AVG Free virus software. I installed the program, but when I tried to update the software, a box came up saying, "AVG is trying to connect to its website do you want to configure automatically (recommended), I press OK, but it just hung there spinning it's wheels, saying "Opening the connection to AVG" I let it sit there overnite--still trying to open the connection in the morning. Then I try the process again, this time when it says, "AVG is trying to connect to its server" I select, "Configure Manually" and then select, "Allow AVG to always connect to its server" or some such language like that. Still no luck--just wheel spinning. Then I really started to panic--maybe it was something in IE6 that was causing the problem. So I downloaded Mozilla Firefox to use as a browser. All my other computers use Firefox, so why not this one too. Firefox though will just hang there trying to connect to a site--any site, but I can still use I.E.6. It's a winXP pro media center machine, service pack 2 with all the current critical updates installed. So I can update things from Microsoft, but not from anywhere else. Do I have a virus or is there some obscure firewall setting?
It sounds like you've had some spyware infection that may have changed/damaged certain networking settings in Windows. The simple solution is a reformat, the solution that might save your existing setup is to download a handful of anti-spyware tools (adaware se, spybot s&d, hijack this...) and get to work.
