slow internet and slow e-mails - could this be a virus?

[Santuzzo]

Hi,

I'm experiencing all kinds of slow behavior on my PC.
Sending e-mails with Thunderbird is slow (and sometimes not working, error message saying SMTP server timed out or something like that) and sometimes websites don't load either, also get an error message (connection timed out or connection was reset or something similar).....
I have no clue what the heck is going on here .....

I barely dare to ask, but could this be a virus? I ran MS Security Essential scanner today, no results.
Maybe I should run an online scanner?
Any recommendations for a good online scanner?

Thanks,
Lars

 

[carnageX]

MSE isn't that great nowadays. If you want to check if it's malware or not:

Firstly, run a scan with Malwarebytes Antimalware (the Free version is fine, you don't need to activate the Pro trial). Scan with it, delete whatever it finds, reboot and post the log here. Download it from here:
https://www.malwarebytes.org/mwb-download/

Secondly, run a scan with AdwCleaner. Same as above, scan with it, delete what it finds, post the log file here. Download from here:
AdwCleaner Download

Thirdly, run a scan with HiJackThis. Run it as Admin, pick the "scan and generate log" option, and then post the logfile here. Do NOT remove ANYTHING unless told to do so, as removing the wrong entry can damage your system. Download it from here:
HiJackThis | SourceForge.net

Also check your proxy settings under Internet Options in Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Connections tab -> LAN Settings button -> make sure Proxy is unchecked

Do other systems on your network experience issues, or just this system? Have you updated network drivers? Tried a different ethernet port on your router? Tried a different ethernet cable? If wireless, any interference - or have you tried ethernet instead of wireless?

 

[Santuzzo]

Thank you very much!

Before I try your suggestions, here's another thought:

I just disconnected the router and hooked up the PC directly to the modem, and now all seems fine....

Is my router dying? Do these things go dead at all? I have had it for 6 or 7 years I think, but it never fell or anything, so I would not expect it to die on me ....

 

[Santuzzo]

to answer your last question: I first started noticing issues with the home network, I made a thread about that ,too:

Hi,

at my home I have a PC that's got a cable connection to my router and I also use a laptop that is connected through WIFI.
I used to be able to access files of the PC from my laptop and vice versa easily, play mp3 files, or watch clips, etc.
Since about a week or so all of a sudden this is not working flawlessly (or at all) anymore. It is very sloe to connect to the PC form my laptop to open and view folders, let alone to open files. Sometimes it won't even connect at all.

I tried resetting the router (switched it off and took it off the power for 30 sec), but it did not do anything.

If this helps, my router is a Netgear model WNDR3700

Does anybody have a suggestion what could be causing my problem and how to solve it?

EDIT: I just tried something, I switched off the Wifi on my laptop and hooked it up to my router with a LAN cable, all of a sudden all is fine. So this to me seems to be an issue with the WIFI / WLAN.

 

[carnageX]

May want to see if there's a firmware update for your router, especially if it's that old.

 

[Santuzzo]

May want to see if there's a firmware update for your router, especially if it's that old.

Thanks, I looked int othat, but it kept telling me it's on the latest firmware already.

I tried speedtests,
I hooked my PC directly up to the modem, and the speedtest got me these results:
ping: 5ms , download speed: 198.39 Mbps, upload speed: 20.70 Mbps

then I hooked up the PC to the router (with the same LAN cable, so it's NOT wireless) and hooked the router up to the modem (this is the way it's been hooked up all the past years) and I got similar ping (6ms) and download speed (202.98 Mbps) results, but the upload speed was not measure, it got stuck somewhere at 1.1 Mbps and never finished).

What baffles me, though is: would opening a website only use the download speed?

Also: I ran the speedtest on my laptop which is using the router's Wifi, and got these results:
ping: 8ms, download speed: 32.70 Mbps, upload speed : 20.92 Mbps

What is strange to me is that now the download speed on the PC hooked up through a LAN cable to the router is high, but the upload speed is extremely low. On the laptop that is using the router's WIFI the download speed is kinda slow but the upload speed seems fine.
None of this makes any sense to me

 

[carnageX]

What if you hook up the laptop via ethernet and test it?

 

[Santuzzo]

What if you hook up the laptop via ethernet and test it?

Just tried that, bypass the router and hooked up the laptop directly to the modem, ran the speedtest and got these results:
ping: 8ms, download speed: 193.91 Mbps, upload speed: 20.79 Mbps

these results are very similar to the ones I got on the PC when it was hooked up directly to the modem. just the download speed is slightly lower, but not by much.

 

[carnageX]

I meant what if you hook the laptop via ethernet to the router - do you get the same issues as the desktop?

 

[Santuzzo]

I meant what if you hook the laptop via ethernet to the router - do you get the same issues as the desktop?

ah, ok, gotcha.
I just tried that - connected the laptop via ethernet to the router and ran the speedtest, and this is where it gets really weird (the router had been switched off for a few hours before I did this):
at first the speed test seems fine, pretty much same results as when the laptop was hooked up to the modem directly.
But when I ran the test again a few times, it deteriorated each time. At first the download speed went down and the upload speed did as well. Then next test, download speed was back up again, but the upload speed got stuck at zero. Repeated the test, same result.

I had noticed something similar yesterday when I ran the test with the PC being hooked up to the router. When the routes was switched on after being off, at first it seemed fine, but only a few minutes later it got crappy results again.

Does any of this make sense to you at all? I'm very confused to say the least ....