Reboot And Modem Speed..

[JD]

My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting the
computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the patches.

I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in two
other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.
--
JD..

[Bill M.]

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:59:58 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:

>My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting the
>computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the patches.
>
>I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in two
>other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.

I don't think it's a modem problem, either. More likely a simple case
of spyware, trojans, etc. What are those unspecified fixes you
referred to?

--
Bill

[JD]

Bill M. wrote:
> On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:59:58 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>
>> My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting the
>> computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the patches.
>>
>> I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in two
>> other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.
>
> I don't think it's a modem problem, either. More likely a simple case
> of spyware, trojans, etc. What are those unspecified fixes you
> referred to?
>
I run a variety of programs including anti-spyware, anti-trojan,
anti-virus and anti-malware. I don't run them all at the same time. All
updated with the latest definitions, all five report a clean machine.

I use a large hosts file which can cause a slowdown with XP so I
disabled the DNS Client Service. No change.

I changed the DNS Server Address to manual. No change.

What is changing in relation to my cable modem when I reboot? Something
in XP gets crapped up but it clears upon a reboot.

--
JD..

[Bill M.]

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:34:09 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:

>Bill M. wrote:
>> On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:59:58 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting the
>>> computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the patches.
>>>
>>> I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in two
>>> other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.
>>
>> I don't think it's a modem problem, either. More likely a simple case
>> of spyware, trojans, etc. What are those unspecified fixes you
>> referred to?
>>
>I run a variety of programs including anti-spyware, anti-trojan,
>anti-virus and anti-malware. I don't run them all at the same time. All
>updated with the latest definitions, all five report a clean machine.

For the sake of argument, let's say your unspecified anti-* programs
are doing their job. That's a big assumption, so don't hesitate to
come back to it later, if other things don't pan out.

>I use a large hosts file which can cause a slowdown with XP so I
>disabled the DNS Client Service. No change.
>
>I changed the DNS Server Address to manual. No change.

You seem to be focused on DNS here, so the obvious question is, in
what way do you think your "cable modem" is slowing down? My first
assumption was a slowdown in throughput, but you apparently mean
something else. Can you describe what you're seeing?

>What is changing in relation to my cable modem when I reboot? Something
>in XP gets crapped up but it clears upon a reboot.

Do you have a wireless network that someone else has joined? Do you
have a LAN with other active PC's? Do you run P2P software? Do you
monitor your PC's network activity? Do you monitor your PC's CPU and
RAM utilization? Do you have a router between your PC and the modem?

--
Bill

[JD]

Bill M. wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:34:09 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Bill M. wrote:
>>> On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:59:58 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting the
>>>> computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the patches.
>>>>
>>>> I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in two
>>>> other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.
>>> I don't think it's a modem problem, either. More likely a simple case
>>> of spyware, trojans, etc. What are those unspecified fixes you
>>> referred to?
>>>
>> I run a variety of programs including anti-spyware, anti-trojan,
>> anti-virus and anti-malware. I don't run them all at the same time. All
>> updated with the latest definitions, all five report a clean machine.
>
> For the sake of argument, let's say your unspecified anti-* programs
> are doing their job. That's a big assumption, so don't hesitate to
> come back to it later, if other things don't pan out.

Not sure it's a "big" assumption.

>> I use a large hosts file which can cause a slowdown with XP so I
>> disabled the DNS Client Service. No change.
>>
>> I changed the DNS Server Address to manual. No change.
>
> You seem to be focused on DNS here, so the obvious question is, in
> what way do you think your "cable modem" is slowing down? My first
> assumption was a slowdown in throughput, but you apparently mean
> something else. Can you describe what you're seeing?

My ISP has their own online speed test. As I surf the web, I notice it's
taking longer and longer to connect to web pages, etc.. I run my ISP's
speed test. The results are slow: Download Speed: 69 kbps, Upload Speed:
17 kbps. Rebooting the modem didn't return the speed, but rebooting the
modem and the computer did return the speed: Download Speed: 452 kbps,
Upload Speed: 182 kbps.

I have since experimented and found I only need to reboot the computer.

>> What is changing in relation to my cable modem when I reboot? Something
>> in XP gets crapped up but it clears upon a reboot.

I notice you didn't really address the above question.

> Do you have a wireless network that someone else has joined? Do you
> have a LAN with other active PC's? Do you run P2P software? Do you
> monitor your PC's network activity? Do you monitor your PC's CPU and
> RAM utilization? Do you have a router between your PC and the modem?

No wireless network, no LAN with other active PC's, no P2P software and
no router. When my cable modem connection slows down the rest of the
computer runs at it's normal speed.

--
JD..

[Bill M.]

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 11:37:30 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:

>Bill M. wrote:
>> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:34:09 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> Bill M. wrote:
>>>> On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:59:58 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting the
>>>>> computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the patches.
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in two
>>>>> other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.
>>>> I don't think it's a modem problem, either. More likely a simple case
>>>> of spyware, trojans, etc. What are those unspecified fixes you
>>>> referred to?
>>>>
>>> I run a variety of programs including anti-spyware, anti-trojan,
>>> anti-virus and anti-malware. I don't run them all at the same time. All
>>> updated with the latest definitions, all five report a clean machine.
>>
>> For the sake of argument, let's say your unspecified anti-* programs
>> are doing their job. That's a big assumption, so don't hesitate to
>> come back to it later, if other things don't pan out.
>
>Not sure it's a "big" assumption.

Sure it is. There's a lot of crap software out there being sold and
marketed to do things that they don't do well, but let's move on. I
can't force you to mention any names if you don't want to. :)

>>> I use a large hosts file which can cause a slowdown with XP so I
>>> disabled the DNS Client Service. No change.
>>>
>>> I changed the DNS Server Address to manual. No change.
>>
>> You seem to be focused on DNS here, so the obvious question is, in
>> what way do you think your "cable modem" is slowing down? My first
>> assumption was a slowdown in throughput, but you apparently mean
>> something else. Can you describe what you're seeing?
>
>My ISP has their own online speed test. As I surf the web, I notice it's
>taking longer and longer to connect to web pages, etc.. I run my ISP's
>speed test. The results are slow: Download Speed: 69 kbps, Upload Speed:
>17 kbps. Rebooting the modem didn't return the speed, but rebooting the
>modem and the computer did return the speed: Download Speed: 452 kbps,
>Upload Speed: 182 kbps.

Are those speeds normal for your unspecified ISP? The download seems
low by a factor of 10, (considering that this is a cable newsgroup),
so is it possible that you mean kilobytes rather than kilobits? On the
other hand, the upload speed only looks low by half. Confusing.

>I have since experimented and found I only need to reboot the computer.
>
>>> What is changing in relation to my cable modem when I reboot? Something
>>> in XP gets crapped up but it clears upon a reboot.
>
>I notice you didn't really address the above question.

The questions immediately following were intended to try to help
answer your question above.

>> Do you have a wireless network that someone else has joined? Do you
>> have a LAN with other active PC's? Do you run P2P software? Do you
>> monitor your PC's network activity? Do you monitor your PC's CPU and
>> RAM utilization? Do you have a router between your PC and the modem?
>
>No wireless network, no LAN with other active PC's, no P2P software and
>no router. When my cable modem connection slows down the rest of the
>computer runs at it's normal speed.

No router, so your PC is directly connected to the cable modem? In
that case, it seems likely that your PC is being compromised. You
never mentioned whether you're watching your network activity and your
CPU/RAM utilization, and I'll add a request to investigate the running
processes (via TaskManager) to see if anything strange shows up. Of
course, not everything shows up there, but it's a start. It would be
very interesting to see if there's a lot of network activity when your
PC is supposed to be idle.

Which web browser do you use? Do you have any browser toolbars or
extensions installed? Some of them try to intelligently pre-fetch
pages that they think you'll visit, so that can take up bandwidth that
you wouldn't know about unless you checked your network activity.

Just trying to think out loud here, since it's been difficult to get
meaningful details.

I suggest separating DNS issues from throughput issues as a means of
troubleshooting further. DNS is typically used to convert (resolve) a
domain name into an IP address, so that activity normally happens at
the very beginning of a request. Do you see a too-long delay while
your browser says it's trying to contact the site? On the other hand,
if the name resolution isn't the problem and you're concerned about
slow throughput, then forget DNS and look at what else is happening on
your PC that's taking up CPU time or network bandwidth. An easy test
is to temporarily swap in a different PC and see if it exhibits the
same symptoms.

If nothing else, I strongly recommend adding a router between your PC
and cable modem.

--
Bill

[JD]

Bill M. wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 11:37:30 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Bill M. wrote:
>>> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:34:09 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Bill M. wrote:
>>>>> On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:59:58 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting the
>>>>>> computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the patches.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in two
>>>>>> other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.
>>>>> I don't think it's a modem problem, either. More likely a simple case
>>>>> of spyware, trojans, etc. What are those unspecified fixes you
>>>>> referred to?
>>>>>
>>>> I run a variety of programs including anti-spyware, anti-trojan,
>>>> anti-virus and anti-malware. I don't run them all at the same time. All
>>>> updated with the latest definitions, all five report a clean machine.
>>> For the sake of argument, let's say your unspecified anti-* programs
>>> are doing their job. That's a big assumption, so don't hesitate to
>>> come back to it later, if other things don't pan out.
>> Not sure it's a "big" assumption.
>
> Sure it is. There's a lot of crap software out there being sold and
> marketed to do things that they don't do well, but let's move on. I
> can't force you to mention any names if you don't want to. :)

All the anti- software I use is Free and is respected and known to do
it's job.

You got an online scan or software you like?

>>>> I use a large hosts file which can cause a slowdown with XP so I
>>>> disabled the DNS Client Service. No change.
>>>>
>>>> I changed the DNS Server Address to manual. No change.
>>> You seem to be focused on DNS here, so the obvious question is, in
>>> what way do you think your "cable modem" is slowing down? My first
>>> assumption was a slowdown in throughput, but you apparently mean
>>> something else. Can you describe what you're seeing?
>> My ISP has their own online speed test. As I surf the web, I notice it's
>> taking longer and longer to connect to web pages, etc.. I run my ISP's
>> speed test. The results are slow: Download Speed: 69 kbps, Upload Speed:
>> 17 kbps. Rebooting the modem didn't return the speed, but rebooting the
>> modem and the computer did return the speed: Download Speed: 452 kbps,
>> Upload Speed: 182 kbps.
>
> Are those speeds normal for your unspecified ISP? The download seems
> low by a factor of 10, (considering that this is a cable newsgroup),
> so is it possible that you mean kilobytes rather than kilobits? On the
> other hand, the upload speed only looks low by half. Confusing.

I'm on basic high-speed which is supposed to be 384 kbps download and
128 kbps upload. When I'm connecting at my normal speed a little above
that.

>> I have since experimented and found I only need to reboot the computer.
>>
>>>> What is changing in relation to my cable modem when I reboot? Something
>>>> in XP gets crapped up but it clears upon a reboot.
>> I notice you didn't really address the above question.
>
> The questions immediately following were intended to try to help
> answer your question above.

You seem to be stuck on my PC being compromised when I don't think that
is the problem. I think I could tell because of the anti- softwares I
use and my browsing habits. Trust me, I practice safe hex!

>>> Do you have a wireless network that someone else has joined? Do you
>>> have a LAN with other active PC's? Do you run P2P software? Do you
>>> monitor your PC's network activity? Do you monitor your PC's CPU and
>>> RAM utilization? Do you have a router between your PC and the modem?
>> No wireless network, no LAN with other active PC's, no P2P software and
>> no router. When my cable modem connection slows down the rest of the
>> computer runs at it's normal speed.
>
> No router, so your PC is directly connected to the cable modem? In
> that case, it seems likely that your PC is being compromised. You
> never mentioned whether you're watching your network activity and your
> CPU/RAM utilization, and I'll add a request to investigate the running
> processes (via TaskManager) to see if anything strange shows up. Of
> course, not everything shows up there, but it's a start. It would be
> very interesting to see if there's a lot of network activity when your
> PC is supposed to be idle.

I run a firewall that doesn't let anything connect out or in unless I
allow it. I doubt my PC is compromised.

Taskmanager doesn't have anything strange running.

I will monitor my network activity, I started doing that about 45
minutes ago and there is not a lot of network activity when my PC is idle.

> Which web browser do you use? Do you have any browser toolbars or
> extensions installed? Some of them try to intelligently pre-fetch
> pages that they think you'll visit, so that can take up bandwidth that
> you wouldn't know about unless you checked your network activity.

I use SeaMonkey. I doubt something pre-fetching web pages is going to
kill my connection?

> Just trying to think out loud here, since it's been difficult to get
> meaningful details.

I've answered every question you have ask. What more can I do?

> I suggest separating DNS issues from throughput issues as a means of
> troubleshooting further. DNS is typically used to convert (resolve) a
> domain name into an IP address, so that activity normally happens at
> the very beginning of a request. Do you see a too-long delay while
> your browser says it's trying to contact the site? On the other hand,
> if the name resolution isn't the problem and you're concerned about
> slow throughput, then forget DNS and look at what else is happening on
> your PC that's taking up CPU time or network bandwidth. An easy test
> is to temporarily swap in a different PC and see if it exhibits the
> same symptoms.

That is the whole point. There appears to be nothing out of the ordinary
taking up CPU time or network bandwidth. When I lose my modem speed then
pages load slowly, name resolution is slow also.

> If nothing else, I strongly recommend adding a router between your PC
> and cable modem.
>

My firewall protects me. I'm not adding a router at this point.

Thanks for taking the time to try and help. You've given me some things
to look while I continue to study the problem.
--
JD..

[JD]

Snip It All..

If my computer was compromised, why would that drive my cable modem
speed down and what would rebooting the computer do to temporarily stop
the compromise?

--
JD..

[Bit Twister]

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 17:46:15 GMT, JD wrote:
> Snip It All..
>
> If my computer was compromised, why would that drive my cable modem
> speed down

It's running malware that is hunting other systems to compromise, smtp
server spamming, being used to crack banks, goverment systems,.....

> and what would rebooting the computer do to temporarily stop
> the compromise?

Stop it until Micro$not can get the program loaded into memory and go
back to doing it's dirty deed.

[Dana]

"JD" <JD@example.invalid> wrote in message
news:Y9BEi.78031$ax1.73870@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Bill M. wrote:
>> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 11:37:30 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> Bill M. wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:34:09 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Bill M. wrote:
>>>>>> On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:59:58 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting
>>>>>>> the computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the
>>>>>>> patches.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in
>>>>>>> two other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.
>>>>>> I don't think it's a modem problem, either. More likely a simple case
>>>>>> of spyware, trojans, etc. What are those unspecified fixes you
>>>>>> referred to?
>>>>>>
>>>>> I run a variety of programs including anti-spyware, anti-trojan,
>>>>> anti-virus and anti-malware. I don't run them all at the same time.
>>>>> All updated with the latest definitions, all five report a clean
>>>>> machine.
>>>> For the sake of argument, let's say your unspecified anti-* programs
>>>> are doing their job. That's a big assumption, so don't hesitate to
>>>> come back to it later, if other things don't pan out.
>>> Not sure it's a "big" assumption.
>>
>> Sure it is. There's a lot of crap software out there being sold and
>> marketed to do things that they don't do well, but let's move on. I
>> can't force you to mention any names if you don't want to. :)
>
> All the anti- software I use is Free and is respected and known to do it's
> job.

You get what you pay for.
>
> You got an online scan or software you like?


>
>>>>> I use a large hosts file which can cause a slowdown with XP so I
>>>>> disabled the DNS Client Service. No change.
>>>>>
>>>>> I changed the DNS Server Address to manual. No change.
>>>> You seem to be focused on DNS here, so the obvious question is, in
>>>> what way do you think your "cable modem" is slowing down? My first
>>>> assumption was a slowdown in throughput, but you apparently mean
>>>> something else. Can you describe what you're seeing?
>>> My ISP has their own online speed test. As I surf the web, I notice it's
>>> taking longer and longer to connect to web pages, etc.. I run my ISP's
>>> speed test. The results are slow: Download Speed: 69 kbps, Upload Speed:
>>> 17 kbps. Rebooting the modem didn't return the speed, but rebooting the
>>> modem and the computer did return the speed: Download Speed: 452 kbps,
>>> Upload Speed: 182 kbps.
>>
>> Are those speeds normal for your unspecified ISP? The download seems
>> low by a factor of 10, (considering that this is a cable newsgroup),
>> so is it possible that you mean kilobytes rather than kilobits? On the
>> other hand, the upload speed only looks low by half. Confusing.
>
> I'm on basic high-speed which is supposed to be 384 kbps download and 128
> kbps upload. When I'm connecting at my normal speed a little above that.
>
>>> I have since experimented and found I only need to reboot the computer.
>>>
>>>>> What is changing in relation to my cable modem when I reboot?
>>>>> Something in XP gets crapped up but it clears upon a reboot.
>>> I notice you didn't really address the above question.
>>
>> The questions immediately following were intended to try to help
>> answer your question above.
>
> You seem to be stuck on my PC being compromised when I don't think that is
> the problem.

All indications point to a computer issue. As you even stated that rebooting
the computer returns your performance.



> I think I could tell because of the anti- softwares I use and my browsing
> habits. Trust me, I practice safe hex!


>
>>>> Do you have a wireless network that someone else has joined? Do you
>>>> have a LAN with other active PC's? Do you run P2P software? Do you
>>>> monitor your PC's network activity? Do you monitor your PC's CPU and
>>>> RAM utilization? Do you have a router between your PC and the modem?
>>> No wireless network, no LAN with other active PC's, no P2P software and
>>> no router. When my cable modem connection slows down the rest of the
>>> computer runs at it's normal speed.
>>
>> No router, so your PC is directly connected to the cable modem? In
>> that case, it seems likely that your PC is being compromised. You
>> never mentioned whether you're watching your network activity and your
>> CPU/RAM utilization, and I'll add a request to investigate the running
>> processes (via TaskManager) to see if anything strange shows up. Of
>> course, not everything shows up there, but it's a start. It would be
>> very interesting to see if there's a lot of network activity when your
>> PC is supposed to be idle.
>
> I run a firewall that doesn't let anything connect out or in unless I
> allow it. I doubt my PC is compromised.

Running a firewall does not mean you cannot be comprimised
>
> Taskmanager doesn't have anything strange running.
>
> I will monitor my network activity, I started doing that about 45 minutes
> ago and there is not a lot of network activity when my PC is idle.
>
>> Which web browser do you use? Do you have any browser toolbars or
>> extensions installed? Some of them try to intelligently pre-fetch
>> pages that they think you'll visit, so that can take up bandwidth that
>> you wouldn't know about unless you checked your network activity.
>
> I use SeaMonkey. I doubt something pre-fetching web pages is going to kill
> my connection?
>
>> Just trying to think out loud here, since it's been difficult to get
>> meaningful details.
>
> I've answered every question you have ask. What more can I do?

Well that depends. He is trying to assist, yet you seem to get very
defensive about your computer, when it is implied that it is a computer
issue.
>
>> I suggest separating DNS issues from throughput issues as a means of
>> troubleshooting further. DNS is typically used to convert (resolve) a
>> domain name into an IP address, so that activity normally happens at
>> the very beginning of a request. Do you see a too-long delay while
>> your browser says it's trying to contact the site? On the other hand,
>> if the name resolution isn't the problem and you're concerned about
>> slow throughput, then forget DNS and look at what else is happening on
>> your PC that's taking up CPU time or network bandwidth. An easy test
>> is to temporarily swap in a different PC and see if it exhibits the
>> same symptoms.
>
> That is the whole point. There appears to be nothing out of the ordinary
> taking up CPU time or network bandwidth. When I lose my modem speed then
> pages load slowly, name resolution is slow also.


>
>> If nothing else, I strongly recommend adding a router between your PC
>> and cable modem.
>>
>
> My firewall protects me. I'm not adding a router at this point.
>
> Thanks for taking the time to try and help. You've given me some things to
> look while I continue to study the problem.
> --
> JD..

[Dana]

"JD" <JD@example.invalid> wrote in message
news:HdBEi.78040$ax1.3806@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Snip It All..
>
> If my computer was compromised, why would that drive my cable modem speed
> down and what would rebooting the computer do to temporarily stop the
> compromise?

Why do you think it is your cable modem, when you state you can reboot your
computer, the problem goes away.
>
> --
> JD..

[JD]

Bit Twister wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 17:46:15 GMT, JD wrote:
>> Snip It All..
>>
>> If my computer was compromised, why would that drive my cable modem
>> speed down
>
> It's running malware that is hunting other systems to compromise, smtp
> server spamming, being used to crack banks, goverment systems,.....
>
>> and what would rebooting the computer do to temporarily stop
>> the compromise?
>
> Stop it until Micro$not can get the program loaded into memory and go
> back to doing it's dirty deed.

And that's going to take how long? I guess I should have stated in the
original post that the speed loss can happen in two days or 14 days.
Doesn't sound like my computer is compromised.

Also, don't you think that four different programs designed to find
malware, spyware, trojans, and/or viruses would find the compromise?

--
JD..

[JD]

Dana wrote:
> "JD" <JD@example.invalid> wrote in message
> news:HdBEi.78040$ax1.3806@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> Snip It All..
>>
>> If my computer was compromised, why would that drive my cable modem speed
>> down and what would rebooting the computer do to temporarily stop the
>> compromise?
>
> Why do you think it is your cable modem, when you state you can reboot your
> computer, the problem goes away.
>> --
>> JD..
>
>
Something is slowing my cable modem connection. I'm just exploring the
different possibilities. You're not really answering my question, are
you? I'm here for help.

--
JD..

[JD]

Dana wrote:
> "JD" <JD@example.invalid> wrote in message
> news:Y9BEi.78031$ax1.73870@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> Bill M. wrote:
>>> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 11:37:30 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Bill M. wrote:
>>>>> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:34:09 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Bill M. wrote:
>>>>>>> On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:59:58 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting
>>>>>>>> the computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the
>>>>>>>> patches.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in
>>>>>>>> two other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.
>>>>>>> I don't think it's a modem problem, either. More likely a simple case
>>>>>>> of spyware, trojans, etc. What are those unspecified fixes you
>>>>>>> referred to?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> I run a variety of programs including anti-spyware, anti-trojan,
>>>>>> anti-virus and anti-malware. I don't run them all at the same time.
>>>>>> All updated with the latest definitions, all five report a clean
>>>>>> machine.
>>>>> For the sake of argument, let's say your unspecified anti-* programs
>>>>> are doing their job. That's a big assumption, so don't hesitate to
>>>>> come back to it later, if other things don't pan out.
>>>> Not sure it's a "big" assumption.
>>> Sure it is. There's a lot of crap software out there being sold and
>>> marketed to do things that they don't do well, but let's move on. I
>>> can't force you to mention any names if you don't want to. :)
>> All the anti- software I use is Free and is respected and known to do it's
>> job.
>
> You get what you pay for.

Good come back! McAfee and Norton you can pay for. I don't use those.
Avast Anti-virus is free for home use and it works. a-squared is free
and it works. You don't have to pay for something to be good and to do
it's job.

>> You got an online scan or software you like?
>
>
>>>>>> I use a large hosts file which can cause a slowdown with XP so I
>>>>>> disabled the DNS Client Service. No change.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I changed the DNS Server Address to manual. No change.
>>>>> You seem to be focused on DNS here, so the obvious question is, in
>>>>> what way do you think your "cable modem" is slowing down? My first
>>>>> assumption was a slowdown in throughput, but you apparently mean
>>>>> something else. Can you describe what you're seeing?
>>>> My ISP has their own online speed test. As I surf the web, I notice it's
>>>> taking longer and longer to connect to web pages, etc.. I run my ISP's
>>>> speed test. The results are slow: Download Speed: 69 kbps, Upload Speed:
>>>> 17 kbps. Rebooting the modem didn't return the speed, but rebooting the
>>>> modem and the computer did return the speed: Download Speed: 452 kbps,
>>>> Upload Speed: 182 kbps.
>>> Are those speeds normal for your unspecified ISP? The download seems
>>> low by a factor of 10, (considering that this is a cable newsgroup),
>>> so is it possible that you mean kilobytes rather than kilobits? On the
>>> other hand, the upload speed only looks low by half. Confusing.
>> I'm on basic high-speed which is supposed to be 384 kbps download and 128
>> kbps upload. When I'm connecting at my normal speed a little above that.
>>
>>>> I have since experimented and found I only need to reboot the computer.
>>>>
>>>>>> What is changing in relation to my cable modem when I reboot?
>>>>>> Something in XP gets crapped up but it clears upon a reboot.
>>>> I notice you didn't really address the above question.
>>> The questions immediately following were intended to try to help
>>> answer your question above.
>> You seem to be stuck on my PC being compromised when I don't think that is
>> the problem.
>
> All indications point to a computer issue. As you even stated that rebooting
> the computer returns your performance.

Another good come back!If the computer is not compromised, then what is
rebooting doing to bring my modem speed back?

>
>> I think I could tell because of the anti- softwares I use and my browsing
>> habits. Trust me, I practice safe hex!
>
>
>>>>> Do you have a wireless network that someone else has joined? Do you
>>>>> have a LAN with other active PC's? Do you run P2P software? Do you
>>>>> monitor your PC's network activity? Do you monitor your PC's CPU and
>>>>> RAM utilization? Do you have a router between your PC and the modem?
>>>> No wireless network, no LAN with other active PC's, no P2P software and
>>>> no router. When my cable modem connection slows down the rest of the
>>>> computer runs at it's normal speed.
>>> No router, so your PC is directly connected to the cable modem? In
>>> that case, it seems likely that your PC is being compromised. You
>>> never mentioned whether you're watching your network activity and your
>>> CPU/RAM utilization, and I'll add a request to investigate the running
>>> processes (via TaskManager) to see if anything strange shows up. Of
>>> course, not everything shows up there, but it's a start. It would be
>>> very interesting to see if there's a lot of network activity when your
>>> PC is supposed to be idle.
>> I run a firewall that doesn't let anything connect out or in unless I
>> allow it. I doubt my PC is compromised.
>
> Running a firewall does not mean you cannot be comprimised
>> Taskmanager doesn't have anything strange running.
>>
>> I will monitor my network activity, I started doing that about 45 minutes
>> ago and there is not a lot of network activity when my PC is idle.
>>
>>> Which web browser do you use? Do you have any browser toolbars or
>>> extensions installed? Some of them try to intelligently pre-fetch
>>> pages that they think you'll visit, so that can take up bandwidth that
>>> you wouldn't know about unless you checked your network activity.
>> I use SeaMonkey. I doubt something pre-fetching web pages is going to kill
>> my connection?
>>
>>> Just trying to think out loud here, since it's been difficult to get
>>> meaningful details.
>> I've answered every question you have ask. What more can I do?
>
> Well that depends. He is trying to assist, yet you seem to get very
> defensive about your computer, when it is implied that it is a computer
> issue.
>>> I suggest separating DNS issues from throughput issues as a means of
>>> troubleshooting further. DNS is typically used to convert (resolve) a
>>> domain name into an IP address, so that activity normally happens at
>>> the very beginning of a request. Do you see a too-long delay while
>>> your browser says it's trying to contact the site? On the other hand,
>>> if the name resolution isn't the problem and you're concerned about
>>> slow throughput, then forget DNS and look at what else is happening on
>>> your PC that's taking up CPU time or network bandwidth. An easy test
>>> is to temporarily swap in a different PC and see if it exhibits the
>>> same symptoms.
>> That is the whole point. There appears to be nothing out of the ordinary
>> taking up CPU time or network bandwidth. When I lose my modem speed then
>> pages load slowly, name resolution is slow also.
>
>
>>> If nothing else, I strongly recommend adding a router between your PC
>>> and cable modem.
>>>
>> My firewall protects me. I'm not adding a router at this point.
>>
>> Thanks for taking the time to try and help. You've given me some things to
>> look while I continue to study the problem.
>> --
>> JD..
>
>


--
JD..

[Bill M.]

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:31:24 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:

>Bit Twister wrote:
>> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 17:46:15 GMT, JD wrote:
>>> Snip It All..
>>>
>>> If my computer was compromised, why would that drive my cable modem
>>> speed down
>>
>> It's running malware that is hunting other systems to compromise, smtp
>> server spamming, being used to crack banks, goverment systems,.....
>>
>>> and what would rebooting the computer do to temporarily stop
>>> the compromise?
>>
>> Stop it until Micro$not can get the program loaded into memory and go
>> back to doing it's dirty deed.
>
>And that's going to take how long? I guess I should have stated in the
>original post that the speed loss can happen in two days or 14 days.
>Doesn't sound like my computer is compromised.

So far, I haven't seen any compelling evidence to indicate that it's
not, so I would keep that possibility open.

>Also, don't you think that four different programs designed to find
>malware, spyware, trojans, and/or viruses would find the compromise?

Not necessarily, especially since your PC is basically unprotected as
a result of being connected directly to the modem.

--
Bill

[Bill M.]

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:33:41 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:

>Dana wrote:
>> "JD" <JD@example.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:HdBEi.78040$ax1.3806@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>> Snip It All..
>>>
>>> If my computer was compromised, why would that drive my cable modem speed
>>> down and what would rebooting the computer do to temporarily stop the
>>> compromise?
>>
>> Why do you think it is your cable modem, when you state you can reboot your
>> computer, the problem goes away.
>>> --
>>> JD..
>>
>>
>Something is slowing my cable modem connection.

No, something is slowing your network connection to the Internet. The
cable modem is just one element in the chain, and is one of the least
likely elements to be causing a slowdown. A cable modem is basically a
bridge, so in the vast majority of cases, it either works or it
doesn't.

In all likelihood, the problem is your PC.

--
Bill

[Bit Twister]

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:31:24 GMT, JD wrote:

> And that's going to take how long? I guess I should have stated in the
> original post that the speed loss can happen in two days or 14 days.
> Doesn't sound like my computer is compromised.

Why not. Crackers are creating dns entries with a short life time to
servers of their malware. Your system may be part of that network and
it takes awhile for the bot master to get back to using your system.


> Also, don't you think that four different programs designed to find
> malware, spyware, trojans, and/or viruses would find the compromise?

Check for yourself http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2135092,00.asp
So what if your AV misses 1% of 600,000


NOTE: Following urls pulled from stuff I read 2006/2007.
No idea if they are still valid or not.

When was the last time you booted in the safe mode to do a
Antivirus can of your system.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2136282,00.asp


I check http://isc.sans.org/diary.html everyday and several times I
see them talk about some new piece of malware and sometimes they say
something like only 2 or 3, or 4 or 6 out of 32 AV vendor products
were able to detect it as of this writing. :(

Some AV product is just another AV product repackaged under another name.
All AV products have to catch a copy of the malware, figure out how to
find it, test it, deploy to server and you get the download installed.
Thats about an 18 hour turnaround to get you protected.

Saw an article where the malware was constantly being morphed to foil
the scaners and infected websites had malware watching the ip
connecting to it. If it was a known AV hunting site, regular content
was served up. If ip was not in the database, it would try and push
out malware. That means AV vendors have a harder time getting it for
their product to detect it.

Saw an article where a couple was selling some malware for a year before the
AV crowd received a copy to look at.

Some malware goes after the AV software on the system and makes it
skip reporting it. Malware count crossed 600,000 quite awhile back.
Some AV vendors are dropping signatures for old malware to keep
performance up on their product. :(

You say you play safe hex on the internet and try to stay on safe
sites. Here http://sla.ckers.org/forum/read.php?3,44, click Last and
work backwards to see the kinds of sites with known exploits.

Bank of India was cracked not long ago and was serving up malware.
Pfizer had been cracked for 6 months.

Check out http://research.eeye.com/html/alerts/zeroday/index.html for
software with known exploits.

Some other links to give you a warm feeling about AV software.

http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?date=2006-06-06&isc=8569abaed05ac39b12e7de2e7865e3a0
http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=1334
http://www.it-observer.com/articles/1135/state_spyware/
http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=1335
http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=23011
http://theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33061
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/15/targeted_trojan_attacks_on_the_rise/
http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_05.php
http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_02.php
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=475

My solution, quit using Micro$not and run linux.

[Bill M.]

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 17:42:16 GMT, JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote:

>I'm on basic high-speed which is supposed to be 384 kbps download and
>128 kbps upload. When I'm connecting at my normal speed a little above
>that.

Do you have any idea who your ISP is? I don't think it's their
problem, but I'm curious who it is because I've never heard of such
low speeds being offered by a cable ISP.

Is it possible that they throttle you after a certain amount of
activity?

>You seem to be stuck on my PC being compromised when I don't think that
>is the problem.

Well, the indicators point to your PC. That's all any of us can go by.

>I think I could tell because of the anti- softwares I
>use and my browsing habits. Trust me, I practice safe hex!

Nothing personal, but we have no reason to trust that you perform safe
hex. After all, you have a problem you're trying to fix, so apparently
the condom broke, if you know what I mean.

>I run a firewall that doesn't let anything connect out or in unless I
>allow it. I doubt my PC is compromised.

Firewalls are notorious for bugging their owners to the point where
the owner allows something that they shouldn't have allowed, or they
allow something that later gets hijacked by malware. A router makes a
better firewall than a firewall does.

>I will monitor my network activity, I started doing that about 45
>minutes ago and there is not a lot of network activity when my PC is idle.

You said the slowness takes awhile to show up, so be patient and keep
monitoring.

>I use SeaMonkey. I doubt something pre-fetching web pages is going to
>kill my connection?

It could, especially since your connection is throttled down so low to
begin with. You're not that far above dial-up speed, so any extra
network activity might be enough to be noticeable.

>That is the whole point. There appears to be nothing out of the ordinary
>taking up CPU time or network bandwidth. When I lose my modem speed then
>pages load slowly, name resolution is slow also.

You keep saying you're losing your "modem speed". I know what you
mean, but it sounds funny because the problem likely has nothing to do
with your modem.

>> If nothing else, I strongly recommend adding a router between your PC
>> and cable modem.
>
>My firewall protects me. I'm not adding a router at this point.

Your firewall is on the same PC you're trying to protect. There isn't
a whole lot of protection there.

>Thanks for taking the time to try and help. You've given me some things
>to look while I continue to study the problem.

You're welcome.

--
Bill

[Dana]

"JD" <JD@example.invalid> wrote in message
news:MJDEi.510925$p47.329850@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

>>>>>>> Something in XP gets crapped up but it clears upon a reboot.
>>>>> I notice you didn't really address the above question.
>>>> The questions immediately following were intended to try to help
>>>> answer your question above.
>>> You seem to be stuck on my PC being compromised when I don't think that
>>> is the problem.
>>
>> All indications point to a computer issue. As you even stated that
>> rebooting the computer returns your performance.
>
> Another good come back!If the computer is not compromised, then what is
> rebooting doing to bring my modem speed back?

It has not been proven that your computer has not been compromised, or
infected by a virus or a trojan. As you have stated, rebooting the computer
cures the slowdown for a period of time. That proves it is not your modem.
It could be an application on your computer has a memory leak. Or maybe as
another person noted, you may be getting throttled by your ISP.
>>>> Just trying to think out loud here, since it's been difficult to get
>>>> meaningful details.
>>> I've answered every question you have ask. What more can I do?
>>
>> Well that depends. He is trying to assist, yet you seem to get very
>> defensive about your computer, when it is implied that it is a computer

[JD]

Dana wrote:
snip
>
> It has not been proven that your computer has not been compromised, or
> infected by a virus or a trojan. As you have stated, rebooting the computer
> cures the slowdown for a period of time. That proves it is not your modem.
> It could be an application on your computer has a memory leak. Or maybe as
> another person noted, you may be getting throttled by your ISP.
Snip
>
>

It has not been proven that I am compromised. Since it appears to not be
a cable modem problem then this discussion can end now.

Thank you for taking the time to reply and try to help!

--
JD..

[JD]

Bit Twister wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:31:24 GMT, JD wrote:
>
>> And that's going to take how long? I guess I should have stated in the
>> original post that the speed loss can happen in two days or 14 days.
>> Doesn't sound like my computer is compromised.
>
> Why not. Crackers are creating dns entries with a short life time to
> servers of their malware. Your system may be part of that network and
> it takes awhile for the bot master to get back to using your system.
>
>
>> Also, don't you think that four different programs designed to find
>> malware, spyware, trojans, and/or viruses would find the compromise?
>
> Check for yourself http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2135092,00.asp
> So what if your AV misses 1% of 600,000
>
>
> NOTE: Following urls pulled from stuff I read 2006/2007.
> No idea if they are still valid or not.
>
> When was the last time you booted in the safe mode to do a
> Antivirus can of your system.
>
> http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2136282,00.asp
>
>
> I check http://isc.sans.org/diary.html everyday and several times I
> see them talk about some new piece of malware and sometimes they say
> something like only 2 or 3, or 4 or 6 out of 32 AV vendor products
> were able to detect it as of this writing. :(
>
> Some AV product is just another AV product repackaged under another name.
> All AV products have to catch a copy of the malware, figure out how to
> find it, test it, deploy to server and you get the download installed.
> Thats about an 18 hour turnaround to get you protected.
>
> Saw an article where the malware was constantly being morphed to foil
> the scaners and infected websites had malware watching the ip
> connecting to it. If it was a known AV hunting site, regular content
> was served up. If ip was not in the database, it would try and push
> out malware. That means AV vendors have a harder time getting it for
> their product to detect it.
>
> Saw an article where a couple was selling some malware for a year before the
> AV crowd received a copy to look at.
>
> Some malware goes after the AV software on the system and makes it
> skip reporting it. Malware count crossed 600,000 quite awhile back.
> Some AV vendors are dropping signatures for old malware to keep
> performance up on their product. :(
>
> You say you play safe hex on the internet and try to stay on safe
> sites. Here http://sla.ckers.org/forum/read.php?3,44, click Last and
> work backwards to see the kinds of sites with known exploits.
>
> Bank of India was cracked not long ago and was serving up malware.
> Pfizer had been cracked for 6 months.
>
> Check out http://research.eeye.com/html/alerts/zeroday/index.html for
> software with known exploits.
>
> Some other links to give you a warm feeling about AV software.
>
> http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?date=2006-06-06&isc=8569abaed05ac39b12e7de2e7865e3a0
> http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=1334
> http://www.it-observer.com/articles/1135/state_spyware/
> http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=1335
> http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=23011
> http://theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33061
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/15/targeted_trojan_attacks_on_the_rise/
> http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_05.php
> http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_02.php
> http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=475
>
> My solution, quit using Micro$not and run linux.
>

Finally, we got to your "solution". Thank you. It appears we are way off
topic for a cable modem newsgroup so this discussion ends here.

--
JD..

[JD]

Bill M. wrote:

> Do you have any idea who your ISP is?

Now you're insulting me. I don't know who my ISP is? That's right, it
was connected in the middle of the night while I slept by the modem
fairy. We're way off topic for a cable modem newsgroup. This discussion
ends here.

--
JD..

[Boris]

JD <JD@example.invalid> wrote in news:OJkEi.505704$p47.35283@bgtnsc04-
news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

> My cable modem slows down to a crawl and I have found that rebooting the
> computer fixes the problem. Windows XP he SP2 with all the patches.
>
> I don't believe it's a modem problem but I've tried all the fixes in two
> other newsgroups so I thought I'd post in this newsgroup.

Hi,

Do you have anyother pcs that you can hook up to the modem to test if it is
the pc?

[$Bill]

JD wrote:
>
> I'm on basic high-speed which is supposed to be 384 kbps download and
> 128 kbps upload. When I'm connecting at my normal speed a little above
> that.

That implies 384 kilobits per second.
Are you sure it's not KBps - kilo*BYTES* per second ?
Mine is throttled to 6144/512 Kbps which is 16x/3x yours.
Your's sounds more like a low rate DSL speed rather than cable.

> My firewall protects me. I'm not adding a router at this point.
>
> Thanks for taking the time to try and help. You've given me some things
> to look while I continue to study the problem.

A router protects you a lot more than a software firewall and can
be had wireless for like $40-60 (Netgear/Linksys) on sale these days.

Let the router take the hit on all that incoming crap that's trying
to access your PC and your firewall can handle mostly the outgoing
situations (malware, etc) and not have to be bothered with most
incoming attempts.

Have you looked into how much memory you are using when this starts
slowing down ? Is most of your memory exhausted when it fails ?
You may want to look at the size of your pagefile too.