Program can't access Internet, what could be wrong?

One of the users of my program can't get it to connect to the Internet at all, it's as if he wasn't even connected, but I noticed one part of the program where a form is filled out and sent to an ASP page on my server that takes the data and emails it to me does work (I get the data he entered by email), but even though I get it he gets a "connection timed out" error.

He only has the SP2 firewall and tried to disable it and it still didnt work (it works on my PC with the SP@ firewall on and my program isn't in the "safe list", it only uses the http and https ports), he does have a hardware router which I was sure was the problem but when I told him to try and bypass it he said it still couldn't connect to the Internet.

Any idea what could cause this? Out of nearly 1000 users he is the only with this issue. I don't know where to look anymore.

Thanks

Is there any kind of "Net Nanny" software on their system, or anything else that sets up a proxy server that internet access has to go through?

Of course, you've already checked his settings in Zone Alarm or whatever else he might be running.

Is he able to connect to the internet otherwise?

Who is his ISP? I've had problems with one ISP around here not connecting properly to some things... they won't help me or tell me anything... I think they're running it through some proxy or something like that... If it's a local company have him call them see if they know anything.

I've tested the program with many firewalls and only the [extremely buggy] Norton firewall causes problems. The user says he is not using a firewall, he does have a router but bypassed it and had the same result.

I didnt ask about Net Nanny type programs specifically, I will ask them.

I dont know what ISP they use either, I'll ask this also, but why/how could an ISP block only a specific program (it only uses http and https ports (8080 and 443 I believe)).

Thanks

Is this guy going through some proxy with his ISP ? That might well cause this .. I'd check he can actually hit SSL sites - have a looksee here Test Automation for ASP.NET Web Apps with SSL & see if that helps you to test it yourself fully ?

I made him check his IE settings and there is no proxy server set, and his IE works. This is really weird, he also said that it seems to connect but extremely slowly (5-10 minutes to load a simple webpage on high speed cable internet).

Ill have a look at that test later on.

Thanks

I've seen very similar problems, it turned out to be a DNS issue. The router would get DNS servers dynamically and then pass it on to the PC. Problem was for some reason, the DNS servers would resolve every site that I could find, except for their own home site. Once I changed the DNS servers everthing worked correctly.

check his network traffic... see if it's going constantly... maybe that's causing a slowdown...

He can access the same domain the program attempts to access in IE.

What else could it be?

Format and reload? :)

I emailed msn when my IE would not work. This was their reply which worked.


Thank you for writing us back at MSN Internet Access Technical Support.

This is Cathy and I will be handling your service request. Based on your e-mail, I gather that you are unable to access the link provided within the welcome e-mail message. I certainly realize the inconvenience this issue has caused you. Rest assured that I would be more than willing to help you with this concern.

, to resolve this issue, I suggest that you optinize your Internet Explorer. It is possible that the Temporary Internet Files folder has been maximized that your machine can no longer accept and store cookies from certain websites. To make space for new Internet cookies, it is best that you clear Internet cache. Cache is a Temporary Internet Files folder that contains previously viewed Web pages and files, including graphics. When a large number of these files have accumulated over time, it can affect your browser's performance. To address this, we suggest you optimize Internet Explorer to refresh its settings.

Here's how to do this:

1. Open Internet Explorer by doing one of the following:

- Click on the blue 'e' icon on your desktop.
- Click 'Start', choose 'Run' and then type in the box 'iexplore' (without apostrophes).
- Click 'Start', choose 'All Programs, and then click on 'Internet Explorer'.

2. Click on ‘Tools’, and then ‘Internet Options'.
3. Under the 'General tab', click 'Delete Cookies' in the Temporary Internet Files section.
4. When asked to confirm, click 'OK'.
5. Click 'Delete Files'.
6. Select the ‘Delete all offline content' check box, and then click 'OK'.
7. Click 'Clear History' button. When asked to confirm, click 'OK'.
8. Click 'Settings' button.
9. Under ‘Check for newer versions of stored pages’, select ‘Every visit to the page’.
10. Adjust the amount of disk space to use to at least ‘300 MB’, or 20 percent of your total hard drive size.
11. Click 'OK' to close the Settings dialog box.
12. Click the 'Security' tab.
13. Click the 'Internet' icon. Click the 'Default Level' button if available, and then click 'Apply'.
14. Click on the ‘Custom Level’ button.
15. On the ‘Security Settings’ dialog box:

a. Under ‘ActiveX Controls and plug-ins’, select ‘Enable’ except for ‘Download unsigned ActiveX controls’. For this selection, choose ‘Prompt’.
b. Under Active scripting, check Enable for ‘Allow paste operations via script’, and ‘Scripting of Java applets’. Click ‘OK’

16. Click the 'Privacy' tab.
17. Click the ‘Advanced’ button.
18. Mark the checkbox beside ‘Override Automatic Cookie Handling’.
19. Click the ‘Content’ tab.
20. Click ‘AutoComplete’, under Clear AutoComplete History, click ’Clear Forms’ and ‘Clear Passwords’ buttons.
21. Click 'OK' to close the AutoComplete Settings window.
22. Click the 'Connections' tab. For each item listed under 'Dial-up and Virtual Private Network settings', do the following:

NOTE: If you are using a DSL connection proceed to step #23

a. Select the item (connection), and then click 'Settings'.
b. Clear all of the checkboxes, and then click 'OK'.

23. Click 'LAN Settings'. Clear all of the checkboxes, and then click 'OK'.
24. Click the 'Advanced' tab. Click 'Restore Default' button.
25. Click ‘Apply’ then 'OK'.

Unfortunately the problem I had could not be fixed with that solution as those were the very first things I tried.