I’m having a weird problem which MAY involve Avast - or not.
For several weeks now, I have been unable to go to wxw.anncoulter.com. I used to go periodically and read a few of her essays but whenever I try now, I get “can’t find the server wxw.anncoulter.com”. This doesn’t appear to be related to the browser since it happens in Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer (current or close-to-current versions of each). I use Firefox almost exclusively and haven’t customized the others at all so I’m sure I haven’t blocked myself from that site. I can access any other site without difficulty. I had a friend try going to the site on his computer and he gets there just fine so I know the site isn’t down.
Is there any chance that Avast is blocking me somehow? Could I have inadvertently blocked that site from myself in Avast? I have poked around but can’t see any list of blocked sites in Avast. I’m using Avast Free Antivirus. My definitions and program are already up-to-date at Version 7.0.1466. I’m running on Windows XP SP3.
If Avast is a possible cause of this problem, can anyone tell me how to unblock that site? If Avast is NOT a possible cause of the problem, can anyone suggest what else the problem might be?
Milos, do you have a suggestion for me? I’m not sure what “wget” is. Is it a C function? What is the significance of it working?
Para-Noid, I ran an Avast Quick Scan with no threat detected. I’m running a full scan overnight. I’ll report in the morning on what it turns up. I downloaded MalwareBytes several months back for another problem and used up my one free MalwareBytes scan. I can’t afford to buy it.
I checked my router as well and don’t see anywhere that I am blocking a specific website. All other sites I try come up fine.
Para-Noid, I ran the full Avast scan overnight and it found no threats.
CraigB, thanks for correcting my understanding of MalwareBytes. I had been under the impression that I could only do one free scan before being forced to buy it. I’ve updated it now and am running the quick scan as I type this. I’ll report back when it’s finished.
I ran the MalwareBytes quick scan and it detected two problems, which I removed. (I can’t find the log file with the names now that I’ve rebooted, otherwise I’d state their names here.) In any case, I still can’t reach the anncoulter.com site since rebooting after removing those two threats.
Any other ideas on why I can’t reach the site? Do I need to do a full scan in MalwareBytes in case the problem is deeper in the system?
Open MBAM and click the Logs Tab, select the relevant scan log and open it (copy and paste the contents) or use the displayed path in the Logs tab for the scan log and copy/attach the .txt file.
Good point, David. For some reason, I didn’t think of simply relaunching the program and looking for the logs that way. Here’s the contents of the log: