port 80 & 110 problem (started after incorrect power down, may be

Hi - after incorrectly powering down (accidentally switched off at the switch when pc was on but screen in power save) I have been experiencing several problems - see list below…

System specs:
Windows XP Home Service Pack 3, Avast home 4.8.1335 (VPS 090714-0 14/07/2009), Sygate Personal firewall 5.6, Windows firewall turned off, external broadband modem, IE8 & Firefox 3.0.11, Outlook Express (POP mail via yahoo)

My PCPitStop link is here:
http://pcpitstop.com/betapit/sec.asp?conid=22399269

Symptoms & work-around where found:
1. chkdsk ran at every boot -> ran chkdsk /f /r and this ceased
2. could send outgoing but couldn't receive pop mail using OE, with or without firewall(s) / avast running -> changed port to 995 from 110
3. couldn't get to any http websites using Firefox or Explorer but could access https - can only access http sites by pausing avast webshield ->haven't been able to find a work-around, see list of things I've tried below*
4. lastly, when I boot in safe mode, it hangs at a347bus.sys - after a bit of googling, it seemed Alcohol 120 might be to blame so I uninstalled Alcohol - however it still hangs at this file; not sure if this is related to my other problems or just another can of worms

*Things I have tried:
- turning sygate off (realise this is outdated, will get something newer soon)
- uninstalling & reinstalling sygate, with windows firewall on and off
- uninstalling sygate and leaving it off, with windows firewall on and off
- uninstalling & reinstalling avast, with and without sygate, with and without windows firewall
- run AVG8 32bit remover (I had it until about a year ago)
- run multiple thorough scans with spybot, ad-aware, avast, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, SUPERAntiSpyware Professional and nothing special has shown
- run some registry cleaners
- probably some other things that I've since forgotten I've tried
- after much googling of port 80 problems, found this:
http://beer234.blogspot.com/2008/10/port-8…windows-xp.html
My value in 'start' was 4 and after resetting to 3, everything worked…for about 3 days…and then I encountered the same problem only this time the fix didn't work (value kept getting reset to 4).

So, in summary (apols for the mega-post):
> re: browsing, can still only access http sites when avast webshield turned off (with or without out any firewall active)
> re: pop mail download, can only access using port 995 - even when avast paused / terminated (ditto)

I have been able to access http sites in safe mode w networking. I can also ping common websites (google etc) without packet loss.

I may have missed the solution in other threads so happy to be redirected - otherwise, any advice would be greatly appreciated: thanks in advance….

ps. given that I can only access these sites when avast webshield is turned off, I figured it might be something to do with avast so also posted here (probably isn't avast tho?):
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=46816.0

pps. oops, subject line too long - meant to say: "…after incorrect power down, may be coincidence?)"

couldn't get to any http websites using Firefox or Explorer but could access https

You sure its not the other way? can access http but not https?

Hi - nope, can get to (e.g.) my online banking sites but not to google / news / other http sites - hangs w blank screen - only way I can load http sites is by turning avast webshield off…

Looks like you already know it must be the Avast web shield.
See if any of this helps

from there website:

Starting from the version 4.6. avast! comes with a new on-access scanning provider - Web Shield.
It is able to monitor and filter all HTTP traffic coming from the Web sites on the Internet. It’s implemented as a HTTP proxy running on your PC.
Connections from your Web browser are redirected to the Web Shield module. Web Shield in turn connects to the requested web server and while downloading the content it scans it for viruses and Trojans. Only the clean data is delivered to the browser, every malware is stopped before it gets saved on your PC.

yeah, for the port 80 problem, it seems to be avast-related - thanks, have tried the relevant FAQs but no luck: I seem to have stumped the helpers on the avast forum too… (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=46816.15) is there anything else I can try (other than formatting & starting from scratch)? alternatively, how "bad" is it to have webshield turned off?? as for the port 110 problem, it doesn't appear to be avast-related as it persists when avast is off or uninstalled is there any application that can test what's going on with these ports? thanks

how "bad" is it to have webshield turned off??

If you practice half way decent 'safe hex' i dont see any reason why Avast webshield cant stay off.

test what's going on with these ports

You cant test a port, a port is only in use or open when there is a service or application bound to it, in this case when you start your e-mail client. you can send e-mails, just not receive them.
Your sure you are using the correct POP3 incoming mail server in your client set up? any errors when you check mail

cool, good to know about webshield - wasn't sure how paranoid I should be

the OE error is pasted at the bottom of this post - yep, I've checked the server settings and have been through the troubleshooting list on http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813514 - none of these worked (e.g. adding a new mail profile etc) - probably the best thing would be to reinstall OE but I got lost trying to find a way to do this (e.g. windows update didn't give me the option of downloading the whole of XP service pack 3 so I could start over, as recommended);

currently I've got around the problem by using port 995; I've been told that avast doesn't scan port 995 - if true, presume using 995 is more dangerous infection-wise than leaving webshield off is for surfing? might try installing thunderbird or something similar and seeing how I go

ps. the more I go into this, the more I'm resigned to eventually backing up, formatting and starting fresh!

——–
OE error:
Your server has unexpectedly terminated the connection. Possible causes for this include server problems, network problems, or a long period of inactivity. Account: 'pop.mail.yahoo.co.uk', Server: 'pop.mail.yahoo.co.uk', Protocol: POP3, Port: 110, Secure(SSL): No, Error Number: 0x800CCC0F

I dont think its possible to remove OE as it is bundled/buried in the OS, could be wrong though. I was actually going to suggest a different email client, may as well try it at this point. Your AV is looking for e-mail on port 110 so yes your incoming e-mail will not be scanned by AVAST. Just dont execute any links, attachments etc. in any e-mail you receive. Of course a reformat/reinstall should solve the problem. Think long on what you need to pull off and save. Once you format c: it will be gone.

Hi Yahsas, I hope shelf life will forgive me for dropping in on this thread,. As you are using a yahoo.co.uk mail account. and I set up a lot of yahoo.co.uk accounts for my customers in the UK who want to access their account via a POP3 client, there may be some common ground between us. I hope so, but as I am in the UK and judging from your time zone compared with mine you must be somewhere around longitude 145(E) and coupled with your IP address (not a million miles from Melbourne Australia) the following may not work…but I reckon its worth a try as it will only take you a moment or two. 1 the first step is to keep your webshield OFF and then check that POP forwarding has been allowed on your yahoo account (the settings may have slipped or been re-set) 2 To do this open your yahoo mail via webmail (you may need to use a different computer for this) enter your user name and password and then (using classic view) 3 Options>Mail Options 4 click on POP and forwarding 5 Click on Set up or edit POP forwarding 6 Click on Web and POP Access and ensure there is a dot in the radio button. 7 complete the rest of the form to taste 8 Don't forget to click on Save at the bottom of the form and then Sign out 9 Click on Return to Yahoo Mail 10 now sign out completely from Yahoo. turning now to Outlook Express…with your Inbox open..(NOTE If your Internet is still problematic try these instructions on a different machine first to check they work in your location) 11 Click on Tools>Accounts 12 Click on the Mail tab 13 Click to highlight your Yahoo account 14 Click on Properties 15 Click on the Servers Tab 16 type in the following settings My Incoming mail server is a: POP3 Incoming mail POP3 pop.mail.yahoo.co.uk Outgoing mail SMTP smtp.mail.yahoo.co.uk Account Name ???@yahoo.co.uk (replace??? with your user name) Password Type in your password Remember password complete to taste Log on using secure authentication ensure there is No tick or mark My server requires authentication ensure this Is ticked or marked 17 Click on Settings 18 Use same settings as incoming mail server ensure there is a mark in this box 19 Click on OK 20 Log on using… ensure there is No mark 21 Now click on the Advanced Tab 22 You will need the following settings: Server Port Numbers Outgoing Mail SMTP…. 465 This server requires a secure connection SSL ensure there IS a mark Incoming Mail POP3…. 995 This server requires a secure connection SSL ensure there IS a mark Server Timeout adjust slider to 1 Minute Other settings on this page are non criical and can be adjusted to taste 23 Click on OK 24 Click on Close 25 Close down Outlook Express Now open Outlook Express again and try to get your emails….see how you go Regards paws

Thanks paws - appreciate the effort but sorry, those were actually the settings I was already using in OE -> OE has been working since I set incoming port to 995*, it was the surfing problem (port 80) that I couldn't get to work (without turning webshield off). *I could have sworn it used to be set to port 110 for incoming mail before said incorrect power down - but maybe it just reset itself somehow to 110 and then, by me "trying" port 995, I was actually just putting it back on the setting it should have been on… ps. hehe, yes Melbourne (ex-UK, as you can tell from my .co.uk :)) Shelf life - tried Thunderbird but it just hangs when using port 110 as well: probably coz yahoo.co.uk requires port 995 for POP forwarding as pointed out by paws. On the other thing, think I'll just carry on with webshield off for now - until I can face backing up & formatting. Can't say the mystery isn't bugging me, but there you go! Thanks for everyone's help.

Hi Yahsas, Ok all understood.. 2 more thoughts for you.. 1 Run Windows System File checker to check that all Windows protected system files ( incl Outlook Express are in their correct locations and undamaged) Start>run in the white box type in: sfc /scannow (note the space is necessary) Click Ok the scan should only take half an hour or so if Windows needs to have clean copies of any damaged or missing files ( to copy to the dll cache) be sure to have your Microsoft XP installation disc handy…..For the purpose of running sfc its Ok to borrow the correct one if yours is not handy. See how you go with this (after a close down and restart of course.) 2 If still no joy then it might be worth trying a System Restore Point created just prior to the problem starting Good luck Regards paws

thanks paws - will give it a try & report back soon

wish I could report some change - 1. ran sfc as instructed but nothing showed up 2. unfortunately didn't have a restore point set before the problems started (have since instated restore points) thanks anyway!