Expert: James Filmer - 6/17/2010

Question
QUESTION: Recently I have been having a lot of difficulty in reading news stories and in staying connected with some sites.  I will click on a news story, the story will show for a few seconds, then the screen goes blank.  If I again push ENTER, it will come back and then disappear.  Sometimes I can be on but when I try to page down, it disappears.  Similarly, at some sites I can get on but cannot read messages.  Occasionally I may get a message that popups have been blocked, and I have the option to allow them.  This leads me to think that some increase in my security could be responsible (altho I have not changed it recently.)  If I am not given any option, I don't know how to allow popups - if this is even warranted.  On the Merriam-Webster site I could see that a huge number of ads were apparently being added to my attenpt to connect; in fact there were so many that I gave up.

I am using Vista and have Avira antivirus, which seems to have worked well for me.

ANSWER: Are you using just one browser? If so, which one? Or, are these issues occurring on more than one? (again, which ones?) If this is happening in IE only, take a look at the following sites and work on some of the steps - especially the ones about disabling add-ons. Then see if the problem continues. Could be an add-on.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/internet-explorer-add-ons-frequ

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/tips-for-solving-problems-with-

Do you have any anti-spyware applications? Which one(s)?

Also, have you checked lately for any missing critical Vista updates?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I use Firefox routinely.  LIMITED experimentation using Internet Explorer seems to indicate that the problem doesn't occur then.  So would the problem still be likely to be from an add-on?  Could you give an example of an add-on?  I am presumably receiving Vista updates regularly.  Thanks for your reply.

Answer
To be clear, your problems could be one of dozens of things. We can find the fix, but you do done, the next step is prevention. Getting more involved in the maintenance of your system is very important.

In Firefox, go to Tools > Clear Recent History can clear your cookies, browsing, downloads, cache and history for the last hour.
Or Tools > Options > Advanced > Network and clear cache. Restart Firefox. The fix might be that simple.

The rest of this post is about things to consider - whether or not the initial problem is now resolved.

Check Windows update. That's not likely the problem, but you should always check it first when you have problems like you're describing, because any updates to security and other applications, should be place on top of an up-to-date system.

Windows doesn't always automatically update your PC the minute an update comes out. Using IE, go to Tools, Windows Updates and check Custom - Select from optional and high-priority updates for Windows and other programs. This includes Critical updates, but reveals other updates you might consider).

Check your firewall setting too:
http://www.microsoft.com/india/windows/windows-vista/features/firewall.aspx

Since you're not sure what a Fx add-on is, probably you don't have any. But, click Tools (menu item at the top -

https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Browsing+basics), and click Add-ons just to be sure.

Do you have any anti-spyware applications? Updated and scanned lately? Which one(s)?

If you don't have any, on Enrgy21.com there are several, all excellent with free anti-spyware editions for personal use.  

Also on the site is a link to Filehippo's software update checker, free and 100% malware-free. Suggest downloading/installing the standalone .exe version, placing an icon on your desktop and let is scan for any application updates. Download and install it reveals, especially Flash updates.

Spybot Search and Destroy should be on your system: http://Enrgy21.com

When you reach their site, review their short tutorial, download (save to desktop before opening installation package) install, update, immunize and run the scan, and remove what it finds. give me some idea of what you found too.

What next depends on your next reply.

Note - not sure how experienced you are, so if you know much of the above already, please don't take offense.