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[Aqizzar]

I keep banging my head against this recurrent connectivity problem that I swear shouldn't be happening.  Now, I should start by saying that I know absolutely nothing, probably even less than nothing, about how computers and the programs on them interact with the Internet, and the problem is likely some incredibly obvious setting change that a non-layman would have spotted instantly.  So to any net-savvy person who wants to help, assume I have no idea what you're talking about.

The problem is that lots of programs, especially ones that access the Internet themselves for some semi-automatic function, refuse to believe that I have an actual connection.  Now, said connection is cable, so it's just on all the time.  And obviously, I'm making it far enough that I'm using browsers and such.  But especially stuff that updates itself of checks for website feeds just refuses to respond.  I can visit the PeerGuardian website, but PeerGuardian can't find the site to update itself.  I can play MMOs, but the Total War launcher can't connect to the gameroom.  I can chat on AIM, but the Rosetta Stone and Telltale code-readers can't validate my purchases.  At the risk of sounding too dangerous, Bittorrent works, Limewire does not.

I've tried messing with the network settings in Firefox, between no proxy, auto proxy, and manual proxy as I had to do to successfully host a Minecraft server.  But aside from Firefox randomly switching back to auto-detect, there doesn't seem to be any effect.  Oh yeah, and I've tried turning off all the firewalls I know I have, obviously.  Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?  Because I'm sitting on gobs of programs that I want to use that simply refuse to acknowledge the same connection that I'm asking this question through.

[DJ]

You've got yourself some closed ports. Check which ports your non-working programs use, and see which they have in common. Then call your ISP and yell at them until they open those ports.

[Aqizzar]

Check which ports your non-working programs use

That's the kind of thing I'm going to need an explanation for.  I have a vague idea of what ports are, but I don't know how to check them.

[DJ]

You just need a lot of google fu. When I had this problem with Starcraft, I googled and I googled, until I found a page on Blizzard's site that told me what ports I need open. You'll need to do this for all your programs individually.

[Aqizzar]

Seriously?  All of them individually?  I'll bet it's documented somewhere in them.  Heck, if you can find it by searching online, I'll bet that means there's some kind of connection monitor I could use to see what they're trying to talk to.

I'm looking for a more elaborate, circuitous solution that feels like less work is what I'm saying.  Don't worry, I'll try the Google thing too.

[DJ]

Well, checking for three or four programs could sufficiently narrow down your list of suspected ports.

[chaoticag]

If you want, you could post the programs that you want to work and we could google them for you. I'll see if I could figure out the Rosseta and Telltale ones right now.

[Aqizzar]

Well, I've been trying the Rosetta Stone one.  It appears there's some serial port related software also called Rosetta Stone that would definitely complicate that search.  That's the one I'm most worried about.

Of course, since I actually own the Rosetta Stone pack, and the Telltale one for that matter, using a pirated validation method would not out of bounds.  Proof of purchase is proof of purchase after all.

[chaoticag]

Actually, I found something odd. Apparently, restarting your computer, disconnecting it from the internet and then entering the serial number before reconnecting might help with the telltale game.

Other recommendations that I got involved getting IE 8, and running it on a linux using wine.

[Aqizzar]

Actually, I found something odd. Apparently, restarting your computer, disconnecting it from the internet and then entering the serial number before reconnecting might help with the telltale game.

Could you link that?  Because it sounds... improbable.  I'd need to wrap my head around it.

Other recommendations that I got involved getting IE 8, and running it on a linux using wine.

This however sure as crap ain't happening.  I'm not formatting, installing, and learning a new OS just to cure some connectivity problems.

[Hippoman]

If ports doesn't work. You might have a shitty cable. Our internet kept shutting down because your cable from our internet thing to our broadband thing was broken.

[Nadaka]

If ports doesn't work. You might have a shitty cable. Our internet kept shutting down because your cable from our internet thing to our broadband thing was broken.

That would affect general connectivity, not specific programs.

Aqizzar: Are you behind a configurable router (DLink, Netgear, etc)? If so, its possible that its hardware firewall is not configured correctly. You may be able to telnet, ssh or navigate to its web interface with a browser depending on your particular model.  they usually run on the IP 192.168.0.1?

[eerr]

firefox is just a browser. It may work with the connection but you need something else.

Have you checked controll panel? (for windows xp, Internet Options, which also pops up in IE)

Details about the start and cause of the problem, such as possible sources...
Would be nice. Neccessary even. and antivirus information.

[flanman]

I have a weird connectivity/ping thing happening to me; it starts normally and climbs exponentionally (no joke), and I can't fix it. I have no idea what it could be.

[Muz]

If ports doesn't work. You might have a shitty cable. Our internet kept shutting down because your cable from our internet thing to our broadband thing was broken.

That would affect general connectivity, not specific programs.

Eh, not necessarily. Bad wires function as a lowpass filter, so it could affect anything that requires a higher frequency. I don't really remember how Internet modulation works, but if you have anything where the coding uses higher frequencies, that could be it. It's much more likely for specific TV channels rather than broadband, though.