"Adventures in a Buggy ISP and Internet Explorer"

[MrsLop]

Hello to all from Sunny Rhode Island,

I have been having problems with Email and Internet connections since late July.

I recently found out that Cox High Speed Internet services had been infected on August 11th, 2003.
They claim to have taken steps to insure that no other infections get into their system.

My question is this: I was using and am using their system for all email and internet through the use of Outlook Express 5.0.6 and Internet Explorer 5.1.7. On my Cox Homepage I see the information about the security alert and all the different worms, with directions to download the latest patch for Windows operating systems. There is nothing listed for the Mac nor do they concede that there are any problems with Macs being effected. What can/should I do about my Mac?

I have a 4400/200 with a 144MB Memory
OS 8.6

I cannot startup Internet Explorer when I turn on my Mac  though my Email is working just fine. I am forced to unplug the modem, wait ten seconds and plug it back in again. If I attempt to startup Internet Explorer without doing the above, I get a type 2 or type 3 error code.

Cox also changed their Netmask, Ip address and Default gateway addresses.The only reason I know this is because I run ASP Reports whenever I have problems.
They recently changed the line for my city, as well, the old line that I was initially connected to stopped working.
Is there someplace where the address information is kept besides the TCP/IP that may have the old addresses stashed?

If anyone out there has any indication of what my problem with Internet Explorer might be please feel free to jump right in.

I have tried using Netscape 4.79, great for email but awul for viewing and Netscape 7 which ran as slow as molasses and just wouldn't function well for Email Addresses.

PS: It is nice to know for a change that all of the problems that I was having with my email or browser (no matter what I used) were ISP related and not caused by me.

Lastly, is there a high speed internet server that uses a cable connection that you could recommend, given their systems requirements and  for my 8.6 Operating System.
 

MrsLop

[Gregg]

Myrna, it sounds like Cox is not very Mac-friendly. I suspect that the virus they had did not affect Macs, but it's hard to say for sure. I have not used Explorer on a Mac, so I can't say what that problem is all about. I do concur with your assessment of NS 7.x however. Hope someone else has more info for you; sending this to the top...

[MrsLop]

Gregg,

I had another weird thing happen with Netscape 7. Whenever I tried to add a new address the bottom of the card had no cancel,ok or add checkboxes. Subsequently, I would be stuck with no way of getting out of the Add new address.

Anyway, I am still sleuthing. I called Cox Tech Support today and again was told to download still another copy of Internet Explorer but a different version. this is their standard reply and caused me no end of problems in late July. I just got through trashing all the duplicates of the old Outlook Express and Internet Explorer.

I hope to get to the bottom of this soon.

MrsLop

[tacit]

There were no instructions for Mac users to deal with the virus because a PC virus can not affect a Mac. A virus is a computer program. A Mac does not run PC computer programs (unless you are using a PC emulator).

Your Mac is absolutely, positively, 100% immune to all Windows viruses.

Your Web browser problems might be solved by giving Internet Explorer more memory; have you tried that?

[rosa3035]

Hi Mrs Lop,
I was an aol member for several years experiencing all kinds of problems that they laid to my Mac. After changing to Earthlink.net, have not had a single crash or anything unexpected yet. Best move ever made. Reccommend highly.      

[MrsLop]

Hello tacit and welcome to my "Adventures",

I was totally unfamiliar with computers and anything connected with it. Of course, I heard my grown children talking about their computer problems, but that is not at all like doing it yourself. Trying to learn everything while flying by the seat of my pants, in one fell swoop, with no one here on the home front to help and being as ill as I was, was challenging to say the least.

I got connected to Cox broadband in late July and their Tech Support for Macs is almost nonexistent. To every query that I posed about trouble with either Internet Explorer or Outlook Express, I was told to download another one. I had so many versions and copies of both floating around my system that it was totally ridiculous.

With the help of my TS family I have been trying to sort things out ever since. I realize that I have much to learn and it is not for lack of trying that things weren't going well. I was misinformed and misled by Cox Tech Support. I have combed my system from top to bottom and trashed all the duplicates of both IE and Outlook.

I now have just one of each on my system. In answer to your question: yes, I have allotted 18,000K to Internet Explorer Memory,which they recommend have almost
 9,000K. So far, it is behaving very well. I will check again in the morning to see if it quits again with a type 2 or 3 error message.

I really wish I knew more about my system requirements and specifically what goes where. I will probably be back on the board with more queries concerning this.

Thank you for your reply.

MrsLop

[MrsLop]

rosa,

What type of service do you have with earthlink? I was hoping for a cable service. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember that their minimum requirements for broadband or cable service was OS9x.

Have you ever had to speak with their Tech Support, if so, did you find them knowledgeable?

This is like the never ending story with my ISP and Internet  and Email problems.

Cox doesn't make it easy for a newcomer. I cannot at this point recommend them to any Mac user. The speed is great when I can get connected and stay connected.

Please let me know of any particulars about earthlink that you feel might help me.

Thank you.
MrsLop