Programs Stopping Internet Connection

[Avelain]

Hey BG tech,

I recently moved into a new place and got my internet set up. I'm not sure why, but it seems certain programs literally stop my internet connection.

Specifically, if I run uTorrent or Trend Micro Antivirus, my computer says I'm still connected to the internet but I'm not able to load anything on Firefox or IE. I still have an IP address and I'm sending/receiving but I can't connect to anything nor can I ping to websites.

What can I do to work around this? My ISP (Charter Communications) gave me a Ubee modem/router but I can't find anything out of the ordinary in its settings. I've literally had three different techs come to my place, and the best conclusion we could come to was to just....not load uTorrent or my antivirus software. I was hoping someone here has experienced this and would be able to give me some advice.

I'm not a super tech-junkie but I should be able to answer any questions if I didn't give enough information.

Thanks!

[Mafai]

Is it a router / modem combo?

If so I'd recommend changing it into bridge mode (so it functions as just a modem) and try connecting that directly into your PC and see if you have the issue. If it works fine, get a new router and plug the modem into the WAN port and you will be good to go.

If you have a modem seperately, try just plugging that into your PC.

If you post a model number on the router/modem I can tell you how to change it to bridge mode.

[Avelain]

Thanks, Mafai!

It's a Ubee modem/router combo.

Model name: DDW3610
dual-stream n

Pretty sure this is the exact one: http://www.ubeeinteractive.com/index...modem_gateway/

If you wanna PM me instructions on how to put it in bridge mode, that would be great!

[Cephius]

I'm not sure it's the physical device. You mentioned two programs that can easily have a negative effect on your internet access.

uTorrent obviously can stop you from getting anywhere on the net if you're maxing up your upstream bandwidth. To communicate with websites you still need to send information, if your torrents are uploading it can certainly stop you from getting anywhere. Try going into utorrent and capping its available upload/download bandwidth and see if that helps. The other side of it is that torrenting creates a massive number of connections since it's peer-based. Some routers can't handle that (in which case you should do the bridge mode suggested above and get a better router).

Trend Micro I believe has a built in firewall, perhaps its not configured correctly? Try disabling the internet side of it and see if you can have it just be a virus scanner, and try to browse around.

[Avelain]

I'm not sure it's the physical device. You mentioned two programs that can easily have a negative effect on your internet access.

uTorrent obviously can stop you from getting anywhere on the net if you're maxing up your upstream bandwidth. To communicate with websites you still need to send information, if your torrents are uploading it can certainly stop you from getting anywhere. Try going into utorrent and capping its available upload/download bandwidth and see if that helps. The other side of it is that torrenting creates a massive number of connections since it's peer-based. Some routers can't handle that (in which case you should do the bridge mode suggested above and get a better router).

Trend Micro I believe has a built in firewall, perhaps its not configured correctly? Try disabling the internet side of it and see if you can have it just be a virus scanner, and try to browse around.

Thanks for the advice! I'm pretty sure it's not a specific program's settings though. If I completely uninstall my antivirus and run uTorrent alone, the internet goes out. If I completely uninstall uTorrent and run my antivirus alone, it still goes out. I've tried messing with the settings in each program at your suggestion (capping the bandwidth, enabling/disabling the firewall, etc) and still no luck.

I'm leaning towards Mafai's suggestion of just making the router/modem combo into just a modem. I have my own router so I'll try that as soon as I can figure out how.

[Avelain]

It might also be important to note that before I moved I had no problems using uTorrent or Trend Micro on my computer (which is only about a month old). It feels like this is either an ISP issue (which they've been to my place only to scratch their heads for hours) or it's an issue with the modem/router.