"STILL" Problems - All "WINDOWS-8-Related", Best I Can Determine

I continue to have problems with a three-month old Samsung laptop that the gods of Seattle (as they have basically been described to me) allow me to hold for them.

"One" of the various, time-sucking experiences I have encountered (the entire time I've "had" this machine), continues to be that I have only been able to access the internet via WiFi when the machine, (and its wondrous 8 OS) allows (I did not experience this with Windows 7...not once...not ever).

Whether it's a McDonald's, a Starbucks...or wherever...it is all-too-often about a 50%-75% chance (approximately) of connecting to the internet within a 10-15 minute time span (!?!). This is really FAR LONGER than I REALISTICALLY HAVE to sit and wait (and frankly don't know ANY ADULT who does!), all-the-while ATTEMPTING to do this-that-and-the-other bunch of nonsense inside the so-called "Network/Sharing Center"...and all SIMPLY to check email while I'm out-and-about (!?!).

Might anyone know how/why this continues to plague me/this machine, or alternately, where I can find a SIMPLE guide to dealing with all of the problems that I deal with on a regular basis, in my attempts to utilize Windows 8, please?

 

Not sure this will help any, but that's all I've got so far,

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/computers-software/operating-systems/Windows-8/Troubleshooting.html

 

Thank you much. At first glance appears to be exactly what I am needing.

 

This was my experience at McDonald's this morning...simply trying to check email while having a quick bite.

Can anyone possibly tell me if it's this "Hotspot Shield" THING causing THIS (screenshotS) particular problem, please?

 

The first two screens show that you have not installed HotSpot shield 2.90. What you were doing in those two shots was installing the program.

Next after you see the red hotspotshield icon, you click on it to connect.
http://www.anchorfree.com/support.php
From your 4th screenshot, I see a hotshotshield but it is neither red nor green, it is blue.

 

Thanks plodr...ironically (or not), I suppose it was actually the third screenshot that had me most confused.

I took a leap-of-faith when I returned home, and allowed a NEW roommate to fiddle with it, since "the problem" (no access to the web) had followed me home (which is a new shared residence/location/router for me) from the wifi location...roommate got me back on track..said it was something about a "proxy" (server?) having gotten off track (so-to-speak)..?

Not sure why I was having HotSpotShield downloading again, when it was already on my machine...the "blue" icon (thumbnail?) that you referred to was the download or install icon/thumbnail.

The whole issue is that since I've had this machine/Windows 8 (not quite three months), I have had intermittent trouble achieving, and maintaining internet connections...wifi, AND at home

Thanks again plodr.

 

Here (screenshot) is more of the nonsense...these are my current Start-pages (Tabs) for Firefox...only ONE ("DuckDuckGo" search page, highlighted in GREEN) will load. How on earth can 3 out of 4 *not* work (repeatedly) ?!?

PS - Brought to you by Internet Explorer, because Firefox could/wouldn't load Majorgeeks.com

 

Network Problem? Firefox?? Microsoft??? WIN8????

Is this Microsoft's way of telling me not to utilize Mozilla/FIREFOX (or ANY browser other than IE?)?

EIGHT TABS attempted, only one (Facebook) loaded.

Everything works fine in IE...but not in Firefox...??

Or could this be "8-related"??

I don't get it.

 

Re: Network Problem? Firefox?? Microsoft??? WIN8????

You don't think it might have anything to do with your using a proxy server then, rather than your ISP?

 

Re: Network Problem? Firefox?? Microsoft??? WIN8????

Well thanks, but I have no clue what that is/means.

I'm guessing this is an answer, rather than a question...?

Is this (could it be) the great "HotSpot-Shield" 3rd-party program that I discovered here, in the free downloads section?

 

Re: Network Problem? Firefox?? Microsoft??? WIN8????

I suggest you disable hotspot shield from autostarting, reboot and seeing if these problems with FF disappear.

 

Can I ask why you are using proxies?

 

Sure, if by "proxy" you mean this---> http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/hotspot_shield.html , then yes, it was pitched to me as an 'extra layer of protection', when online via wifi...

 

Re: Network Problem? Firefox?? Microsoft??? WIN8????

Well you have helped to move things along..a bit anyway. It seems my connection is lost when I have hotspot shield OFF actually.

When I went to do as you suggested (disable it), it was already disabled, and when I turned it on, it connected to the internet...?

 

So if you remove it, do you have any wifi troubles?

Personally, I think a firewall is more than sufficient.

 

Well, though I am unclear as to what the problem is exactly, "Earthling" in assisting me with it in another thread (and I apologize for that), and has helped me to realize that I'm having the problem when the thing is "off" (disabled). When I turned it on my connection came back instantly (must be some sort of a configuration issue that I'm sure I have caused).

If you say a firewall would more than suffice, I don't doubt you (you know more about all this than I ever will), unfortunately, I have "trust issues" with some folks that I actually know..so those I don't know at all (bad guys looking to hack at hotspots) I have zero trust, to say the least

 

As long as the ports into and out of your computer, (incoming and outgoing) are blocked, nothing is going to get in or out.

Then you open the ports for certain applications that you use, so that when they close, those ports are again closed. That is a very basic overview of what a firewall does.

By the way, I merged the two threads, because they are technically about the same thing. I haven't tested the hotspot app, but I think it probably has to do with the fact that proxies get overrun by traffic, and it probably also limits how many connections to the proxy you can have (a tab counts as one connection), for the reasons mentioned prior (traffic issues).

 

Okay! Excellent...all very good info for me (to try to remember!) thank you.