My third try to post the "final" solution to my Safari/network problems, only it wasn't. Oh nuts! I beg you, please help

[GeneL]

Chakravartin wrote:
> I do have some 3rd party apps/extensions: AdBlock,
> Incognito, Ghostery, VirusBarrier plus Safari's
> pop-up blocker.

VirusBarrier? Are you really that paranoid?

It seemed like a good idea? I've been using it for years and the last update was part of a bundle. It did catch and block a "bad" website.

And Incognito, Ghostery, AdBlock... yes, any of them could mess up some of your links.

I did wonder about them, but I have noticed that Ghostery does block a ton of "tracking."

I did have to unblock my XXX website where I do my online banking or it wouldn't work properly. Other than that, I haven't noticed any problems with it.

> What can I do to avoid all the work of a fresh install
> if it isn't necessary?

Good question. It seems that you've got a lot of cr@p installed that could be responsible. The issues with your s/o's computer could point to an external problem or they could be a red herring...

Ordinarily, I'd start tracking down a problem like yours by removing all Safari extensions, hacks, toolbars, plugins and InputManagers, but that might be a bit complicated for you.

…as the expression goes, "you think?"

You do get me, I see. I can do some things easily, based on my years of experience. When intuition doesn't serve me… I'm pretty lost.
...

So, let's start simpler: …not for me, it isn't.

Change your DNS settings in the Network pane in your System Preferences. Find the list of DNS servers and add 8.8.4.4 to the list at the very beginning. If the numbers in that list are separated by commas then put a comma after the 8.8.4.4.

One possibility raised by both you and your s/o having trouble is that your internet service provider's DNS server isn't working well. This is an alternate DNS server that should be more reliable. If it works then you're done. Just leave your Network settings like that.

Chakravartin, I can't begin to tell you how much I've appreciated the time you've invested in assisting me and others as I've seen you do.

With that said, I have no Idea what these last instructions mean.

Is there any way you can simplify them? Particularly, where I find the "list" of DNS servers and how to add 8.8.4.4?

If I could find the "list" I'd still be unclear about where I would be adding those numbers. btw, what does this step do?
...

If that doesn't work then go into your Accounts preferences and create a new user account. Try running Safari for awhile under the new user account and see whether the same problems occur. If the problems seem to go away then that would point to some hack residing in your Home folder at fault.

I did just that, I created a new user account and, yes, Safari seemed to be working just fine. This made me wonder, because I've been thinking that all my problems have been tied to my inappropriately dragging the older version of Safari back to replace Safari 5.1 without figuring on the 5.1 webkit causing these strangenesses.

But, seeing that Safari was apparently working normally when I was logged in as a new user, I realized that this was the same Safari application that I use from my regular "Applications Folder" so if it works okay here, why doesn't it work okay when I'm logged in to my main account? Am I right about this?

I have to add that even though Safari seemed to be working normally in my new user account, you know that it seems to work fine for awhile when I'm logged into my main account. I don't know if I would ended up having the same problem if I had stayed in this account for a longer amount of time.

I'm really stymied. This last time, when I saw that I "wasn't connected to the internet" I tried sending myself an email and it went through. Then I tried Firefox and it too had the same problem

So, it appears that mail works, but not my browsers.

I've posted the screenshots of what I get when I open the Networks Diagnostics panel. These are the steps that I've taken in the past and most times at the end I see "You are connected to the internet" and the page will load. This last time it didn't, even though it said that I was connected?

I hope that I have given you enough information to be able to diagnose my problem or if not. To offer what would be my best course to take to get past this frustrating issue.

I really hate to say this, but I've been feeling that I'll never get this solved.

Thanks againfor working on this with me. :hail: