[Internet Connectivity Issue from Hell -- a plea for help!]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I hadn't even considered the possibility that someone might be hacking or something. But I kind of doubt just because they would have to be *so* persistent for such a long period of time and I don't really have any enemies that I know of or anything.

It's Windows 7. I also had a little trouble with my MacBook too, but I rarely use the Macbook anyway. I don't currently have any hacking / advanced WiFi tools on Windows just b/c if I want to do hacking then I run BackTrack or BackBox live. So it's not nmap that's causing it; could be something else to do with upnp, but I don't know what or how to check.

I can run any tool like nmap or the -ng suite if it would help though.

Hmmm any other thoughts? Thanks again for the ideas.

[Internet Connectivity Issue from Hell -- a plea for help!]

Thanks Pwnd2Pwnr. I did try toggling the firewall though, forgot to mention that :P

It's so annoying. Last night it seemed like the problem was gone for maybe 2 hours, but it came back and it's still here. Kill me.

I tried typing in 192.168.1.254 with the ethernet cable plugged in but nothing happened. Is that supposed to be the address of my router? If so it's an Apple router so I think it's managed through the Airport Utility.I don't really see anything about static v. dynamic DNS. The DNS settings are under TCP/IP but it just ask the following settings:

Configure IPv4: Using DHCP

Subnet Mask: [some numbers]

Router Address: [ip]

DNS Server(s): 8.8.8.8

IPv6 DNS Servers: [none]

Domain Name: [none]

DHCP Client ID: [none]

[Internet Connectivity Issue from Hell -- a plea for help!]

I am having the mysterious ghostly Internet connectivity issue from hell. Please help me. I am a dumb ignorant end user and you are the wise and noble gurus!! OK, maybe that last bit was over the top but I will be VERY grateful. Seriously, if you solve my problem and the problem doesn't return then I'll like give you an iTunes gift or something if you like.

I've been having trouble since I moved into a new apartment in a downtown urban area. I've spent countless hours trying to make my Internet connection work properly on my own and several more hours (like 12+) on the phone over the course of several months.

Core problem:

Every few minutes my WiFi Internet connectivity is lost, even though I'm still connected to the AP. There's a lot of variability but on average I'm online for about 4-6 minutes then offline for about 2-3 minutes. This problem persists for a long time despite tons of corrective steps, then it seems to be fixed and goes away for a while, only to come back in a day or two.

Hardware details:

Dell Laptop

Intel WiFi Link 1000 BGN

Apple Time Capsule router

Arris modem

2.4Ghz network

I'm sitting within 2 feet of the access point

Software details:

Windows 7

Lots of VPN software installed (once a suspected cause, but evidence is inconclusive - problem persisted after uninstalltion)

Windows Firewall

Firefox

Steps taken:

powercycling everything billions of times, in all different orders

uninstalling/resinstalling TUN/TAP and VPN software -- it seemed like this worked at first, but then the problem came back anyway

Had the ISP change the IP

Refreshed caches

Renewed DHCP lease

Toggled NAT

Changed radio stations

Tried ethernet -- yes, that works

Tried using a Macbook -- sometimes the MacBook worked when the Dell didn't, but sometimes neither one had connectivity

Tried changing DNS servers (for a while that also seemed to work, must have been a co-incidence tho, the problem returned)

Tried verifying the permissions and repairing the disk

I'm at my wits end. Help me Hak 5 gurus, you're my only hope!