PC access issues since moving to Fibre

[Frogeye]

Hi,  two plus weeks ago vodafone switched our standard broadband line to a fibre connection.  Ever since switching to fibre my PC has not been able to connect to the web unless using Nord VPN.   All other devices work fine.  I have reset the router and disabled both router firewall and windows firewall but still cant access the web without using VPN.  I have flushed and reset DNS and IP connections from command prompt but this did not fix access issues.  I did get temporary internet access after router reset, DNS / IP flush and changing DNS settings to OpenDNS - fixed work for a short while then stopped.  I can ping various sites from command prompt but a lot of tests time out.  When i review the router log I see a lot of red firewall notifications so it looks like some thing in the router is blocking the PC.  I have spoken to various people at vodafone but haven't managed to speak to anyone with enough technical knowledge to fix the issue.   Throughout all tests and trials the moment i switch to Nord VPN everything works.  Unless i fix this issue I'm leaving Vodafone because my pc is a vital piece of equipment for my family.  Anyone got an ideas on how to fix?

[Jayach]

It sounds like it may be the content controls, are you able to access the Vodafone home page? https://www.vodafone.co.uk/

[Frogeye]

No, i can only access that via Nord VPN.

[CrimsonLiar]

The other possibility is:  Have you ever changed the network adapter settings directly?  When you use a VPN the connection may use different settings, hence you can connect using a VPN but not without a VPN!

[Jayach]

Oops. didn't read the initial post properly.

So, it's just the one PC that has a problem. Certainly sounds like a settings problem. Does the PC have only an ethernet connection?

As you are able to ping I.P addresses, but not surf the webs says it's a DNS problem.

[Frogeye]

The issue is the same on ethernet and WIFI connection.  Not sure if the engineer damaged my ethernet cable during the switch to fibre because it shows a connection speed of less than 100MPS whereas the wifi shows 800 MPS. The problem is the same on either. VPN works on either connection type.

 Yes, i thought it was a DNS issue. The one temporary fix i did get was when i changed PC and Router DNS to OpenDNS settings.  Worked perfectly for 1/2 day but then started playing up.  The PC can connect to webpages but wont load images or the pages correctly, BBCNEWS pages opens as below, but opens perfectly the moment i switch to VPN. 

[Jayach]

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@Frogeye wrote:
The issue is the same on ethernet and WIFI connection.  Not sure if the engineer damaged my ethernet cable during the switch to fibre because it shows a connection speed of less than 100MPS whereas the wifi shows 800 MPS.

 What do you mean by connection speed? Do you mean on a speed test? The actual connection speed will be shown in the router. 

The fact it works over VPN, says the problem has to be something that the VPN is bypassing, which would be mainly Vodafone's internal network, but as every thing else works I can't see a problem there.

I can't see it being the ethernet cable either, as the VPN would also be affected.

And you say it is the same on Wi-Fi and ethernet? 

[Frogeye]

No, i havent changed network adapter settings directly.  Here's what the router log shows. I tried facebook and bbc news pages - both are firewalled.

02/16/2024 23:11:22 [59121.096073] DROP wan in: IN=pppoe-wan OUT= MAC= src=167.94.145.18 DST=90.241.193.11 LEN=44 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=43 ID=14994 PROTO=TCP SPT=25335 DPT=9000 WINDOW=1024 RES=0x00 SYN URGP=0 MARK=0x8000000 firewall

02/16/2024 23:10:23 [59062.685137] DROP wan in: IN=pppoe-wan OUT= MAC= src=35.203.210.221 DST=90.241.193.11 LEN=44 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=249 ID=54321 PROTO=TCP SPT=55090 DPT=47616 WINDOW=65535 RES=0x00 SYN URGP=0 MARK=0x8000000 firewall

[Cynric]

@Frogeye The external (SRC) IPs are 167.94.145.18 Censys Inc. and 35.203.210.221 Google. Both have a lot of entries in https://www.abuseipdb.com/ for malicious behaviours.

Have you ever setup rules in the router for these IP addresses?

Have you ever setup AV/Security software which you have at a later time removed? For example, I once installed BullGuard (it came free from an ISP) and it took me a long time to remove all of it, a lot of registry hacking, firewall editing and taking-over system owned directories because the uninstaller was a shambles.

[Jayach]

@Frogeye 

At the moment. it sounds like the problem is with the individual PC.

As it occurs over Wi-Fi as well as ethernet, how about, as a test, creating a hotspot on a mobile device and connecting the PC to that.

If the problem is still the same, it's definately in the PC, if works just as well over the VPN or not, it must be external to the PC.

Won't prove what it is, but will reduce the number of possibilities.