Girl Geekette

For Zyxel 645m-a1 modems (Might work on other Zyxel equipment, but I have not tested it personally yet)  The Zyxel modem can also help in determining if you have a Winsock problem. 

In Windows, go to a command prompt (Start/Run/CMD or COMMAND)

At the command prompt, type in
ftp 192.168.1.1

If you get an error back that has “socket” in the error, you can deduce you have a Winsock error.

The following is a way for Windows XP users to check without the Windows XP CD. 
 
Go to Start/Run/ type Msinfo32 [ENTER]Expand Components, then Network and click on Protocol
You will have ten sections inside Protocol and the section headings will include the following names if the Winsock2 key is clean:

        1.)   MSAFD Tcpip [TCP/IP]
        2.)   MSAFD Tcpip [UDP/IP]
        3.)   RSVP UDP Service Provider
        4.)   RSVP TCP Service Provider
        5.)   MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
        6.)   MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
        7.)   MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
        8.)   MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
        9.)   MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
        10.) MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...

There are various ways to tell if your Winsock is corrupt, or if it is being used by another program (such as a proxy or adware/spyware).

Signs of  Winsock errors and corruption include :

- You try to surf the web but you get 404 errors or errors showing the browser cannot find the server.
- If you do a “release & Renew on your IP address, if you get errors such as:

• An error occurred while renewing interface ‘Internet’: An operation was attempted on something that is not a socket.
• Unable to contact driver Error code 2. The operation failed since no adapter is in the state permissible for this operation.
• The attempted operation is not supported for the type of object referenced.

Winsock is a term that relates to interfacing programs to Windows Sockets API (Application Programming Interface). Put simply, it is a way for programs like FTP/Telnet/Proxies and even web browsers to interface with the TCP/IP protocol to allow a computer on a network or the internet.

Like other files, Winsocks can become corrupt. The files can be "hijacked" or altered by other programs as well. Lately, it seems that adware and spyware are also a common link to Winsock problems. Some adware and spyware can use a proxy to work and when/if the program is uninstalled, the Winsock my cease to work, may not work correctly, and cause many other numerous problems on a computer trying to access the internet.