Check for Data Packet Loss

Packet loss occurs when these packets don’t reach their final destination – some get lost in congested networks, diverted by an interrupted signal, or snatched away by cybercriminals.

When connecting the internet or networks, units of data called packets begin to be sent out and received between a router and the device. When a packet or more fails to travel between the router and the device, this is when a packet loss occurs. The farther the packets have to travel, the higher the chances of loss.

Packets that do not get through properly are a drain on the entire network, driving down network speeds and throwing off a network’s throughput and bandwidth.

Follow the steps below to inquire:

1. Open the command prompt
2. Type in ping google.com, and hit Enter.

If data exchange is taking place with packet loss, then consider trying out some network-related tweaks, such as restarting the router or even switching over to a different network.

Clear DNS Cache

DNS stands for Domain Name Server. It’s an index of all the websites on the internet and their IP addresses. With many DNS servers available on the internet, it can take a while to get a response. To make this process faster, operating systems create their own cache for website addresses with the domain name server (DNS) information of each website you visit.

This procedure is necessary in order for previously cached resolutions to be cleared out and subsequent lookup to be performed based on newly configured DNS settings.

Windows 7 and Earlier

1. Launch the Command Prompt
2. Type in ipconfig /flushdns, and hit Enter.
   • This will delete all the DNS cache.

If successful, the Command Prompt will report back with “Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.” Revisit the website in question again, and see if the problem got solved. If not, the site may be down, you could be having Wi-Fi concerns, or you may have a more elusive network issue on your end that needs to be tracked down. If this is someone else’s computer, try troubleshooting remotely.

Windows 8

1. Press the Windows Key or hover your mouse over the bottom left corner and click the Windows Icon
2. Begin typing Command Prompt
3. Right-click the application and select Run as Administrator

     Run the following command in the command line and hit enter

ipconfig /flushdns

OS X 10.4 TIGER

 Click the Terminal icon in the dock or in Finder under Application > Utilities > Terminal

  Run the following command in the command line and hit enter

lookupd -flushcache

OS X 10.5 and 10.6 LEOPARD

 Click the Terminal icon in the dock or in Finder under Application > Utilities > Terminal

 Run the following command in the command line and hit enter

dscacheutil -flushcache

OS X 10.7 and 10.8 Lion

Click the Terminal icon in the dock or in Finder under Application > Utilities > Terminal

 Run the following command in the command line and hit enter

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

OS X 10.9, 10.10 and 10.11, macOS 10.12, 10.13, 10.14, 10.15, 11

Click the Terminal icon in the dock or in Finder under Application > Utilities > Terminal

 Run the following commands in the command line and hit enter after every command

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Linux (most distributions)

Open a terminal window and input the following commands

sudo /etc/init.d/nscd restart

   or

sudo /etc/init.d/nscd restart

Ubuntu Linux

Open a terminal window

  Run the following command in the command line and hit enter

 sudo service network-manager restart

Each Linux distribution might use a different DNS service. Some distributions, like Ubuntu, don’t have a default DNS service at all.

Some distributions are NCSD (Name Service Caching Daemon), dnsmasq, and BIND (Berkely Internet Name Domain).

Use the command prompt, (press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard) and input the following commands to clear the DNS cache.

• To flush the local NCSD DNS cache, enter the following command.

sudo /etc/init.d/nscd restart

• To flush the local dnsmasq DNS cache, use the following command.

sudo /etc/init.d/dnsmasq restart

• To flush the local BIND DNS cache, try the following commands and press ENTER after every command.

sudo /etc/init.d/named restart

sudo rndc restart

sudo rndc exec

Clear the DNS Cache on the Browsers

If you have recently set up your filtering, or just changed a setting, a cache clear may be necessary before you see your filtering take effect.

The following table provides instructions for clearing the DNS cache within common Internet browsers.

Internet Explorer 8 and above (Windows)

Go to the History menu, select Delete Browsing History, check all boxes (except passwords, if desired), and click Delete

Mozilla Firefox (Windows)

Open Firefox, go to the History menu, select Clear Recent History and check all boxes. Under Time range to clear, select Everything (except passwords, if desired) and click Clear Now.

OR:

To clear the DNS cache from your Firefox browser, open a new tab in Firefox and enter the following command in the address bar, and press enter.

about:networking#dns

This page should show you DNS cache details and offers a button: Clear DNS Cache.

 Click on it to clear the browser’s DNS cache.

Apple Safari (Mac)

Expand the Cog Icon in the upper right corner and select Reset Safari. Check all the boxes and click Reset.

Apple Safari (Windows)

Go to the Safari menu, select Reset Safari, check all the boxes, and click Reset.

Google Chrome (Windows)

To clear the DNS cache from your Chrome browser, open your Chrome browser and then search the following command into the address bar.

chrome://net-internals/#dns

Now click on the “Clear host cache” option.

OR:

Expand the Wrench Icon in the upper right corner and select History and check all boxes. Under Clear data for this time period, select Everything (except passwords, if desired) and click Clear Browsing Data.

Google Chrome (Mac)

Go to the Chrome menu, select Clear Browsing Data and check all boxes (except passwords, if desired). Under Clear data for this time period, select Everything and click Clear Browsing Data.

Google Chrome (Linux)

1. Press the three dots in the right corner to open the main menu
2. Navigate to settings
3. Go to Privacy and security
4. Click on Clear browsing data
5. Under Clear data for this time period, select All time and click Clear Data.

Update Network Drivers

Using an old or outdated network driver could result in quite a few internet issues. Therefore, it is always recommended to use the latest version of these drivers.

1. Keypress Windows + X shortcut keys, and select Device Manager from the menu.
2. Expand the Network Adapter section.
    You should find your driver listed there, either 802.11 B/G/N or A/C.
3. Right-click on it and select Update Drivers.
4. Click on Search automatically for driver software.
   
5. Windows will now search for the latest drivers online, and if found, will download and install them.
6. Restart your PC

Disable the Windows Firewall

If you are sure of the site’s trustworthiness and believe that the Firewall has raised a false positive, then you may consider temporarily disabling it.

1. Head over to the Start Menu and search Windows Defender Firewall.
2. Click on Turn Windows Defender Firewall On or Off from the left menu bar.
3. Select Turn off the Windows Defender Firewall under both the Public and Private network sections.

Temporarily Disable Antivirus Program

Right-click on the Antivirus Program icon in the system tray and click on Disable Auto-Protect.

You can select the time period up to which you want to disable the Antivirus program and click on OK.

With the antivirus program disabled, try opening the webpage and see if you are able to access the webpage.

If the problem is due to the Antivirus program, remove the Antivirus program and reinstall the Antivirus Program back on the device. You can even use another antivirus program if the particular one keeps causing the same issue.

Troubleshoot Network Problems

• Launch Command Prompt as an administrator
• Type in the below command and hit Enter after each command.

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /registerdns

• Restart the PC

Conclusion

It’s safe to clear the DNS cache on a regular basis. Because the DNS cache can sometimes carry outdated or incorrect information. So, it’s necessary, let alone safe, to clear the DNS cache after a certain time.

It’s also important to clear your local DNS cache regularly to protect your site from hackers and spammers.

Also, check your data plan if you’ve exhausted the bandwidth or data limit for your subscribed ISP plan. Some mobile data plans suspend the internet, yet still, display that the internet is connected.

• Right-click the application and select Run as Administrator

     Run the following command in the command line and hit enter

ipconfig /flushdns