My MAC has cable connection, and a modem. I am unable to use ICHAT. It wont connect. Can someone tell me why?

Question

I have called the cable co. They say its the modem. I call the modem co. and they say its it the MAC. So I called the Apple co. They say its the anti virus. So I called the anti virus co. They say its the cable co. Help!! What d I do to get this ICHAT to work? How do I ICHAT?

Answer 1

Its not your internet service provider because they give you internet, and you have it. I think it is your firewall. Go to your antivirus program and see if you can disable the firewall or the whole antivirus. Then check if it works. If it does, call your antivirus co and ask them how to make an exception on your firewall, or allow a program through your firewall. Every antivirus is different, so I cant tell you how to make an exception or allow a program.

Answer 2

Do you have an iChat account?

Answer 3

If you're not sharing your files with any PCs running Windows (through file transfers, email, etc) then just get rid of any antivirus software you have. There are no known viruses for OS X and therefore the only possible reason for having antivirus is to protect your unfortunate Windows-using friends. If you still feel like you need anti-virus, then definitely ditch any commercial program(s) you might have installed. Some antivirus tools have become overly bloated, poke around in places where they don't belong, and just cause problems all around (specifically Norton AntiVirus and McAffee VirusScan).

If after uninstalling your current antivirus app iChat works, then you know what the problem was. Just install ClamXav and scan any files you want to send or share before doing so. If you're still having problems but you can connect to the internet in other ways (for example, you can still browse web pages in Safari), then you know it's not the internet connection. Try using Adium and see if it connects. If so, it's just a problem with iChat. You can try uninstalling it, then using Pacifist to reinstall it.

If Adium won't work (or you're having problems with other apps, too) then you probably have a networking issue. First make sure your firewall is set to allow connections for iChat and any other apps (System Preferences > Security, click the Firewall tab). If it's not the firewall, go to System Preferences > Network and create a new location, then set up a new connection. This usually helps with networking issues. If after all this it still won't connect, try connecting at a friend's house. If it works when using a different connection, call the cable company again. If they can't help, consider switching to a different service provider.