If you have any kind of connection problems (e.g. no results in the Add Automatically screen), your best bet is to take a look at your firewall and/or router.
Possible issues:
Book Collector can’t connect after first install on a new computer:
Please check your firewall/router using the information under “Things you can try”.
Book Collector couldn’t connect after I updated it to a new version (it worked before):
Firewalls can not detect program version changes. This means that if a program has changed after updating it to a new version, you may need to tell the firewall to allow it access again – even if you had already done so.
Book Collector can’t connect, but my other Collectorz.com software can:
Note that Firewalls can block per program so it doesn’t matter to your Firewall if any Collectorz.com software works, but Book Collector doesn’t. Please check your firewall/router using the information under “Things you can try”.
About Firewalls and Routers in general:
A firewall is software on your computer which can prevent that programs access the Internet. Firewalls can block per program, so even if you can visit websites, Book Collector may still be blocked.
A (wireless) router is a device that gives you a (often wireless) Internet connection for your PC or Mac. They usually have built in Firewalls that can block software from making a connection to the Internet. .
There are many different Firewall programs. Most of Firewalls nowadays come integrated in what is called “Internet Security” software. Such software contains antivirus software, anti spam programs, and firewall software, all-in-one. Well known packages are : Norton Internet Security, McAfee, Zone Alarm, Kaspersky, Etrust and Panda. All of these packages come in different versions (with different features/or they’re older/newer versions).
It’s important that you change their settings to allow Collectorz.com software onto the Internet.
It’s important to know that firewalls can block each program on your computer separately, not just websites you are trying to access. This means that if you allow Book Collector access but not a different Collectorz.com program, the first will work and the second won’t.
It’s also possible that your web-browser is allowed Internet access by default, which is why that does work, even when Book Collector does not.
Things you can try:
- Check that your computer is online. Start your web browser and enter a web address like www.google.com
- Book Collector has a built-in button to Check the Connection, you can find it top right of the Add Automatically screen. It’s a “signal” icon. When you click on it, the message should read ‘Connection OK’. If the message indicates ‘No connection is allowed’, check your firewall settings.
- Check your firewall, it should not be blocking Book Collector from accessing the Internet. This can occur especially after installing a new version of your Book Collector. In that case, change your firewall configuration to allow Internet access again.
- Get your firewall to ask for new rules for Book Collector by removing its reference in the program list of your firewall. Once done, start up your Book Collector, which should make the firewall prompt you to set a new rule.
- Disable your firewall. If that doesn’t help, uninstall it. Some firewalls are known to interfere with Internet access even when they are disabled.
- Check that you have no invalid proxy settings. To check these settings, select Tools | Options on the menu, then select the ‘Check for Update’ tab, and press the ‘Proxy Info’ button. Clear all fields in the Proxy Settings screen.
Still having connection issues:
If none of the above helped you locate and fix the problem, the best thing to try is contact the developer of your Firewall/Router or the company you bought the PC/Mac to see if they can send you instructions on how to allow a program like Book Collector to be allowed full connection to the Internet.
Need more help with this?
Don’t hesitate to contact us here.