11 replies to this topic

[stewcat]

Hi there,
Apologies for an old chestnut.For the last month my Windows firewall is dropping on start-up.
I've tried everything to resolve.My anti virus is Avast-this has no firewall.I removed all traces of Norton.have run malwarebytes-nothing reporting.Secunia similarly reported no problems.
Now using cc cleaner-before i run the registry cleaner-is there anything i should be looking for here that could eradicate this problem.

Thanks

[1984]

Are you meaning that your firewall is turning itself off? If so, that is odd.

[stewcat]

1984, on Dec 15 2008, 04:50 PM, said:

Are you meaning that your firewall is turning itself off? If so, that is odd.

yes I then re-instate it and next timeI boot up it's switched off again

[1984]

What operating system are you running? And did you post a hijackthis log and have in analyzed anywhere? That's what I would do first because it sounds like some kind of malware turning it off on you. Does it happen if you are disconnected from the internet too?

[Tarq57]

Nothing's odd where uninstalls of Norton are involved.
There possibly are remnants.
What does the security centre report when the Windows firewall is deactivated?
Did you run the Noton Removal Tool as part of the Norton uninstall?
If not, download and run it.
You may later need to reset the security centre to report accurately. Let us know if that's the case.

[Humpty]

Check in services that it's set to Automatic.

Also have a look around in the event viewer for any pointers to any probs.

[davey]

stewcat, on Dec 15 2008, 11:01 AM, said:

Hi there,
-is there anything i should be looking for here that could eradicate this problem.
Thanks

Stewcat,
Welcome to the forums!!!
I had this problem in the past with a few software products.
One I think was being caused by Host files updates software. It was failing to turn the firewall back on when finished or aborted.
I also sometimes get the firewall warning due to the fact that my limited 256 MB RAM won't allow Avast to turn it on or the firewall does not turn on before the Internet Connection software loads. Doesn't happen too frequently but it does happen.

Of course, you will take the advice to get your PC checked out for malware first.
Removal of a Root Kit and a Key Logger about a year ago plus WinXp Dial-a-fix program to reinstall Windows Firewall and Microsoft Automatic Updates did the trick then.
davey

Edited by davey, 16 December 2008 - 09:32 AM.

[YoKenny]

davey I think you may be confusing the DNS Client Service with the firewall as HostsMan does not change the setting of the Windows firewall.

Removing Norton completely plus a reboot would be the first thing I would try.

My bet is on malware so I would download MBAM then update it then run a Quick scan and let it remove what it detects and a reboot may be required to remove locked files:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

[stewcat]

Thanks for all the suggestions on this.
1.I'm running Windows Vista.
2.I've done a full scan using malwarebytes-zero reported.
3.I carried out a full norton removal at the time of installing Avast.
4.Windows Security Center reports- firewall switched off -before loading IE or Firefox.i re-instate it & then same again on next re-start. wasn't sure what Humpty meant on Services set to automatic?
5.Event Manager Audit does not report errors 5025,5029 or 5030-the ones that Microsoft highlights in its Tech Center docs.

I've not used hijackthis log before.Are there any risks? Also how do I locate the log for it to analyse?
If I conduct a registry clean on CCCleaner-which checkbox should I concentrate on?

Rgds S

[Tarq57]

Quote

3.I carried out a full norton removal at the time of installing Avast.

Did you run the removal tool?

[stewcat]

Tarq57, on Dec 18 2008, 07:25 PM, said:

Did you run the removal tool?

Yes I did
rgds

[Humpty]

stewcat, on Dec 19 2008, 12:17 AM, said:

wasn't sure what Humpty meant on Services set to automatic?

Go to Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Services and check to see if Windows Firewall is set to Automatic and has started after you first boot up.