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XP firewall unchecks itself
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Posted by: john-o
I have windows xp installed on a new dell, with only a basic dial-up connection to earthlink. It's just your basic residential setup, but when I enable the firewall ( microsoft says it WILL function with a dial-up connection), the box under the "advanced" tab , becomes unchecked after I connect to the internet. I've tried rebooting before connecting, tried different ways of getting to the check box (from "change settings" etc.), but it always becomes unchecked as soon as I connect. I searched on google, also MS knowledge base, but no mention of this problem. I know it's hardly worth the trouble, but it really bugs me and makes me wonder if something is seriously wrong with this. ANY IDEAS??
Posted by: uh...ok
Bleh, you're better off having it disabled anyway. Less problems to deal with.
If you're really interested in a software firewall, get one that you can actually configure. My own personal recommendation is Agnitum's Outpost Firewall. It's easy to configure and is many times less obtrusive than the popular ZoneAlarm.
Posted by: nocode
 Quote:
Originally posted by john-o
but when I enable the firewall ( microsoft says it WILL function with a dial-up connection), the box under the "advanced" tab , becomes unchecked after I connect to the internet.
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What steps are you taking to get to that setting?
Are you going to control panel, network connections, right click your dial up connection, choose properties, advanced, and then check the box that says (Protect my computer and network by liminting or preventing access to this computer from the internet)?
If you are using that route to enable the firewall, It should Stick.
After you enable the firewall, when you view your dial up connection through network connections, does it say (enabled, firewalled) beside the connection?
Keep the network connections within your view when you connect to see if the firewalled part disappears.
If that method doesn't work, then I'm at a loss. I have my high speed connection set up that way, and have helped friends and family set up XP that way with dial up connections as well, and need I say, the fire wall sticks.
Posted by: john-o
Hey thanks all for all the suggestions. After I enable the firewall (by checking the box in the advanced tab and clicking ok), the connection says "disconnected firewalled" in the Network Connections box. If I watch it while I dial out, as suggested, it changes to "connecting" as soon as modem initializes, then changes to "connected" once I get online. No "firewall" to be seen. If I then go back to properties, the box is unchecked! If I leave the properties box open while dialing out, (which I'm not sure you're supposed to do anyway), the box stays checked, but if I close the properties box, then right click on connection to get it back it says "an unexpected error occurred". Hmmm, Cool.
Well enough of this. We all know Windows is a joke anyway. I never had high expectations, just wondered "why me" and nobody else? I have already installed Zone Alarm anyway, guess I'll try that for awhile, see how it goes. Thanks again, John-O
Posted by: Phil C
John:
I have had the same experience with running the Earthlink Dial-up and having the XP Firewall show up as disabled.
I just got off the phone with Earthlink.
They say they often have to tell there dial up customers turn off the XP firewall to fix connections problems. So they do not disable it automatically.
The customer I worked with who had the Firewall problem did have a virus problem. I cleaned the w32.welchia.worm form his machine. This is a strange virus that removes the MSBLASTER virus and does other strange things. [see www.symantec.com for details].
The earthlink guy suggested Windows XP Repair program. I have never run it so I can't tell you how.
Phil C
Posted by: john-o
Hey thanks Phil. Y'know, I've kind of had an uneasy feeling this might be virus related because, after all disabling a firewall seems like just the sort of thing a virus attacker might want to do. I got the blaster virus, but got rid of it with little trouble. Since then I have installed the latest McAfee updates, latest windows xp security updates and Zone Alarm installed. McAfee stopped a virus attack the other day while I was being assaulted by pop-ups, and Zone Alarm has reported hundreds of attempted break-ins. God I can't believe anyone would say you don't need a firewall on a dial-up connection.
Anyway, I've scanned my entire hard drive and no viruses, but perhaps the damage is already done . Some "repair" might be a good idea, perhaps I will look into it. But I'm not using the windows firewall anymore anyway. Fortunately I don't depend on this machine for anything critical. Thanks for your input, John-o
Posted by: dbltime
Forget the firewall that somes with XP. I have used ZoneAlarm for two years on my Dell running XP without a glitch. It is easy to configure and it is free. Goodluck
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