Strange Firewall warning

15 years ago

I got a baloon warning (down near the clock and security icons) that my "firewall was off--click here to correct" this morning. I never click anything anymore but did go to security through Control Panel and the firewall was on.

Could this be a new malware of some kind? Just passing this on in case it is. Sandy

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Comments (5)

biwako_of_abi
15 years ago
What kind of firewall do you have?

I don't remember the circumstances, but I have had that warning. My firewall is connected with PcCillin, and I think the warning was from the firewall that comes with WinXP. Dunno what triggered it. Perhaps I had turned off PcCillin's wall when installing a new program.
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Original Author
15 years ago
I'm using the firewall from WXP. Tried ZA for a while but couldn't deal with the constant allow/disallow until it got accustomed to my surfing habits.

I keep all my security up to date, and scans never show anything except normal cookies. Sandy
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Owbist, I am using the MSE (MS security essentials) anti virus program... the machine (OS) is a vista, but I think MSE turns off the defender program which I believe is ( or was ) the firewall I could be wrong. Does anyone know for sure that there is a firewall up and running with the MSE in place ? Damccoy, I sorta know that certain sites can be a problem ..my concern is to have something in place to at least give me an edge for protection, I can self govern myself. And I do a scan for malware etc at least once a week. My question is do I have a firewall in place now even if I run MSE ???
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thanks everybody for your input. i installed super anti-spyware, updated it, and did a whole computer scan that resulted in no malware. thus, i disabled link scanner, resident shield, automatic update manager, and the e-mail scanner in AVG 8.0 and noticed a marked difference in the speed of the computer. i tried letting resident shield be active, but that still caused my computer to run rather slowly. it seems that the new AVG is quite a bit of trouble with its functions are inferring with spybot s&d and spyware blaster. as of now, only the anti-virus; anti-spyware, and the license components of AVG are 'active' on my computer; therefore, my questions become: is it necessary to have AVG running from start-up? since i've disabled the resident shield, will having AVG running in the background provide me with some automatic, subtle protection? i currently have win patrol, zone alarm (and AVG) running in the background. should i have super anti-spyware running in the background as well? thanks for all your input.
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DA_Mccoy
15 years ago
Sandy,

If you are using the XP firewall which is uni-directional, how do you stop a malicious dialer, botnet or trojan which you have contracted from dialing out?

You can't. That's why an alternative bi-directional firewall is needed when using XP.

Having read many of your prior posts I am comfortable that you are aware of the short comings of the XP firewall. I publish my thoughts for those who are unaware.

DA
breenthumb
Original Author
15 years ago
DA, thanks but you're giving me way too much credit. I know nothing of uni or bi directional. I do know I followed a link here on the forum a while ago and while others were showing "stealth" mine came up...can't remember the wording but not so good.

I'd like to change the firewall but need something where the cure is not worse than the disease. In the meantime, what I've read on the Security site indicates its most important for IMing and online gaming. I do neither. Sandy
genes
15 years ago
You could try Kerio Personal firewall, I beleive it is put out by Sunbelt and they offer a free version. Small, and not intrusive like Commodo and others

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Strange Firewall warning

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biwako_of_abi

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DA_Mccoy

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Strange Firewall warning

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biwako_of_abi

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DA_Mccoy

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genes

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