cannot access firewall settings

[Guest]

When I try to check my windows firewall, I get the following message: Due to
an unidentified problem windows cannot display firewall settings. I didn't
worry about it before because I had a Norton package installed. I recently
removed Norton and downloaded Avast. Do I have a firewall or not? And how
do I fix this?

 

[Joe Grover]

That error typically occurs when the TCP/IP network settings have been
corrupted, either due to haywire antivirus or in some cases the presence of
a virus (this happened to me after showing an internet customer how quickly
a computer can get infected with the Sasser worm; after infecting the
machine I disconnected from the internet and rebooted and the error you
describe was displayed in the firewall settings).

 

[Guest]

is there a way to turn the firewall on again, or how do I get past this error
message?

 

[Joe Grover]

You can't turn it back on until the TCP/IP stack has been repaired.
Personally I did no troubleshooting on the issue as the box was set up
specifically to show a customer that this could happen. I reinstalled
Windows afterwards. :/

 

[Guest]

Don't think I want to completely reinstall Windows -- I may just download a
new firewall and call it good. Thanks for your responses. Appreciate the
help.

 

[Joe Grover]

Let me know if it works. If the TCP/IP stack is indeed corrupted in some
way then third-party firewalls won't work either (as they tie themselves to
the TCP/IP stack).

 

[Guest]

I downloaded Comodo firewall and it appears to be working very well. Windows
now tells me that I have a firewall on and I haven't got any new error
messages. Thanks again.