What has happened indicates that most likely you have malware or did have
malware on your computer as they often disable the firewall to make your
computer vulnerable such as to use it as an internet server for porn,
distribute illicit software to others, or to enable remote access for
attackers. Again this is why I highly recommend that any user of cable/DSL
for internet access that an internet router or firewall device be used as
the first line of defense. That way you always have at least inbound
firewall protection.
So be sure to scan your computer for both malware and spyware being sure to
use the latest definitions for whatever you scan with and also scan in Safe
Mode. Be sure you follow basic security guidelines as described in the first
link below. The other two links are more info on how to deal with malware
and spyware if you are unsure how to proceed.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxpsp2/Default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/viruses/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/default.mspx
As far as your specific problem what you could try is to logon as a local
administrator and use regedit to open the registry editor. Then open the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive and see if the following key exists and if it does
right click and select delete after highlighting it.Delete any keys found
for WindowsFirewall. Note that you should not use the internet for any
reason while logged on as an administrator other then to specifically
download and install critical security updates but instead access the
internet [including chat programs] and email as a regular user account.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\StandardProfile\EnableFirewall:
0x00000000
Steve
