Windows Firewall won't stay enabled.

[Jackson]

I turn my Windows Firewall on in the security section of the control
panel, but when I boot up the next time it is off.

I have XP Home Edition, SP2. Evidently something is set to disable
the firewall, because I read that the default setting is enabled.

I want it to be enabled, because this is a laptop that gets carried
around to different places.

My desktop has XP (MCE) and the Windows Firewall stays enabled on it.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Malke]

I turn my Windows Firewall on in the security section of the control
panel, but when I boot up the next time it is off.

I have XP Home Edition, SP2. Evidently something is set to disable
the firewall, because I read that the default setting is enabled.

I want it to be enabled, because this is a laptop that gets carried
around to different places.

My desktop has XP (MCE) and the Windows Firewall stays enabled on it.

What antivirus/security program do you have installed on the laptop? If
you have Norton or McAfee, those programs will disable the built-in
Windows Firewall.


Malke

 

[Jackson]

What antivirus/security program do you have installed on the laptop? If
you have Norton or McAfee, those programs will disable the built-in
Windows Firewall.


Malke

I only have ZoneAlarm, AVG and SpybotSD. I also have them on my
desktop so I know that this is not the cause.

If I just close the cover on my laptop and open it up again later the
Windows Firewall is still enabled. But if I power down and then
reboot, it comes up disabled.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I only have ZoneAlarm, AVG and SpybotSD. I also have them on my
desktop so I know that this is not the cause.

If I just close the cover on my laptop and open it up again later the
Windows Firewall is still enabled. But if I power down and then
reboot, it comes up disabled.

You are trying to run two software firewalls at once, ZoneAlarm and
the Windows firewall. Do *not* do this. You achieve no extra
protection, you incur the extra overhead of running two firewalls, and
you run the risk (probably small, but not zero) of conflicts between
them.

See http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/firewall.mspx
which includes the following:

"Q. Should I use both the built-in firewall and a software firewall
from a different company on my Windows XP computer?

"A. No. Running multiple software firewalls is unnecessary for typical
home computers, home networking, and small-business networking
scenarios. Using two firewalls on the same connection could cause
issues with connectivity to the Internet or other unexpected behavior.
One firewall, whether it is the Windows XP Internet Connection
Firewall or a different software firewall, can provide substantial
protection for your computer."

Also note that if you update your third-party firewall to a new
version, the update routine will probably turn it off first. If the
Windows firewall isn't running, you will temporarily be left with no
running firewall, which is very dangerous. So turn on the Windows
firewall temporarily before doing maintenance on your third-party
firewall.

The Windows firewall monitors incoming traffic only. Almost any
third-party firewall will also monitor outbound traffic, stopping
rogue programs trying to call home, and is a better choice.

 

[Jackson]

You are trying to run two software firewalls at once, ZoneAlarm and
the Windows firewall. Do *not* do this. You achieve no extra
protection, you incur the extra overhead of running two firewalls, and
you run the risk (probably small, but not zero) of conflicts between
them.

See http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/firewall.mspx
which includes the following:

"Q. Should I use both the built-in firewall and a software firewall
from a different company on my Windows XP computer?

"A. No. Running multiple software firewalls is unnecessary for typical
home computers, home networking, and small-business networking
scenarios. Using two firewalls on the same connection could cause
issues with connectivity to the Internet or other unexpected behavior.
One firewall, whether it is the Windows XP Internet Connection
Firewall or a different software firewall, can provide substantial
protection for your computer."

Also note that if you update your third-party firewall to a new
version, the update routine will probably turn it off first. If the
Windows firewall isn't running, you will temporarily be left with no
running firewall, which is very dangerous. So turn on the Windows
firewall temporarily before doing maintenance on your third-party
firewall.

The Windows firewall monitors incoming traffic only. Almost any
third-party firewall will also monitor outbound traffic, stopping
rogue programs trying to call home, and is a better choice.

Thanks to all. Both firewalls run peacefully on the desktop (xp mce}
but I notice it takes longer to download headers from the newsgroup
than it should and two firewalls may be a factor. I will disenable
windows firewall on both machines. I had WF disabled at one point,
but read some post that said both WF and ZA should be loaded, so I
re-enabled it. But that sounds illogical, so I'll just go with ZA.
I appreciate the help.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thanks to all. Both firewalls run peacefully on the desktop (xp mce}
but I notice it takes longer to download headers from the newsgroup
than it should and two firewalls may be a factor. I will disenable
windows firewall on both machines. I had WF disabled at one point,
but read some post that said both WF and ZA should be loaded, so I
re-enabled it. But that sounds illogical, so I'll just go with ZA.
I appreciate the help.

You're welcome. Glad to help. You're making the right decision by
running only a single software firewall.