StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Yes, really.

I have to have Norton installed to access the campus network. But I also have several other anti-virus/anti-spyware programs, and I let them do most of the work. But just a day ago Norton has begun constantly sending me a popup warning that my Firewall is disabled, and that I should turn it on. Well, what do you know, I fiddle all around in the Norton Anti-Virus, and I can't even fucking FIND an option to enable a firewall... I turn on the Security Center one for XP just in case, but nope... it's still bugging me constantly.

What do I do?

DPDarkPrimus wrote:What do I do?

Switch to McAfee.

Norton is like Windows amongst anti-virus programs.


Do you HAVE to use Norton or do they let you use other capable programs too?

Shinova wrote: Do you HAVE to use Norton or do they let you use other capable programs too?

I have to have it installed. What I want is to get rid of this MOTHERFUCKING UNSTOPPABLE POPUP.

Is this Service Pack 2?

Service Pack 2 may be producing the popups, because it can't detect the status of the Norton firewall properly. Because it's a bag of shit.

Run LiveUpdate, and the update may allow SP2 to read the firewall status, or alternatively, if you know Norton is doing it's thing (there should, in Norton Internet Security/Personal Firewall be a section called 'personal firewall', make sure that's on), go into Security Centre and tell it not to bug you about firewalls.

If you absolutely can though, use something else, like Zonealarm or Kerio.

SP2 doesn't recognize Kerio as a firewall so it will bitch at you constantly. I ended up disabling the security center service.

Vertigo1 wrote:SP2 doesn't recognize Kerio as a firewall so it will bitch at you constantly. I ended up disabling the security center service.

Or you could just tell it that you don't want it to bug you. So many people seem to miss the option to tell it to not remind you again. Its not even hard to find.

I had a similar problem with SystemWorks 2003. A pop-up kept saying my virus protection wasn't on (it was), so I clicked OK, only the thing returns a second later. To save myself going insane within the minute, I found a process called SymWC.exe or something like that and killed it. It worked.

Sharp-kun wrote:

Vertigo1 wrote:SP2 doesn't recognize Kerio as a firewall so it will bitch at you constantly. I ended up disabling the security center service.

Or you could just tell it that you don't want it to bug you. So many people seem to miss the option to tell it to not remind you again. Its not even hard to find.

That doesn't always work. If you install NSW2004 after you install SP2, it will undo the option to tell it not to pester you about the firewall and when you tell it to shut up again, it doesn't remember the setting. The only sure way to shut it up is to kill the service.

DPDarkPrimus wrote:But I also have several other anti-virus/anti-spyware programs,

Theres yer problem. Kill the other AV programs. I use NAV on all my windows machines, with no problem.

Oh yeah.. if you're using SP2 it's your own fault. Get rid of it.

CDS wrote:

DPDarkPrimus wrote:But I also have several other anti-virus/anti-spyware programs,

Theres yer problem. Kill the other AV programs. I use NAV on all my windows machines, with no problem.

Oh yeah.. if you're using SP2 it's your own fault. Get rid of it.

WOuld you like to give a reason for that utter stupidity?

Running two anti-virus packages.. I think it's utter stupidity to do such a thing. Why protect yourself twice with what is (potentally) the same thing?

As for running SP2 - I work in IT support.. i've seen way too many machines fail because of SP2. From the annoyance of Norton Internet Security not liking it, to having to explain to someone, who had coursework due in that day, that theres no chance of ever getting windows booting up on her laptop again.. and the only thing she can do is format.

You guessed it.. she didn't have a backup.

If Service Pack 2's going to fuck your box up, it will do it when you first install.

If you have it installed and working, it's no worse than any other Microsoft product. You're better off with it than without, at least once it is actually running.

Running more than one active antivirus program is asking for trouble though. Keep one active and running on the system, and if it's Norton, which couldn't find a virus at a Flu convention, run an online scan periodically as well (F-Secure, Trend Micro, and Panda do OK ones).

As for running SP2 - I work in IT support.. i've seen way too many machines fail because of SP2. From the annoyance of Norton Internet Security not liking it, to having to explain to someone, who had coursework due in that day, that theres no chance of ever getting windows booting up on her laptop again.. and the only thing she can do is format.

Formatting is never the only way out, anything else just relies on having tools and knowledge not available to most users of OEM machines. If your windows boot files are hosed, you can always manually extract them from the CD with the Recovery Console, failing that there's the old in-place overinstall, though you may have to then take ownership of your old documents, depending on how much security you've decided to implement.

Vendetta wrote:If Service Pack 2's going to fuck your box up, it will do it when you first install.

If you have it installed and working, it's no worse than any other Microsoft product. You're better off with it than without, at least once it is actually running.

You do have a good point there.. but in most cases it's things like NIS issues.. which you won't see when you first install it.

But yeah, if it's doing no harm, might as well keep it there. I wouldn't install it though.

Running more than one active antivirus program is asking for trouble though. Keep one active and running on the system, and if it's Norton, which couldn't find a virus at a Flu convention, run an online scan periodically as well (F-Secure, Trend Micro, and Panda do OK ones).

Hmm.. we use Norton/Symantic and theres not been too many problems. Only problems we have are people just not bothering to install the totally free, for life, version of NAV we supply, either on the network or on a disk.. for 50p and then wonder why they've been cut off...

Formatting is never the only way out, anything else just relies on having tools and knowledge not available to most users of OEM machines. If your windows boot files are hosed, you can always manually extract them from the CD with the Recovery Console, failing that there's the old in-place overinstall, though you may have to then take ownership of your old documents, depending on how much security you've decided to implement.

Yeah.. it was a tricky one really. I had never seen this happen before, so I googled and all the evidence suggested it was a SP2 fault, and theres no known cure. My colleague had heard of the problem, and said pretty much the same thing.

Shame, really. They were only trying to do what's best

For future reference, you can uninstall SP2 from the recovery console...can't remember the procedure off the top of my head, but it was on the Microsoft support knowledge base. We haven't had to use it at work yet, mainly because we clean systems BEFORE SP2 installs, but it'll come in a lifesaver sometime. Have a look around.

As for SP2, if a system's cleaned of viruses and spyware, 99 percent of the time, SP2 goes on fine. If it's not clean, well, you're USCWAP.

White Haven wrote:For future reference, you can uninstall SP2 from the recovery console...can't remember the procedure off the top of my head, but it was on the Microsoft support knowledge base. We haven't had to use it at work yet, mainly because we clean systems BEFORE SP2 installs, but it'll come in a lifesaver sometime. Have a look around.

Thanks for the tip.. that I didn't know

Wouldn't be much use at the time tho, users providing their OS installation disk is a rareity

As for SP2, if a system's cleaned of viruses and spyware, 99 percent of the time, SP2 goes on fine. If it's not clean, well, you're USCWAP.

Read my comment above about people not bothering to install NAV or spyware programs.. They don't listen to sensibleness. Unless their packets suddenly dissapear *strokes her LART*

*arches an eyebrow* You don't have spare XP install CDs bouncing around? We keep a few burned copies for just that purpose. Home and Pro upgrade, retail, and OEM, only six CDs, and saves us entire worlds of headache.

Nope.. it's the user's machines, afterall. Not my problem

So it's their fault if they mess up their OS beyond repair - I just tell em to reinstall

I /WISH/

...retail tech.

CDS wrote:As for running SP2 - I work in IT support.. i've seen way too many machines fail because of SP2. From the annoyance of Norton Internet Security not liking it, to having to explain to someone, who had coursework due in that day, that theres no chance of ever getting windows booting up on her laptop again.. and the only thing she can do is format.

You guessed it.. she didn't have a backup.

What type of fucked up IT support do you work in?

Those files would have been easily recoverable with about 30-40 seconds worth of work. Of all the problems sp2 has been said to cause, nuking the drive is not one of them, and if it doesnt nuke the driev you can recover the files.

As I said earlier, google came up with no solution except "yeah, SP2 does that. Sucks, dunnit?"

CDS wrote:As I said earlier, google came up with no solution except "yeah, SP2 does that. Sucks, dunnit?"

So because the computer wouldnt boot (not that the harddrive was destroyed), you just told soemone to format their computer and destroy all their work?

ggs wrote:

CDS wrote:As I said earlier, google came up with no solution except "yeah, SP2 does that. Sucks, dunnit?"

So because the computer wouldnt boot (not that the harddrive was destroyed), you just told soemone to format their computer and destroy all their work?

No, I didn't tell them to, I suggested thats probably the only way they're going to get their laptop working again. They were stood right next to me whilst I googled for any clues as to what was going on. They sat next to me when page after page said "Known SP2 problem with this particular hardward, you're goosed" They sat next to me when I attempted to try, desperately, to get into the HDD without any tools to begin with. They sat next to me when I consulted my colleague, who agreed with my diagnosis and my cure.

It's not my laptop. We're not magicians. Guess what - it's not the type of tech support we're there for - it wasn't even my job to try and get into the laptop, or to google. I didn't tell them to format it. I told them to go to a PC shop. I even told them what PC shop to go to!! Fuck.. if I did that they'd be well screwed! As said in another thread, some people just don't know how to do things. That's what I'm there for: to tell people how to do things.

To illerate: I spent a good deal of time with that person.. and my colleague also agreed with my decision. It's not the type of problem I get paid to deal with.. I just do.

What, you expect a linux user to actually say that installing SP2 is a good idea? If you want my personal opinion, it's not worth the pain, installing linux will be the better plan.


If you're so worried about people losing their data, you'll be frightened with how many people save their important work to floppy disk and nowhere else and wonder why it got currupt...

Dude, if I told someone to format to solve a problem like that, I would be fired on the spot. Anyone with ANY PC experience could break in, retrieve said data to a removable format (CD-R or floppy) in under 5 minutes. Shit, you don't even need to use a windows CD to do it either. Just download a bootable Linux distro (I personally use Mandrake Move because its simple, and gets the job done.), boot off of said CD, and move the data off. Its really that simple.

Ghost and a 2.5" HDD adapter. Ten minutes.