How can I access Win XP Firewall if it doesn't display in Security Centre?

Question

A friend recently installed a McAfee Total Protection software product & accepted all the options. When she then tried to access the internet following this she was unable to (using BT Broadband). I have previously found that McAfee Firewall can be a bit of a death trap and generally ditch it & just use the Win XP Firewall. HOWEVER - she uninstalled & reinstalled McAfee & since then the whole PC has died - GUIs not displaying (not just McA), programs stalling & never coming back...
We got a semblance of order and she can now reach the internet BUT - she has no AV (McAfee will neither install nor uninstall) and the Win Firewall does NOT show up in the Security Centre - SO - does anyone know if I can find the Win Firewall as an executable anywhere? Happy to mess in registry, Services etc. but not familiar with this precise item!
Hope you can help!!

Answer 1

By the sounds of it you have quite a few problems. Not what you want to hear.

When security programs become corrupted it is generally quicker to bite the bullet and reinstall your operating system.
It doesn’t take too long to install Windows about 35-40 minutes depending on the speed of your computer.

I find the most time is taken up installing all the secondary software programs on an operating systems. Swings and roundabouts I'm afraid.

At least if you do a new install you’ll have a perfect system.

Answer 2

windows firewall is present in two locations ,in security center and also in control panel
either locations you can enter the firewall settings and delete or add exceptions
programs like mcafee and norton are typical in the way they totally destroy your operating system,their suppose to protect you from viruses and malware but in the meantime they destroy any reminance of normality on your desktop
the situaton your friend has been left with is unbeleiveable,and personally i would either do a system recovery using a recovery cd/dvd
however try to uninstall mcafee in safe mode(press f8 at start up and choose safe mode)
but even if you manage to uninstall mcaffe,other av programs may not be able to install and if they do,after all the mess in the registry will they work correctly
ditch this windows xp,wipe the drive and do a fresh install of windows xp,or go the whole nine yards and upgrade to vista,the security in that is much improved
your freind must not go online without av protection.tell her to download and install avast 4.7(http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html)
this is a free av and will do a good job at protecting your freind while online,it runs in demo mode for 60 days but you can register it free at any time in them 60 days and convert it to a full home license
try to avoid security software that makes changes to your defualt security settings in service pack 2,this is what happened in mcafee total protection,it takes over the job of security center and in some antispyware scanners(like spybot)this actually comes up as a spyware/adware)
mcafee are actually breaking the law by not supplying a uninstaler for their programs,its normally part of the e.u.l.a(end user license agreement)
finally messing around with the windows registry is not advised,its a nightmare for even advanced users and is not the answer to all problems,a alternative solution for your friends problem would be to uninstall service pack 2(add/remove programs)and after a restart reinstall the service pack 2 file(250mb)
this will replace any missing files and should return the windows firewall to its original location
good luck!

Answer 3

I'd suggest doing a System Restore to a date before Total Protection was installed. Then look in Add/Remove Programs and see if you can uninstall it from there. You can't uninstall it properly at present as its registry entries are currently in place.

Answer 4

Please follow these steps to turn on the windows Firewall:

1. Click start and go to control panel
2. In there find 'Network Connections' and click on it.
3.Find the icon that you use to connect with. ( It might be called BT Broadband because you sue that)
4. Right-click it and go to properties.
5. When you are in click on the 'Advance' Tab on the top left hand corner.
6. You will see the windows firewall, click the settings and turn it on.


Hope this helps, but i really recommend Zone alarm firewall with can be found here: http://www.download.com/ZoneAlarm/3000-10435_4-10653297.html?tag=lst-0-4

Its absolutely Free!!!

Answer 5

just go to control panel - there's an icon there for its configuration