Computer Geek? I need your help.

[MagickalMemories]

Okay, folks. I need to PLEAD for some assistance (nothing major) from someone who is computer-knowledgeable.

Here's my issue:

I had Norton's Firewall 2004. My subscription was about to expire & I was going to go with a good free one. I removed (properly, via add/remove programs) the firewall.

Now, I cannot get onto ANY secure site (PayPal, my bank or Credit Card sites... NOTHING). Additionally, my Limewire P2P software stopped working.
It worked fine BEFORE the removal. Now, though, it says I'm behind a firewall & can't connect.
PLUS, to make matters worse, I went onto the Symantec site (I was informed of a fix for this problem) to download a fix and I can't get to it. I can search, using key words from my problem to search by ("Windows 98" uninstall Norton Firewall 2004), and can see the listed possible threads. When I click on the link for a thread, though, it won't let me get in. I get the "Page not available" window.

I've gone into my regedit & removed everything referring to symantec, symevnt.386 & Norton) and I've scoured my hard drive for everything related to symantec & Norton & scoured them, as well. I downloaded 2 programs (AShampoo & a registry cleaner) and used them to clean things up (stray DLL's, etc). NOTHING has worked.

All I am looking for... BEGGING for... is someone who knows what I'm talking about to go and retrieve the file I'm referring to.
It is supposed to go through & clean up behind the Bad Uninstall.

I know that the option to wipe my HD clean & reinstall Win98 is there... I've transferred files to my (tiny) 2nd Hard drive & filled it. I burned a couple CD's of the remaining stuff, as well.
I am prepared to do that if this next fix attempt doesn't work.

Thank you in advance to everyone who offers to help.
To keep my sanity straight (and to eliminate the possibility of having 8 people email me that file), I'd like to just have the first person who responds to the thread, offering to retrieve the file, be the one that retrieves & sends the file.

Thanks again, everyone!

Eric

[mysticarcher]

That's why I never trust Norton

I recommend ZoneAlarm as a firewall once you get your computer back up

But I don't know about you problem, formatting is my only idea - on the plus side it'll clear a lot of junk that Windows seems to accumulate out

Sorry I can't be of more help

[MagickalMemories]

You know, I heard bad things about Norton's Software after I got my FIRST program, SystemWorks.
I never had a single problem from or because of SystemWorks. In fact, I renewed the subscription on it twice.

The only reason I got rid of it was because the disks were packed away in a storage facility that caught fire. A year & a half ago, I had the HD reformatted due to a NON Norton issue... SO, I never had to experience their uninstall issues. No disks = no reinstall!

I never heard anything else bad and concrete against them (just more of the GENERIC complaints) until AFTER I had this uninstall issue. Then, the uninstall stories started coming out of the figuartive woodowrk!

Needless to say, I will never buy Norton OR Symantec again!

Eric

[nightspawn]

Obviously theres something wrong with the settings of your firewall. "Free firewall" does not guarantee.It may also be a virus just intruded your hard disk .Like what was previously suggested to you you can try formatting the hard disk but take down your passwords and websites you are using in pen or paper.Dont save it using a disk or floppy because you could have those files infected.

If you bought your computer brand new they should came with recovery CD's you can use them to install your OS win2000 or winXP.Becareful using limewire anything you can download there is not protected.

[MagickalMemories]

Well, there CAN'T be a problem with my firewall settings.
I don't HAVE a firewall at this point. I won't until after I fix the problem/reinstall my Windows.

I know that "Free Firewall" does not guarantee anything... but I've checked them out.Tthere are free ones out there that are 100% freeware and every bit as good as the ones we pay for.

I have run my McAfee and another Virus Scan. Nothing.
In addition, I have Win Partrol, Spyware Doctor & Spybot running on my system. Win Patrol doesn't allow ANY major (or most minor) system changes without specific approval. I have run all 3 of these, as well.

I DID buy my system brand new...
Seven years ago...
I still have the Windows 98 & Windows 98 Second Edition Discs that came with it. That is what I will use to reinstall the system.

Like I said, though, that is a FINAL option.

I am also careful with downloads. I scan each file for viruses before opening it & scan my system afterwards. I've been using P2P for about 6 years or so and I learned a lot of tricks the hard way.
Kind of how I learned about Norton's Unclean Uninstall.

Eric

[orcdom]

try installing the norton back on and see if that fixes your problem at least temorary.
and then either download zone alarm pro or Sygate, both are good firewalls.

if your using XP before you reinstall norton try disabling xp's firewall.

because norton asking for a subscription renewal should only effect you for updates and there is a way around paying for norton more than once. and its not piracy either. i found out by accident.

i use norton utilities with the virus protection. just if when you do foremat but this is how it has to be done since you wipe a clean slate. when you re-install norton on your freshly forematted HD it sees your PC as a new computer and you get another free year of use.

Steve

[Enigma Nostra]

A suggestion, something that might help, is a program that was suggested to me by a friend.

A-Squared has been a rather good program for rooting out spyware for me, and finds other malware as well.

Have you tried... reinstalling the Firewall? It will still work, you can even register it and sometimes get another year of dl's off them. At worst, it doesnt protect against the newest stuff, and then try getting all the fixes to deal with it, back them up, and then go at it again. At worst, your out some time, and if you end up needing to format anyways, not likely this will cause more problems.

If you need someone to help you out with getting patches/fixes, let me know. Worst comes to worst, get me a list of the stuff you need, I can DL it and snail mail it to you, long as your in the states should be there within a few days. Also, got any logs or anything along those lines, and/or a list of sites that are giving these errors to you?

-E

[orcdom]

"Spybot Search and destroy" is good
and
"Ad-Aware SE Personal edition" are all good programs, best if used together.

you can try to get them from www.majorgeeks.com its not a secure site so you shouldnt have trouble with your fire wall there.

you can also get free antivirus programs there as well, all kinds of free utilities.

they also have a forum that is probly better suited to help you with your PC problems.

Steve

[Taggerd]

have you checked your browzers security level

if Internet Explorer
click on
tools
then internet options
then security

you might have it saying custom if so change it to default when you remove a firewall program it sometimes changes every thing to disable so when it says use secure layering disable you wont get into a secure site

[MagickalMemories]

Hmm. There seems to be a bit of repeating of things I've already said.
Plus, there's no WAY I'm putting ANYTHING Norton back on my system. The last thing I want is to reinstall something only to have this problem when I want to reinstall it later.

A few items:
Quoting me:

I have run my McAfee and another Virus Scan. Nothing.
In addition, I have Win Partrol, Spyware Doctor & Spybot running on my system. Win Patrol doesn't allow ANY major (or most minor) system changes without specific approval. I have run all 3 of these, as well.

and

I had Norton's Firewall 2004. My subscription was about to expire & I was going to go with a good free one. I removed (properly, via add/remove programs) the firewall.

and

I still have the Windows 98 & Windows 98 Second Edition Discs that came with it.

It is not spyware or any sort of malware causing it. I have good tools running to stop that.
I do not have windows xp.
I get the page that begins with the following message whenever trying to access secure sites:

The page cannot be displayed
The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. The Web site might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you may need to adjust your browser settings. <SNIP>

I may have an answer, short of completely wiping my HD.

Eric.

[Maus154]

There is something else that might be occurring, do you have a separate router?
I've often had troubles connecting to sensitive software and invariably found the problem due to my router somehow magically switching to allow access to my roommate rather than me.
Because your firewall has changed, if you have a router, you may have to go in there and 'fix' it. The solutions will probably change based upon which router you use, and knowing how to fix mine will probably not help you much, but there are good websites that tell you have to change router settings for each specific type.
That aside, I'm also inclined to second Taggerd in suggesting you also check your browser security settings, thats an easy solution that might have been overlooked.

[Enigma Nostra]

another possibility.....


If you are running Internet Explorer from version 6 onwards some files can become corrupted causing this problem and can be resolved by running a quick repair. In order to establish which version of Internet Explorer you are running click Help and then About Internet Explorer
which will display your version number (If you want to upgrade your browser to version 6.0 you can do so here. In order to repair it follow these steps:
- Click Start and then Control Panel (or Settings and then Control Panel)
- Double click on Add-Remove Programs
- Highlight Internet Explorer
- Click Change-Remove tab
- Select Repair Internet Explorer
- Then click OK to confirm this
Once this has been completed restart your computer and then test your connection to see if you can now view webpages


or?

This problem can sometimes come about due to corruption of TCP/IP which can be refreshed or reinstalled depending on your operating system. If you are running Windows XP you can simply refresh your TCP/IP by clicking on Start then Run and then typing command and then click OK. In the black command prompt type in netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt and then press ENTER on your keyboard. It should return back to a blank line into which you can type exit to close the command prompt.

- If you are running any other operating system (Windows 98, ME, 2000), make sure you have your Windows installation CD which came with your computer and then follow these steps to reinstall and configure TCP/IP:
Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network.
On the Configuration tab, click Add, click Protocol, and then click Add.
In the Manufacturers box, click Microsoft, in the Network Protocols box, and then click TCP/IP.
Click OK two times, and then click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer. If you are not prompted to restart your computer, do so manually.


As a last option you can reinstall Internet Explorer by downloading it from the Microsfoft website by clicking here.


Just a few suggestions I found on the web. Might be useful?

-E

[MagickalMemories]

Hmm...
Let's see..

Nobody but me on this Router.
Only 1 computer in the house ight now.
Not in the Security Settings.

I checked... I DO have one of the 6.0 variants of IE (6.0.26..... etc.). I'll try the fix on that later on tonight.

Thanks again!

Eric

[MagickalMemories]

Thanks, all.

It turns out that it was an issue with Norton's NOT being a clean uninstall, after all... Even all the manual scouring I did didn't get all the Norton Trash that Symantec left behind!

I managed to (somehow) get my settings fixed enough that I was able to get into the Norton site enough to get to the instructions page for what I needed to do.

I DLed SymNRT.exe, SYMMSICLEANUP.reg & MSIFIX.bat and ran them.

It fixed my Secure Site issues, but not my P2P. I'm going to try to remove Limewire & reinstall. If it works, GREAT!
If not, then I can live without P2P until I can get my HD refomatted!

Thanks for all who offered advice!

Eric

[grazer]

This one could be dangerous, but you could try running regedit and searching for things like Norton or NRT to see if there are any remnants in the registry. Granted, making manual changes to the registry can be extremely dangerous, so make backups before attempting this.