I subscribe to the BigPond Security package which includes anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall protection, content filtering and privacy protection for my Windows XP computer. However, a while ago I noticed that the firewall protection on BigPond Security was not active. I am unsure how long this has been the case but when I checked the Control Panel and the Windows Firewall settings it said that the settings cannot be displayed because the associated service is not running. I clicked “Yes” to start the Windows Firewall and Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) service but an error was returned that the ICS service could not be run. Restarting the computer has not cleared the problem so it seems like my computer is not running a firewall at all.

Reading the description of BigPond Security on their website (go.bigpond.com/services/online-security) it seems that the BigPond Security suite operates its own firewall rather than the Windows Firewall built into Windows XP. This is an important distinction as your question actually seems to deal with two separate problems – the first being that the BigPond Security firewall is not running and the second being that you are not able to enable the Windows Firewall. We’ll first deal with the BigPond Security firewall issue since that is probably of more immediate concern. Unfortunately I have never used the BigPond Security suite so I am unsure how it operates, although since it is sold by BigPond (Telstra) your best option would be to contact technical support, since they would have the best understanding of how to resolve the problem with their particular product. You should be able to find the contact details for technical support on the BigPond contact us page: go.bigpond.com/help/contact_us/ .

Moving onto the reason that you cannot enable the Windows Firewall, it is possible that BigPond Security is blocking your ability to start the Windows Firewall. Generally it is only recommended to run one firewall product on your computer at a time, because multiple firewalls do have a habit of conflicting with each other and causing strange behaviour (such as unreliable network access or system instability). You may find that if you uninstall the BigPond Security package then you are able to regain control over the Windows Firewall, or perhaps even the Windows Firewall is re-enabled automatically (which some security products do when they are uninstalled, so you have firewall protection on your computer once the third-party firewall has been removed). However, if you do uninstall BigPond Security but the Windows Firewall still does not work, due to the Internet Connection Sharing service not starting, then we need to look further at this issue.

In the first instance, we will try to manually start the Internet Connection Sharing service. Go to the “Start” menu > “Control Panel” and open the “Administrative Tools” control panel (you may need to first select the “Performance and Maintenance” category if the Control Panel is being displayed in category view). Open “Services” and then find the “Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)” service in the list. Select the item and then click “Start”. If the service successfully starts then you can go back into the Windows Firewall control panel and should be able to configure the firewall settings. However, if the service does not start then it is possible a file is missing from Windows which is required for the Windows Firewall and ICS service to operate correctly. There is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article dealing with this issue and it would be easier for you to follow the instructions within that article, rather than reiterate them in this column, since the command which you need to run to reinstate the file is rather long (so I imagine it will be easier to cut-and-paste the command rather than retype!). You can find the article at: support.microsoft.com/kb/920074 . I suggest that you attempt Method 1 in the first instance, since that will be the easiest way to resolve the problem. Make sure that you follow all the steps, as it is important that all the commands are executed in the right order. Be aware, if Method 1 does not work at resolving the problem then it is unlikely Method 2 will work since it is doing the same thing, but in a much more manual way – it would only be worthwhile using Method 2 if there is actually a problem with Method 1 that prevents the commands from executing successfully (e.g. you attempt to run some of the commands but receive errors in response).

Should the Microsoft Knowledge Base article not assist in resolving the problem then you could try executing a command which will reset the Winsock catalog. This sounds quite technical and, well, it is sort of technical. Winsock is short for the Windows Socket API, which in basic terms means how applications which run on Windows can access network services such as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol – which dictates the rules and addressing for communication over most networks, including the internet). The Winsock catalog stores information about services (known as Layered Service Providers or LSPs) which insert themselves into Winsock to allow them to interact with the network traffic entering and leaving the computer. If, for some reason, a malformed or corrupted LSP has found its way into the Winsock stack then this could cause the Windows Firewall and Internet Connection Sharing service to not function correctly. Even though the explanation of what we are about to do sounds complicated, it is fortunately very easy to reset the Winsock catalog. Go to the “Start” menu > “Run” and type “cmd” (without the quotes) then click OK to open a Command Prompt window. At the prompt type “netsh winsock reset” (without the quotes) and press ENTER. Assuming that the command executed successfully, restart the computer and then check whether you are able to enable the Windows Firewall.

Should you still have no luck then we need to check whether there are any missing or corrupt Windows system files that could be causing havoc for the Windows Firewall. We will use the System File Checker utility which comes with Windows to scan for such problematic files. This will scan all the Windows system files and replace any missing or corrupt files with new copies. Be aware, during this procedure you may be prompted for your Windows XP CD (if new files need to be copied from the CD) so it could be worthwhile having the CD handy. When you are ready to proceed go to the “Start” menu > “Run” and type “sfc /scannow” (without the quotes) and click OK. Make sure you have a space between the “sfc” and “/scannow” portions of the command, as many people forget this rather critical aspect and, as a result, the command does not run but instead shows an error. After you click OK the System File Checker will execute and proceed with operations. Once it has finished it will exit silently with no user feedback, at which point you should restart the computer and then check whether the problem has been fixed.

The final possibility as to why the Windows Firewall may refuse to be enabled is because a virus or malware is present on the computer. While this is unlikely, since you have been running BigPond Security which would (hopefully) have detected any such threats on your computer, it is possible that something has found its way onto your machine. I suggest that you complete a full virus and malware scan of the computer using the latest definition files for your antivirus and antimalware product, which will likely be something other than BigPond Security, since enabling the Windows Firewall is contingent on not having other firewall software (such as BigPond Security) installed on your computer. If you are in the position of having uninstalled BigPond Security, but do not have another antivirus product installed, then it is essential you address this immediately. I recommend downloading and installing Microsoft Security Essentials – a free security suite provided by Microsoft: www.microsoft.com/en-au/security_essentials . This product has a relatively small footprint, so it should not adversely affect your system performance, combined with good detection rates for threats.

Should the antivirus and antimalware scans not yield any particularly significant results then please contact me again for further advice.