Norton Personal Firewall problems!!!

I have been using Norton Firewall for about two years, without any real problems - until yesterday! Since then, something has been playing havoc with my PC whenever I try to use the internet.
When I try to visit a website, the Firewall brings up warnings virtually EVERY SECOND. A typical example is;
"Symantec Norton Internet Security Proxy Service is attempting to access the internet using one or more unrecognized modules.
PROGRAM: c\Program Files\Norton Personal Firewall\ccPxySvc.exe
MODULE: c\WINDOWS\system32\ntdll.dll"

I notice that some photo's on the website fail to appear as well.
Also, when in Outlook Express, the dial-up screen fails to appear whenever I try to Send or Receive mail and some other programs won't even start!
I have scanned for viruses with Norton and found nothing. The same with Giant anti-spyware scans.
Anyone got any ideas what's causing this

 

Did you change any settings?

Do you have component control enabled?

This could be due to the ad blocking and can be modified on a per site basis.

Which version of NIS/NPF are you using?
NIS/NPF has fairly detailed logs, have you checked them for any indication of what may be going on?

Regards,

CrazyM

 

Many thanks for the reply.
1/ I did not change any settings myself. However, Windows Update added
a few 'hotfixes';
KB890047 KB887472 KB888113
KB873333 KB885250 KB867282
These are the only 'changes' I know of since the computer starting going
haywire.

2/ Not sure what you mean by component control? (Only a beginner)

3/ Yes, I notice that the warning messages come up when the website
tries to load a photo/advert etc. It seems like ntdll.dll needs to check these out and then bars them from loading. But this wouldn't explain the problems with Outlook Express and the other programs.

4/ I'm using Norton System Works 2003 and Personal Firewall 2003.
Checked the logs but there doesn't appear to be anything obviously
wrong.

 

Sometimes after Norton program updates via LiveUpdate, the new modules (which come with new Checksum values) are no longer recognized by the existing firewall rules, so their traffic gets automatically blocked and you have to make NPF configure new rules, or manually write your own new rules for them.
Right now I am preparing to do just that for all my NIS2004Pro Common Client modules (ccProxy etc.) after I let LiveUpdate to upgrade them from Version 2.1.3.4 to 2.1.5.1, and this is not the first time nor the last time I do it...

 

http://www.gpick.com/agnisrules/pages/settings/settings_pg17.html
If you have program component monitoring enabled you will likely see continued prompts. They seem to continue despite the allowed list and can get annoying. Are you permitting trusted components? Program launch monitoring works more like one would expect.

I was hoping the logs might give us some insight. Have you tried deleting all the rules for the problem applications and re-create them?

Regards,

CrazyM

 

Thanks again for the message.
However, my PC has gone completely haywire now and I'm sure it's being caused by that *@$&"!^ ELITE TOOLBAR. I've tried lots of solutions Norton,Giant,Adaware,Spybot,SpywareDoctor,RegistryMedic etc etc but it always reappears on startup. Any ideas on that one
Will get back to the original thread when I've sorted out THIS mess.

Claretblue

 

Have a look at the following post to see if it helps:
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=50662

Regards,

CrazyM

 

Many thanks CrazyM for that last piece. I went through all the steps and it would appear to have solved the problem (fingers still crossed though). I've re-installed Norton Firewall and the original problem with that seems to have gone too. After the last few days I think I deserve a few pints, and I owe you one too.
Again many thanks.
Claretblue