Expert: James Filmer - 2/22/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hi

I don't know if you are able to help me, but my Trend Micro membership expired (which I have not renewed, instead I have installed AVG on my PC) And when I go to download video torrents, it always comes up on my screen as zero seeds. I have been using bittorrent and I have uninstalled it and re-installed it, but it still comes up saying there are no seeds.
A message came up saying that "Firewall not active - access denied."
What is a Firewall?
Does the firewall have anything to do with the Trend Micro virus protector that I used to have?
Could that be the reason why my bittorrent isnt working because I didnt renew my Trend Micro?

ANSWER: Rating 8 for Timeliness for my next day no cost reply, and 9 Knowledge? (Did I mention if you had problems with my answer to contact me again?) Little chance of fixing the problem in my first post. Would have needed to know (at least) your exact Trend Micro, AVG versions and system. Still, thanks for the ratings.


------------------------------------------------------------------------

It would be best if I knew what Windows system you're using, but hopefully the following info will help you resolve the problem.

Check if your Windows Firewall is enabled. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/security/winfirewall.mspx

Firewalls and Anti-virus programs are two different things. You need both. Also, you can't have two antivirus programs running at the same time.

Enrgy21.com's home page has links to Firewallguide (right column) and Claymania (Anti-virus basics - left).

There's a lot of info on the net about both, and there's also some basic info on Enrgy21.com Tips and links to helpful sites on the Tools page (techsupportalert, Ask Leo...

It's possible Trend Micro is a part of the problem. Did you remove it via Add/Remove?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307895

If you didn't, you need to, then restart. I'd also recommend using a free temp file cleaner like CCCleaner.com (link also on enrgy21.com/tools) to make sure you removed all traces of it (use a search engine for more choices or see Techsupportalert).

Any problems with any of the above, just let me know.





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi
I've been so busy. I havent done what you said. I'll do it. I'm using Windows Vista.

Answer
Rereading your question, maybe you've already removed Trend Micro. What I should have said "try to remove all traces of it."

Vista has a built-in Firewall that is usually automatically enabled. Since you didn't know what a Firewall was, it was most likely enabled when video torrents was working, and may have been disabled when Trend Micro was removed. Or, maybe left over Trend files are causing a conflict.

To remove all Trend Micro traces:
http://www.squidoo.com/uninstalltrendmicro

To make sure Windows Firewall is enabled:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Turn-Windows-Firewall-on-or-off

Let me know if this helps.