A very strange problem

[Bob H]

I believe this to be a systems problem. I purchased Limewire and installed
it on my sons laptop using XP Pro. Because it would not open and displayed a
message about Firewalls I shut down the XP Firewall and disabled McAfee.
Since he is connected to my modem by WiFi I obtained the Limewire ports and
set the Router accordingly. I discussed the problem with Limewire and
received detailed instructions on how to set up the Windows XP Internet
Connection Firewall. which involves Windows Firewall Options Advanced tab
which allows you to add Gnutella to the description field, set the IP
address and set the internal and external port settings for both TCP and UDP
radio buttons. I do all this and hit OK. I get the same message from
Limewire about Firewalls. When I go back over the settings I find that the
Gnutella description field has become inactive (greyed out) and the IP
address has been replaced by a highlited
'Mike' which is my sons name. I did this numerous times with the Firewall
both on and off and it just repeats itself. I believe it to be a systems
problem and not Firewall Related. The name Mike appears in the System
Tools/System Information as the user. I said it was a strange problem but
was told this forum is my best bet.

[Metal Oxide]

The FREE version of Limewire works just as good as the PRO version.

[Bob H]

It's interesting that this was recommended as the place to go to and I have
gotten nothing. I believe it to be an XP issue and no MSMVP'S have any
comment and I'm told the place is crawling with them.
"Metal Oxide" > wrote in message
...
The FREE version of Limewire works just as good as the PRO version.

[Malke]

Bob H wrote:

> It's interesting that this was recommended as the place to go to and I
> have gotten nothing. I believe it to be an XP issue and no MSMVP'S
> have any comment and I'm told the place is crawling with them.

If you haven't gotten an answer, it is either because no one has one for
you and/or the person who might have the answer isn't online right now.
MVP's don't work for Microsoft; we are volunteers who live all over the
world in different time zones. For instance, here it is Sunday evening.

I don't have an answer for you because I don't use Limewire or any other
file-swapping program and I don't allow that kind of program on my
network. Try uninstalling/reinstalling. Examine your computer to see if
you have other security software that might be blocking Limewire,
something like Spybot's TeaTimer for instance or even something like
Norton.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

[Kerry Brown]

"Bob H" > wrote in message
...
> It's interesting that this was recommended as the place to go to and I
> have
> gotten nothing. I believe it to be an XP issue and no MSMVP'S have any
> comment and I'm told the place is crawling with them.
> "Metal Oxide" > wrote in message
> ...
> The FREE version of Limewire works just as good as the PRO version.
>
>

I doubt any of the knowledgeable people on here use Limewire so they are
unlikely to know the answer to your question. Although Limewire is known as
the least likely P2P app to cause problems it is still a vector for
unscrupulous people to get you to download malware. Many large P2P servers
are known to distribute malware disguised as cracked software. I see several
compromised computers each week that have malware that came in by
downloading software via P2P networks. Some of the malware I've found
includes keystroke loggers that look for bank information. Much of the
malware distributed in this fashion is changed daily so antivirus programs
won't find it.

Kerry

[Charlie Tame]

Well it wouldn't hurt to quote the original problem and any follow-ups so
those coming along later can see progress. You asked:-
===========
I believe this to be a systems problem. I purchased Limewire and installed
it on my sons laptop using XP Pro. Because it would not open and displayed a
message about Firewalls I shut down the XP Firewall and disabled McAfee.
Since he is connected to my modem by WiFi I obtained the Limewire ports and
set the Router accordingly. I discussed the problem with Limewire and
received detailed instructions on how to set up the Windows XP Internet
Connection Firewall. which involves Windows Firewall Options Advanced tab
which allows you to add Gnutella to the description field, set the IP
address and set the internal and external port settings for both TCP and UDP
radio buttons. I do all this and hit OK. I get the same message from
Limewire about Firewalls. When I go back over the settings I find that the
Gnutella description field has become inactive (greyed out) and the IP
address has been replaced by a highlited
'Mike' which is my sons name. I did this numerous times with the Firewall
both on and off and it just repeats itself. I believe it to be a systems
problem and not Firewall Related. The name Mike appears in the System
Tools/System Information as the user. I said it was a strange problem but
was told this forum is my best bet.
=========

So now we have got that out of the way you are convinced already that it's
an XP problem - in fact it is more likely a settings problem.

For one thing, if the wireless router has a firewall there are two firewalls
potentially in the way, but you say turning the XP firewall off made no
difference so the logical conclusion is that the XP firewall was not the
problem in the first place. This leaves us to wonder about router settings,
double trouble for many of us who don't use Wireless. Not all routers are
the same.

Limewire are not likely to suspect their own program since it behaves
alright mostly, however be aware that since their main business is
distributing stolen software and music they will be trying to maximize
profits before the cease and desist orders :) IOW they likely don't care
that much, especially now you have paid!

SO, you have the ports required, I can't remember what they are so perhaps
you could mention. Was it 6699 or something like that?

The best way to do this is to set up "Persistent" port forwarding on the
router, which means you will have to point port xxxx to an IP address, and
that in turn means the laptop will have to be given a fixed one. I say the
best way because if Limewire is like some others it makes their connection
more efficient. The disadvantage with fixed IPs on laptops is that it may
require changing back at another location. I would forward the TCP and UDP
ports for xxxx to start with, sometimes they do use both, again I don't know
with Limewire.

I didn't answer yesterday because I am not at all familiar with the popular
brands of routers, I can tell you that for Microsoft Wired routers the
setting web page allows for both kinds of forwarding but persistent requires
fixed IPs on the target machine. I didn't want to waste your time and
others' by giving half answers, although I did think about asking for more
router info then.

Perhaps you could look for any mention of MAC filtering or Client filtering
in the router settings just in case something there is set up to block
servers unless specifically requested.

Anyway, that's as far as I can go for now at least, more info is better than
not enough so can you actually post error messages complete and see if
anything here helps?

Charlie

..

"Bob H" > wrote in message
...
> It's interesting that this was recommended as the place to go to and I
> have
> gotten nothing. I believe it to be an XP issue and no MSMVP'S have any
> comment and I'm told the place is crawling with them.
> "Metal Oxide" > wrote in message
> ...
> The FREE version of Limewire works just as good as the PRO version.
>
>