Win 10 Security Alert - Personal firewall is non-functional - Even after reinstall.

[Dorjee 0]

Win 10 Security Alert - Personal firewall is non-functional - Even after reinstall.

 

After recent Windows 10 update 12/28/2015 it is currently up to date with latest updates.

 

MY Eset Smart Security 9 which is also up to date with all updates I got a security alert:

 

^ Security alert

 

^ Personal firewall is non-functional

 

This functionality could not be started and your computer is not protected against some types of threats.

 

This is very dangerous and ESET Smart Security should be reinstalled immediately.

 

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

 

Setup>Network protection:

Personal firewall -  non-functional

Network attack protection (IDS) -  non-functional

Botnet protection -  non-functional

 

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

 

I reinstalled the software still get the same issues.

 

In all my years of using a Firewall this is the first and only time I have had a Firewall just stop working.

 

What is being done about this and what is the resolution for this situation.

 

Also one more thing when something as serious as the Firewall becoming non functional we should get a very visible pop up window on the screen.  

 

[Dorjee 0]

Ok hasn't been more than 1 hour since I wrote this and now:

 

Real-time file system protection is non-functional.

 

Personal firewall is non functional.

 

Anti-Stealth is non-functional.

 

What is going on with ESET?

[Dorjee 0]

Screen shots

Edited December 29, 2015 by Dorjee

[Dorjee 0]

1 more Screen Shot:

 

[stackz 112]

Try opening an elevated command prompt and enter: sc start epfwlwf

Post the error you receive if the service can't be started.

Edited December 29, 2015 by stackz

[AlexH 0]

Same problem here. What ever i try it stays offline.

[Dorjee 0]

Try opening an elevated command prompt and enter: sc start epfwlwf

Post the error you receive if the service can't be started.

look at my last screen shot  

[SlashRose 25]

Yes that's the good Windows 10 compatibility, am on my test PC just released the new build of Kaspersky Internet Security on testing, running Top running Windows 10, completely error free, that what Eset under Windows 10 not riff, you would not even get times the number of the new builds in all languages other than English to release it! So if you want the ne Functioning Security Suite 10 runs correctly under Windows, be sure to check times on the new build of Kaspersky! ( German: Ja das ist die gute Windows 10 Kompatibilität, bin auf meinem Test PC gerade das neue Build von Kaspersky Internet Security am Testen, läuft Top unter Windows 10, völlig Fehlerfrei, dass was Eset unter Windows 10 ja nicht hinbekommt, man bekommt es ja noch nicht mal auf die reihe die neuen Builds in alle anderen Sprachen außer Englisch zu Releasen! Also wenn du ne Funktionierende Security Suite möchtest die unter Windows 10 Fehlerfrei läuft, dann schau dir mal das neue Build von Kaspersky an! )

[tmuster2k 22]

Was that last response a rep for Kaspersky?  Pretty lame.  What you need to do is a full removal of ESET using the removal tool. go to:  hxxp://support.eset.com/kb2289/?viewlocale=en_US  for the steps. Make sure you click on the link for Windows 10 because you will need to uncheck the ESET driver from the NIC before running the tool. After running the tool and booting back to normal mode make sure these remnants still do not reside:

 

1. Go to registry editor. 

2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>>Software>> ESET 

3. HKEY_CURRENTY USER>>Software>> ESET 

 

4. C:\program files >> ESET 

 

5. C:\windows\system32\drivers>> look for :  eamonm.sys, ehdrv.sys, epfw.sys, EpfwLWF.sys, epfwwfp.sys  

 

6. Go to services and make sure that you have Base Filtering Engine present and started. If it does not exist then go to :   hxxp://www.eset.com/int/download/utilities/detail/family/168/and run the tool to try and bring it back. 

 

If any of these items exist from above then delete. The removal tool in theory should remove remnants but I have seen multiple times where bits and parts are still left behind. 

 

After confirming all ESET remnants have been removed and Base Filtering Engine is present then install ESS  again. 

[Seb 0]

The procedure described in topic #9 desn't work in my case

 

1) the unninstaller gives an error : Registry support initialization failed : 0x080080005 (run in safe mode). I tryed the different switches without success.

 

2) I cannot delete the file epfw.sys, used by a process (I cannot locate witch process.

 

Just hoping this problem will be solved soon by the developpers.

 

Thanks to all the participants of this forum

[tmuster2k 22]

The procedure described in topic #9 desn't work in my case

 

1) the unninstaller gives an error : Registry support initialization failed : 0x080080005 (run in safe mode). I tryed the different switches without success.

 

2) I cannot delete the file epfw.sys, used by a process (I cannot locate witch process.

 

Just hoping this problem will be solved soon by the developpers.

 

Thanks to all the participants of this forum

----it sounds like you are in normal mode. Please try safe mode or even better is safe mode with command prompt. If the uninstaller still doesn't work just try removing all items manually.

[Dorjee 0]

First I would like to say that I give Eset Chat support 5 out of 5 stars for fixing this problem 100% by the second session.

 

1) first session the tech at chat support ask for permission to remote assist which I gladly accepted I could see every thing he was doing. It took all the guess work and confusion out of the equation. He tried all the normal procedures to no avail but collected data and said he would pass the info on to the developers.

 

2) a couple days later I received an email to contact support at which point I was passed on to a special division of tech support at which point I once again gave them remote assist access and he had it working in about 30 min. turned out that the Windows 10 filters were missing. I surmise which happened from the really large update Win 10 did in Dec 2015.

 

So the situation was resolved and Smarty Security is at 100%. I recommend using Chat support when you run into an issue it was efficient, effective and pleasant, prob the best support I have encountered in years.

 

______________

 

Now about the product I was really please with Eset Smart Security gave it 5 out of 5 stars and recommended it to all my friends and family. Unfortunately it has dropped to 3 out 5 stars for 2 reasons and until these get resolved I will not recommend Eset. But once these 2 issues do get resolved I will once again give the product 5 out of 5 stars and continue to recommend it to friends and family.

 

Here are the two reasons and product requests to fix the issues I'm not happy with.

 

1) Inadequate alert on something as important as a failure in the Eset Firewall protection. I honestly have no idea how many days I went without a firewall before I noticed the tiny triangle on the already very small Eset Icon on the task bar. This is an inadequate method of alert when something as important as the firewall fails or lets say the real time virus protection. When something like either of those two fails there needs to be a very clear large and visible alert or banner center screen it also needs to be reinforced with an audible alert. A failure like that should be notified in a way where it is impossible not to know something is wrong unless you are deliberately ignoring it. The product lost one of the 5 stars due to this and it will be returned once a better alert gets implemented into the program something like this should be implemented in the next product update no later than a month from now. This is important we need to know without a doubt when something as important as our firewall goes down.

 

2) When something like the Eset Firewall is not functioning properly then it should deactivate so Windows knows there is no protection and the Windows 10 firewall should automatically be activated. At the very least with the alert recommended in 1), there should be a recommendation and option to turn off the firewall section Smart security suite and turn on the built in windows firewall. Something like an automatic protocol to turn on the windows built in firewall could take time to implement. But the recommendation and option to do it manually should be implemented much sooner and incorporated with the first alert product update request. While Eset firewall is being shown as running Windows does not alert us that the firewall is down cause it shows that Eset firewall is up and it doesn't know that is not functioning properly. This also dropped a star from product evaluation and will be returned once it is implemented.

 

I'd like to return my product evaluation to 5 out of 5 but till these two product request get filled I will be making my eval at 3 out of 5. I will also not recommend to friends and family till these two issues get addressed and fixed.

 

_______________________

 

I have been happy with Eset until this issue I feel protected now that the software is working again or it would be lower than 3 stars and i would have moved to another product. 

 

Do I feel protected when it's running, yes I do Eset is a great product.

 

Do I have complete piece of mind? No. cause now I have to constantly look at that icon from time to time to make sure it's still running properly I shouldn't have to do this make a better alert on function failures as recommenced in the first suggestion. The odds of product failure is very low so it wouldn't be a nuisance but yes when the product fails i want a system that lets me know about the failure where it is impossible for me not to know if my computer is on.

 

I will continue to use the product for now but if we don't get a better alert (first request) and a redundancy system with Win firewall as a secondary in event of failure in the next 6 months I will probably move to another product, which I would rather not do cause other than these 2 issues I really love Eset.

 

Cheers,

Warner

 

Once again thank you support you still get 5 out of 5 stars from me great job on the assist.

 

If anyone has issues with Eset I recommend using chat support. They have the ability to do remote assist and they actually know what they are doing it will save you a lot of time and confusion.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Dorjee

[Marcos 5,070]

1) Inadequate alert on something as important as a failure in the Eset Firewall protection. I honestly have no idea how many days I went without a firewall before I noticed the tiny triangle on the already very small Eset Icon on the task bar. This is an inadequate method of alert when something as important as the firewall fails or lets say the real time virus protection. When something like either of those two fails there needs to be a very clear large and visible alert or banner center screen it also needs to be reinforced with an audible alert. A failure like that should be notified in a way where it is impossible not to know something is wrong unless you are deliberately ignoring it. The product lost one of the 5 stars due to this and it will be returned once a better alert gets implemented into the program something like this should be implemented in the next product update no later than a month from now. This is important we need to know without a doubt when something as important as our firewall goes down.

If an important protection feature is disabled or cannot be started, the protection status turns to red and a bubble alert pops up. We'd need to know what the protection status read when you saw the ESET icon with a triangle.

Re. point 2, I think this is irrelevant as any critical issues are reported by a bubble alert and the protection status is changed to red. In such state, you should be constantly getting pop-up warnings in certain intervals.

[Peter Butler 0]

I have read this text and I cant see what the fix is ??  "turned out that the Windows 10 filters were missing."

Im not sure what that means of how to fix it.

 

I have the Problem where the Firewall is Non operational

 

WIN 10 with ESET 9.0.349

[Marcos 5,070]

I have read this text and I cant see what the fix is ??  "turned out that the Windows 10 filters were missing."

Im not sure what that means of how to fix it.

 

I have the Problem where the Firewall is Non operational

 

WIN 10 with ESET 9.0.349

 

Try the following:

- in the advanced setup, disable personal firewall (the option "Enable Personal firewall")

- restart the computer

- re-enable Personal firewall

 

If that doesn't help, I'll provide you with further instructions.

[Peter Butler 0]

Hi Marcos

 

Thanks for the sugestion, ill try it later.

 

I tried to de install ESET last night and use Windows Defender in the Interim but the uninstall failed and now im in limbo.

ESET has disappeard from the installed programmes list but the files are still there and its still runnung.....i#m going to try a System restore, then follow your advice.

 

Thanks again and ill let you know tomorrow

 

Pete B

[Marcos 5,070]

You can use the ESET Uninstall tool to remove all remnants completely before proceeding with a clean install.

[Peter Butler 0]

I have given up on this now, have deinstalled ESET. I just Need to cancel the order.

[ESET Security Forum 39]

Hello, please follow the steps below to resolve this issue

1. In most cases, you can perform a manual uninstallation and then reinstall ESET Smart Security to resolve this issue. Continue to step 2 below if this does not resolve the issue.
    
2. Press the Windows Key + R, type the command ncpa.cpl and then click OK to open the Network Connections dialog.
    
3. Right-click the adapter that is currently in use and select Properties from the context menu.
    
4. Check to see if ESET Personal Firewall is shown. Take note of whether it is shown and continue to step 5 below.

5. Open ESET Smart Security. How do I open my ESET product?

6. Press F5 to access Advanced setup.

7. Expand Antivirus > HIPS and click the slider bar to disable HIPS. Click OK and then restart your computer.

8. Open ESET Smart Security, click Setup > Network and check to see whether Network Protection modules are now functional. If they are, the issue should be resolved. If Network Protection is still non-functional, complete the rest of the steps below.

9. Press the Windows Key + R, type the command ncpa.cpl and then click OK to open the Network Connections dialog.

10. Click Install, select Service and then click Add.

If the ESET Personal Firewall service already exists

Select it and click Uninstall and then continue from step 10 above.

11. Click Have Disk navigate to the ESET Personal Firewall driver at C:\Program Files\ESET\ESET Smart Security\Drivers\epfwlwf and click OK. 
     
12. Select ESET Personal Firewall and click OK.
     
13. Repeat steps 6-7 and click the slider bar to enable HIPS. Restart your computer and check to see if the issue persists. 

[Dennis M 0]

Finally, both my HIPS and firewall are working.... Thanks a million!!!

[DjLiLaLRSA 0]

On 1/7/2016 at 9:18 AM, Marcos said:

If an important protection feature is disabled or cannot be started, the protection status turns to red and a bubble alert pops up. We'd need to know what the protection status read when you saw the ESET icon with a triangle.

Re. point 2, I think this is irrelevant as any critical issues are reported by a bubble alert and the protection status is changed to red. In such state, you should be constantly getting pop-up warnings in certain intervals.

On ESET Internet Security, i am given no sign of these items being OFF, i only can see they are off when i go into ESET -> Setup, yes in the ESET application on the Home screen there is a red 3 but no warning. I assume i have no firewall protection, although  it is not warning, and now the ransomware virus attacking my laptop???

 

THIS is not how a business runs ESET, you dont have people assisting people, when more than 1 person reports YOU FIX YOUR BUG. I will make sure any loss is therefore covered now by ESET, since i have no warning. How can  you call this real support??

[Marcos 5,070]

12 hours ago, DjLiLaLRSA said:

On ESET Internet Security, i am given no sign of these items being OFF, i only can see they are off when i go into ESET -> Setup, yes in the ESET application on the Home screen there is a red 3 but no warning. I assume i have no firewall protection, although  it is not warning, and now the ransomware virus attacking my laptop??

According to your screen shot, all protection features are on and maximum protection is ensured unless you configured some not to change the protection status in the Application statuses setup.

Please provide us with screen shots that show the issue you are having.