HOW TO: Remove a Third-Party Personal Firewall Program In Microsoft Windows 2000

This step-by-step article describes how to remove a third-party personal firewall program from your Microsoft Windows 2000-based computer.

IMPORTANT: The steps in this article describe a general procedure that you can use to remove a third-party firewall program (such as Norton Personal Firewall, Norton Internet Security, BlackIce Defender or BlackIce PC Protection, ZoneAlarm, or McAfee Firewall) that is installed on your computer. For more information or specific instructions about how to remove the program, or to inquire about the availability of vendor-specific tools that you can use to remove the program, see the program documentation or contact the program vendor.

How to Remove a Third-Party Personal Firewall Program from the Computer

Warning This workaround may make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

Note An antivirus program is designed to help protect your computer from viruses. You must not download or open files from sources that you do not trust, visit Web sites that you do not trust, or open e-mail attachments when your antivirus program is disabled.

For additional information about computer viruses, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To remove the firewall program from the computer, follow these steps:

1. Shut down the computer, and then turn off the power.
2. Disconnect the network cable (or cables) from the network adapter (or adapters) on the computer. For more information about how to do this, see your hardware documentation.
3. Restart the computer in Safe mode. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Restart the computer.
   2. When you receive the Please select the operating system to start message, press F8.
   3. On the Windows Advanced Option menu, use the ARROW keys to select Safe Mode, and then press ENTER.
   4. If you have a dual-boot or multiboot system, select Microsoft Windows 2000 in the list that appears, and then press ENTER.
4. Remove the third-party firewall program. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
   2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
   3. In the Currently installed programs list, select the firewall program that you want to remove, and then click Change/Remove or Remove.
   4. Click Yes if you are prompted to confirm the removal of the program.
   5. Click Close.
5. Shut down the computer, and then turn off the power.
6. Reconnect the network cable (or cables) to the network adapter (or adapters) on the computer. For more information about how to do this, see your hardware documentation.
7. Restart the computer.

For information about how to contact your software or hardware manufacturer, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.