I had a chat with a programmer on another forum,and sorted out the malware problem.

Then I did a clean install of Shareaza following instructions found here. When I setup the connection,I need to "enable UPNP connection devic setup" as I have a router. It worked fine the firsts time,but not when I started it again --it keeps unenabling UPNP ,unticking the box in the connection screen.Connection test then shows I'm behind a firewall.


I haves a static Ip set up and an exception for Shareaza on my Firewall.

If the checkbox is unchecked every time, this means your router is incompatible to UPnP...
...or maybe it is deactivated...

Have a look at the Shareaza Wiki on how to proceed: SourceForge.net: FAQ.FirewallsRouters - Shareaza Wiki

mfg,
Old

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@Old death thank you, I'll do that.

The problem is relatively recent and I've made no changes.

Bingo! Connection is now fine. A person who is only semi-computer literate,working out what questions to ask can be the hardest part.

I made THE basic error; I ASSUMED simply putting Shareaza on the exceptions list would do it.

Thank you for taking the trouble.

Addendum: it's gone again,after working spiffingly all day yesterday,

May I ask which brand & model of router are you using? And any other connection equipment & location (at home, work, school, etc.) ?

I'm using a Netcomm 6 .The only other connected equipment is a Samsung laser printer and a WD external hard drive.

Yesterday I did a clean install of the latest version of Comodo Free version. and set it up according to the instructions you gave me. shareaza worked just fine until I closed it last night.

I will now activate Shareaza again:

(1) activated: OK

(2) connect:upnp has disenabled and will not enable.


Would it be a fair to assume there is an incombatibility between Comodo and my router?

BUT there is the same problem with the MS Firewall which I set up according to the instructions after I had removed Comodo.

Could it be a Shareaza 2.5.0.0 bug? I have a much earlier version on disc somewhere.

Comodo brings its own firewall, doesn't it? If yes, you can just disable the M$ firewall as it is useless and can cause problems when used together with other firewalls...

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I use only Comodo's firewall. I enabled the inbuilt MS firewall AFTER I had uninstalled Comodo,before did a clean install of Comodo.

The free Comodo firewall comes with Agnitum antivirus,which I chose not to install,as I use Avast.

I should mention that this current problem is recent. I've been using Shareaza for a couple of years using this router. (took me half a day to set up the port forwarding initially)

Because the issue persists with both Comodo and MS firewalls it's beginning to look as if the problem is with Shareaza.

What do you think?

I don't think so. The problem you described is usually a problem with the config of your computer. The first step to solve it would be to disable both firewalls and check whether the problem persists (if you still don't pass the connection test). If it does, the problem comes certainly from your router.

Now, in order to get the problem finally solved, the following things need to be checked:
1) Does your computer have a static IP (this can be done via the properties of your LAN connection or via your router/modem (if supported))

2) I suppose you're using Comodo, as it's better than the Win Firewall. Have a look over here whether it is configured correctly.

3) The third thing to check is your router. Maybe there has been an internal reset etc. (...) ? To set it up correctly, check this: PortForward.com - Port Forwarding for Shareaza
Note that you should also check your routers security log. Some routers might identify Shareazas UDP traffic as an DDoS attac on the home network they are connected to In order to make sure this is not the case, check your routers security log after Shareaza has at least run 2 hours in Hub mode (= much connections). If the security log shows entries similar to "UDP flood" etc., you might want to correct the security settings...


mfg,
Old

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