How to disable vim syntax color?

I am working with an Ubuntu 10.04 VM. By default, vim shows syntax color and I don't want it. I do not have a .vimrc file in my home directory (or anywhere in the system for that matter). I do have a file called .viminfo in my home directory but that doesn't seem to be where the setting is because when I rename it, the syntax color is still on. I also like to have line numbers and for that I created a .exrc file in my home.

Solution 1:

To turn off color syntax highlighting, pres ESC and type:

:syntax off

To turn it on again, type:

:syntax on

To make the changes permanently, you can create ~/.vimrc file and add the following line:

syntax off

Solution 2:

Got it figured:

syntax off

in .vimrc