ZoneAlarm - Auto Update - Fix

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 1242

For those that are experiencing the no internet connection problem with ZA & M$ update, here is ZA's fix.

ZA FIX - CLICK ME

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 2240 Location: Central FL, USA

"Intelestink! Velly intelestink!"

I solved the many problems with ZA a whole lot easier.
(For several years I fought with the many problems with ZA.)

I DELETED IT! (the same day I installed Windows XP Service Pack 2, which came with its own Firewall.)

Windows Firewall puts my whole PC in "Stealth" mode.
(completely INVISIBLE to the internet)
It don't get any better'n that!

I've been running the Windows Firewall for several years now and I've not had to FIX it, not even once!

Gads, I like things that just work and don't work me in the process. Very Happy

Cheers Mate!
The Doctor Cool

louis-the-cat · Joined: May 13, 2006 Posts: 307

After giving up ZA ( which i used for years), I switched to Comodo. I've been using it for a couple of years now..... it works for me and it's for free.

I was under the impression ( I don't know why...so please correct me if I'm wrong) that the Windows firewall only works "one way", that is it checks incoming traffic but not outgoing traffic.

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 1242

DOC - This post was for those that WERE using it & got hit by the update thing. I was just trying to field out all the questions pertaining to it so we wouldn't have to keep repeating ourselves. Really nothing more. I'm not promoting this over M$'s firewall & I agree it IS probably the ONLY security thing M$ ever got RIGHT!

LOUIS - The ZA firewall IS bi-directional & M$'s ISN'T, one of the reason I use it (when using M$ - prefer FEDORA 9 - linux), that & the immediate message pop-ups if I get hit upon. (which can be set as to what is displayed) & I ONLY use the firewall NOT the suite.

But there again ZA isn't for everyone so if a person finds ZA a bit much, I tell them to just use the M$ one. All depends on how the person wants it to work. Some get lost in what to do with the messages in ZA or how to get it set up to work correctly (I.E with apps), as it DOES require a bit more user input.

goretsky

Hello,

The version of the Windows firewall which ships with Microsoft Windows Vista is bidirectional, however. this functionality has to be enabled, otherwise the firewall only blocks incoming connections.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 2240 Location: Central FL, USA

Tux, I understand and thank you for the post and the information.

But this bi-directional firewall is like a homeowner, locking his door so the thief in his house can't get out with his stuff.

I call these things on a person's computer that would steal their stuff, "ET's".
Remember, "ET Phone Home" ?

Shut down all the ET's on your computer and you won't have to worry about them wanting to "Phone Home".

Excluding the folks that regularly inhabit this and other on-line forums, most of the computer users in the world are Clueless as to what's really installed and running on their PC's. Heck, some can't even tell you what OS they are using, or the brand name of their PC! Confused

Every time you install a piece of software like:
Adobe Reader
Real Time Player
Quick Time Player
Java

You also get an automatic updater installed in your Startup folder.
This 'thing' will start and run in the background the entire time your computer is turned on.
It will suck up system resources and eventually try to "Phone Home".
These programs are nothing more than 'thieves' , stealing your system's performance.

It behooves every user to be aware of what's actually running on their PC's and to insure that Nothing is trying to access the internet without their permission.

I guess for those that are clueless that they are clueless, a strong BI-Directional Firewall is a good thing. Rolling Eyes

The downside to this is that now, besides a bunch of ET's robbing system resources and performance, you've got another program, the Firewall, further diminishing system performance.

Every person should really be concerned with their own "System Security and Efficiency".
No system can be Efficient and secure with Un-Needed and possibly dangerous programs running in the background.

Sorry for the long post....

The Doctor Cool

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 1242

DOC - So, now you are calling me "CLUELESS"? Laughing

(kidding with ya)

Seriously, I ran this on a PII 400 w/ about 500M ram & didn't see any problems but there again, I AIN'T a "newbie" & SUPPOSED to know how to make these things work, so your point is taken. & like I said, there isn't one setup that is for EVERYONE. I believe it should be tailored to the user, if possible. So, if that person is better off with the one in M$ so be it, but if like me the person wants a bit more feedback, then ZA.
It all depends on what the user wants (or expects)... But I'll admit, I really don't need the feedback as much as I used to, as I see a vast reduction in the "hits" I used to get. And it was more of a curiosity (network monitoring / data collection) thing for me anyway. Also, for me, it was a carry over of the days BEFORE M$ actually HAD a (so called) firewall.

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 2240 Location: Central FL, USA

Tux,
Now, you know darn'd well I was NOT calling you clueless, (I would never do that!) but most of my elderly customers, heck even the young ones, are totally clueless about what's going on with their PC's. Most of the complaints I get when someone calls for service, is "it's running SO slow" or "takes forever to start up". That's all they know.

Like I said, many people call me and can't even tell me what brand of computer they are using, let alone the OS or any other details.
It's usually left up to me, when I get on-site, to scope out the system to see what I'm dealing with.
I never see ZA, because the folks are too clueless to even know what a firewall is, let alone know enough to download and install a program like ZA.

My first thing is always to tweak the registry and then shutdown unneeded services and dump all the junk files, then reboot.
Now with the PC clean and running better, I can install my AV and AS software and scan for Viruses and Spyware.
That's usually a huge eye opener for the user when I show them how much Spyware is on their little PC.
Of course, I have to explain what Spyware is and why they don't want it on their PC. Rolling Eyes

I spent four hours cleaning and tuning up a little four year old Dell, earlier this past week. The lady mentioned that she had lost "Word". I found that she already had WordPerfect 11 installed, so I made a desktop shortcut to it and showed her how to use it and she was very happy indeed.

See what I mean by 'clueless' ? She didn't even know that she had WordPerfect.

Her eyes got as big as saucers when she watched "Spybot Search & Destroy" find and remove over 170 pieces of 'crapola' from her PC.
I like to have the customer sitting right there beside me when I'm doing a PC cleanup, so they can see exactly what I find. I explain everything to them as I go along. Maybe they will be a little less 'clueless' in the future. Maybe! Wink

Anyway, now I'm just rambling.....again.

Y'all have a great day now, Y'hear?
The Doctor Cool