Programs Running?

Hi. My first question is when I have ZoneAlarm running on the screen I see my
FireFox browser,ZoneAlarm and 2 Generic Host Process for win32 services pages
flashing in the program window at the top of ZoneAlarm. Is this common or
could I have some type of virus(Generic pages)? I have WinPro with SP2,Symantec AntiVirus.
Second when I log in with different users could have ZoneAlarm as the
second program to start after Symantec AntiVirus?
Thanks Jethroww

 

I am assuming the problem is related to Zonealarm.

Zonealarm works by allowing or disallowing connections to the internet. It may be that programs are trying to connect to the internet. You should be able to find a list (I am not running Zonealarm on this computer) of programs that want to connect to websites in the Zonealarm menus, you can allow or disallow them to connect, but find out what program they are first and if they are part of legitimate programs that are installed on your computer or some sort of spyware that is trying to connect to it's home website.

If you have not become familiar with how Zonealarm works and how to identify the connections, check in the Help section and run the "tutorial ".

Zonealarm is somewhat "manual" in it's usage, but if you understand what programs it is controlling, it is a very powerful firewall.

Matt

 

Hello Jethroww,

My first question is when I have ZoneAlarm running on the screen I see my
FireFox browser,ZoneAlarm and 2 Generic Host Process for win32 services pages
flashing in the program window at the top of ZoneAlarm. Is this common or
could I have some type of virus(Generic pages)?
That's normal. Generic Host Process(s) are a part of XP and needed for web access. If you look at TaskManager, ctl-alt-del, you'll see multiple instances of svchost.exe running, Generic Host Process is a bundled system process in scvhost.exe's.

Second when I log in with different users could have ZoneAlarm as the
second program to start after Symantec AntiVirus?
No, and not desirable, ZA loads at the earliest opportunity in order to get the firewall - vsmon.exe - loaded and running.

At that point, when the system first comes up, it is far more important than having an AV loaded first.

Regards - Charles

 

Hi. I just thought I could have some type of virus embeded in 1 of the 2 Generic Host Process running. I was using Win 98Se before so I am just starting to learn
how WinXP Pro runs.
Thanks charlesvar.