Zone alarm problems

Does anyone have any experience with Zone Alarm? When I boot up my computer i can access the internet just fine. After letting it sit for a while, i am no longer able to access it. In the log viewer there are program access errors with svchost.exe and also a repeat server program in Windows/explorer.exe? It wont show a dns location for either? Any suggestions on what to do or what to try?
any assistance would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks

 

Hello oiler9,

Questions:

What version? Free or pro and the #? Is this a new install?

the log viewer there are program access errors with svchost.exe and also a repeat server program in Windows/explorer.exe?

In Program control: Red X's next to anything under Internet Acces? if svchost.exe is asking for net acces, you have to allow it by clicking on the line under that column and checking allow, and tick the "remember" the answer when that question comes up from the ZA tray icon.

Most things don't need server rights, so keep it blocked unless you know something won't work w/o it.

The apps that would need Server rights would be chat clients for example. Server rights means allowing the app to open a port and listen passively for communications from the net. Windows Explorer doesn't need to that.

Regards - Charles

 

From: These applications listen for incoming connection requests and respond to those requests accordingly.
In other words, they're sending info over the net to who knows whom about your computer.

 

Open Zonealarm, select Firewall>Main>Advanced. Check "Allow Outgoing DNS, DHCP in Trusted Zone on High Setting" and check "Allow Outgoing DNS, DHCP in Internet Zone on High Setting ". Click OK.

Now go to Start>Programs>Accessories>Command Prompt and type ipconfig /all at the prompt.

Record the DNS and the DHCP server numbers then type Exit

Now go back into Firewall>Zones and click Add>IP Address. Now enter the addresses you just obtained for DNS and DHCP. When finished click OK then Apply.

I had the exact same problem and now all is fine. It has been driving me crazy for weeks. Since entering the DNS and DHCP server numbers, all has been well.

 

That alone seems to be working for me. Today is the first day since I got DSL (2 months ago) that I've been able to use the internet every time I've sat down at the computer - I'd been having the same problems originally described by oiler9, but hadn't known to attribute the issue to ZA until a couple of days ago.

Wasn't able to do this step, because when I hit Enter after typing in "ipconfig /all ", the resulting screen doesn't remain displayed. It flashes before my eyes for a fraction of a second, and then there's no sign of it anywhere.
However, as I mentioned before, just following the initial instructions seems to be doing the trick in my case. Just out of curiosity, I've un-checked the "Allow Outgoing DNS, DHCP in Internet Zone on High Setting" box, to see if the Trusted Zone option alone will make a difference. I'll post back in a day or two to report on that.
PS - PLansdowne, thanks for the info!

 

Hi Rebecca;

I'm not sure if you looked at my post prior to my editing it. Rather than Start>Run....I changed it to Start>Programs>Advanced>Command Prompt. This will allow you to see the DNS and DHCP server numbers.

Hope this helps!

 

Yes, I must've originally read your post before you edited it, because Start>Run was definitely the route I tried, in which I couldn't get the resulting screen to stay displayed. You'd think I might have caught the discrepancy when I subsequently quoted your instructions (where I'm just noticing now, it says Start>Programs>Advanced>Command Prompt!) in my reply!
Anyway, I'm ready to give it another shot, but I can't figure out what to click on after "Start ". If I then click on "All Programs ", there's no such program as "Advanced ".

In the meantime - no real surprise - after letting the computer sit overnight with the "Allow Outgoing DNS, DHCP in Internet Zone on High Setting" box UNchecked, I wasn't able to use the internet this morning until I rebooted.

 

I'm in La La land.....Accessories.

 

Rebecca,

I'm guessing you have Windows XP. Try clicking on Start, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt

Cliff

 

Thanks, PLandsdowne and Cliff (hey, it looks like we're a full-fledged northern contingent here!). If I were more familiar with XP, I might've known where to look for Command Prompt -- but at least I know now!
I went ahead and added the DHCP and DNS address (they were the same set of numbers) to my Trusted Zone (no option to do so for Internet Zone, is that right?). Given that the internet seems to have been working for me consistently all day with just "Allow Outgoing DNS, DHCP in Trusted Zone on High Setting" and "Allow Outgoing DNS, DHCP in Internet Zone on High Setting" checked, can either of you tell me what the addition of the IP address does to further the cause?
Thanks SO much for resolving this internet connection business - a lot of folks' computers seems to have gotten "messed up" since Bell Sympatico brought DSL to town last August, but at least this is one thing I apparently can't blame on Sympatico!

BTW, PLandsdowne, I gather you guys actually got more snow than we did in northwestern Ontario yesterday - that's a switch! My roommate is in London right now for an Ontario Hawking Club meet - left here with high hopes of finding milder weather down there. He called last night to say it had been so nasty out that none of his fellow falconers had wanted to go out hunting; admitted that even he and his hawk didn't last that long at it, and they're used to snowy, windy weather! Good luck with the cleanup this weekend!

 

A little more fiddling with that step, and I figured out how to add the DHCP and DNS address to the Internet Zone as well (had to click on "edit" for the Trusted Zone entry; then "Internet" appeared as a choice in the dropdown menu. Then I just went through PLansdowne's steps again - clicked on Add> IP address, and added the info to the Trusted Zone once again).
Still don't have a clue exactly what it is I've done, but there's no question that it's working!

 

Here's an easy way to get to a 'Command' window...
Go to -> Start -> Run and then type "cmd" (without the quotes) and hit 'Enter'.

B