PDA

View Full Version : Zonealarm Hell



Jim Burton
01-21-2003, 02:03 PM
Used ZoneAlarm 2.6 "free" painlessly for about a year, then took the bait to upgrade to 3.1.395, and thereafter was plagued with consistent disconnects (with an "always on" ADSL connection). Unable to resolve, attempted to revert via this site to the old 2.6 version, and was "locked out" by ZA, taking 2 hours of hell to get back to simply being able to have internet access. I recall once noting on another bbs, which one I am not sure, that trying to uninstal ZA was a horrendously treacherous process. Does anyone know where I can find info on how to get back to ZA 2.6 without the aggravation and frustration that ZA has obviously coded into the process (with there solution being to purchase the non free version)? ZA "free" is NOT free, it COSTS you in wasted time, and takes time off of your life via spiking your blood pressure... Good product, unethical practices......I guess there is no "free lunch"... Thanks for any help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?
In The Beginning there was nothing, which exploded.
"I spent most of my money on women and beer. The rest I just wasted."
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."
"There are two kinds of people in this world, and I am one of them."

neo4s
02-07-2003, 10:15 PM
Reasons why zone alarm sucks...
If you try to uninstall or upgrade there is a good chance it will mess up your system.
If a hacker wants in your computer, zone alarm will not stop them.
Its an annoying program with all the popups.

Guest
02-08-2003, 01:59 PM
The new free version of ZA is a contradiction of what a firewall should do. It attempted to make a dial-up connection everytime I started my pc. Thought I had a trojan until I uninstalled ZA.
It sucks! Big time. DL'ing old version now. And hey Zonelabs! I'd never buy anything from somebody that uses these tactics.

Guest
02-13-2003, 11:24 PM
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/supp...tall98FAQ.jsp#6 (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/support/znalmInstall98FAQ.jsp#6)

leroy
02-17-2003, 11:42 PM
Try the free version of Outpost. I've been using it for a year (since I ditched ZA) and it's very well behaved.
http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpost/

rgm714
02-18-2003, 12:19 AM
Originally posted by neo4s@Feb 7 2003, 11:15 PM
Reasons why zone alarm sucks...
If you try to uninstall or upgrade there is a good chance it will mess up your system.

ZA mess up my computer when I uninstall it.
I am now useing Sygate Personal Firewall 5.0 (http://soho.sygate.com/products/shield_ov.htm)

Jacki
02-23-2003, 12:36 PM
Hi there

I had a major computer crash and had to recover my OS from scratch. I lost everything so I set about downloading all the programs I used to have. I downloaded ZA (I had been using the older version for a year) and it totally messed up my internet connection. My ISP ran several tests with me and everytime, it was ZA that was causing the problem.

I have now installed Outpost (after messing around with cleaning up ZA bits in my registry - and it's great.

Won't be getting ZA again. :P

Mike
02-26-2003, 01:07 AM
Must say that I have had absolutely no problems with ZA. I guess I lucked out. I have the option of Useing Norton Personal Firewall what do you all have to say about NPF?

Smokie
02-27-2003, 12:03 AM
http://www.kerio.com/us/kpf_home.html

Beats ZA easily, much more advanced than ZA mind.

The Muffin Man
03-06-2003, 10:46 AM
I have no problems with ZoneAlarm, but that is only because I know
how to configure it. ZoneAlarm is great...if you know how to use it.
If you don't, then you are going to have a fit trying to work with it.

ZoneAlarm (the free version) is a bitch because you have to open ports
for a range of IP addresses to allow a DSL connection. ZoneAlarm Pro
(I have that, yay) automatically adds your connection to a "new network"
making it a lot easier.

You get what you pay for....

ZoneAlarm - Bitch to work with unless you know your shit.
ZoneAlarm Pro - Easier, but can be annoying.

NSA
03-10-2003, 05:32 PM
I agree with the Muffin. Spot on.

Suppository
03-12-2003, 09:15 PM
Note: Replying to various people from this thread, so quotes are from various people

>Used ZoneAlarm 2.6 "free" painlessly for about a year, then took the bait to upgrade to 3.1.395, and >hereafter was plagued with consistent disconnects (with an "always on" ADSL connection). Unable to >resolve, attempted to revert via this site to the old 2.6 version, and was "locked out" by ZA, taking 2 hours >of hell to get back to simply being able to have internet access.

That's too bad. I've used several versions of Zone Alarm Free and Zone Alarm Pro with Dial-up 56k and have had no problems whatsoever. ZoneLabs have a forum now on their site where you can discuss their Zone Alarm Free and Pro versions. You might look there if you continue to have problems, if you even stop back to here to read this post, that is. I also recommend news.grc.com and subscribe to their newsgroup for security.software (or software.security, one of the two).

>I recall once noting on another bbs, which one I am not sure, that trying to uninstal ZA was a horrendously >treacherous process.

It's simple to uninstall. It depends on who is doing the uninstalling and how they go about it. :)

>ZA "free" is NOT free, it COSTS you in wasted time

Any program that requires more than point-and-click mindlessness is going to require some time put into it. Zone Alarm is one of the most EASIEST software firewalls to install, configure, maintain, and uninstall! If you think Zone Alarm is hard, try setting up and configuring a command line only firewall program for Linux. :)

>Good product, unethical practices......I guess there is no "free lunch"... Thanks for any help.

Unethical practices? I disagree. No evidence for this claim. There IS a free lunch for those who do their reading and obtain a little product knowledge! Try the zonelabs forums and grc.com newsgroups. Good luck.

>If you try to uninstall or upgrade there is a good chance it will mess up your system.

I disagree. Please state how Zone Alarm has "mess"ed up your system in the past. Please explain with technical details.

>If a hacker wants in your computer, zone alarm will not stop them.

If a hacker wants into a computer bad enough, nothing will stop them. Obvious point that includes all software firewalls, not limited to Zone Alarm.


>Its an annoying program with all the popups.

Pop-ups? You can disable them. If you knew enough about firewalls you'd more than likely be running Linux where the firewalls don't have popups. :)

>ZA mess up my computer when I uninstall it.

Then you should allow someone else to admin your system or read a few books (or at least learn how to properly uninstall Zone Alarm).

>My ISP ran several tests with me and everytime, it was ZA that was causing the problem.

Probably because it wasn't configured correctly.

>Must say that I have had absolutely no problems with ZA. I guess I lucked out. I have the option of Useing >Norton Personal Firewall what do you all have to say about NPF?

Avoid Norton anything. In my opinion, all Norton software is Bloat-ware.

>I have no problems with ZoneAlarm, but that is only because I know
>how to configure it. ZoneAlarm is great...if you know how to use it.
>If you don't, then you are going to have a fit trying to work with it.

I agree. I think too many people download and install Zone Alarm with little to no knowledge on networking. They expect it to magically protect their computer and when something doesn't work the way they expect it to, oh no the program is crap in their opinion. Oh no a pop up! Well maybe they should've configured it. The problem is with these types of people to begin with, not zone alarm.

>The new free version of ZA is a contradiction of what a firewall should do. It attempted to make a dial-up >connection everytime I started my pc. Thought I had a trojan until I uninstalled ZA.
>It sucks! Big time. DL'ing old version now. And hey Zonelabs! I'd never buy anything from somebody that >uses these tactics.

Yes, there was a bug with a previous version of Zone Alarm that would cause a dial-out. Zone Alarm updates are pretty frequent and as with all software, you have to expect some bugs to slip in each version. If you kept up with NEWS about Zone Alarm you would have known this. It doesn't "suck", your lack of knowledge on the product is what "sucks". As for going back to an earlier version, I wouldn't recommend that. With firewall software, it is always best to run the current version as earlier versions are more likely to be exploited some how. The newest version of the zone alarm FREE will not dial out now when you boot your PC. Give it a try, it's great to use.

Guest
03-28-2003, 12:19 PM
:blink: ZoneAlarm is the best you are going to find!! I have been running it for years. No problems. I will try to explain this in simple terms. In order for ZoneAlarm to work properly it has to get into every nick and cranny of your computer. It has to know everything that you have in your computer. This is how it will be able to stop anything from getting out without your permission. Starting with an older version and upgrading is fine. Down grading is next to impossible without an uninstall program. I used McAfee Uninstaller for windows 95 & 98. It worked on ME but it is not Designed for ME. Forget about using it on XP. ZoneAlarms unistall will not remove everything, thus if you try to downgrade half the stuff is left in you computer. Now you have the lower version conflicting with te stuff left over....thus it screws up. DO NOT DOWN GRADE! Without a good uninstaller (and I mean a good uninstaller) you will never get rid of it all. There is one way, and that is to REFORMAT your computer. This way you start fresh and for you newbes out there star with ZA2.6. It is the easest to get use to. READ the help file if you don't understand. Then as you get more at ease with the program you can upgrade. Trust me it is the best your going to find. Look at it this way, IF it is easy to install, easy to run,a no brainer, and easy to uninstall, it is probably not that good a program. For the people that are anoyed by the popups SHUT THEM OFF. I would rather see a popup and know that ZA has stopped something from leaving my computer (LIKE A TROGAN) than not to see anything and hope that my fire wall is working. Hoped this has helped some of you. Good luck! ;)

Guest
03-30-2003, 09:41 AM
Sygate Personal Firewall 5 (http://soho.sygate.com/products/shield_ov.htm). It's the best there is.

SPlaGuy
04-01-2003, 06:05 AM
Originally posted by Guest@Mar 30 2003, 10:41 AM
Sygate Personal Firewall 5 (http://soho.sygate.com/products/shield_ov.htm). It's the best there is.
I agree that Sygate PF 5.0 is good. I had recently borrowed a copy of Norton Internet Security from a friend to try out the firewall it includes. I couldn't get it to learn/remember things like I wanted it to, even after reading the instructions over and over.

So on the advice of a few people on a newsgroup I was following I tried the free version of Sygate. It took me a few days to tweak it just right, after I actually read all the instructions :lol: Once I did that it seems to be doing it's job and repels all the security test attempts from several different test sites. Setting Advanced Rules for allowing/disallowing specific items was easy after learning on the first one from someone elses e-mailed instructions.

I'm sure the originator of this thread has resolved their problem one way or another by now, so I'm just putting in my vote for Sygate. Norton seemed good but I just didn't like it as well. I have read more negative reviews than positive on Zone Alarm, so I don't think I would even bother giving it a trial.

l1m0z1n3
04-02-2003, 08:42 AM
Originally posted by SPlaGuy+Apr 1 2003, 07:05 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (SPlaGuy @ Apr 1 2003, 07:05 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Guest@Mar 30 2003, 10:41 AM
Sygate Personal Firewall 5 (http://soho.sygate.com/products/shield_ov.htm). It&#39;s the best there is.
I agree that Sygate PF 5.0 is good. I had recently borrowed a copy of Norton Internet Security from a friend to try out the firewall it includes. I couldn&#39;t get it to learn/remember things like I wanted it to, even after reading the instructions over and over.

So on the advice of a few people on a newsgroup I was following I tried the free version of Sygate. It took me a few days to tweak it just right, after I actually read all the instructions :lol: Once I did that it seems to be doing it&#39;s job and repels all the security test attempts from several different test sites. Setting Advanced Rules for allowing/disallowing specific items was easy after learning on the first one from someone elses e-mailed instructions.

I&#39;m sure the originator of this thread has resolved their problem one way or another by now, so I&#39;m just putting in my vote for Sygate. Norton seemed good but I just didn&#39;t like it as well. I have read more negative reviews than positive on Zone Alarm, so I don&#39;t think I would even bother giving it a trial. [/b][/quote]
..............QUOTE..........................
I have read more negative reviews than positive on Zone Alarm, so I don&#39;t think I would even bother giving it a trial.
...............END QUOTE..................

Zone Alarm free and Pro are excellent software firewalls.

I&#39;m betting the majority of the negative reviews you&#39;ve read come from n00bs, idiots, or both. ALL of the negative reviews I&#39;ve wasted precious seconds of my life reading have originated from people who didn&#39;t have a working knowledge of networking & firewall software/hardware to begin with.

guest_Tom
04-25-2003, 04:35 PM
Fortunately I have had zero problems with ZoneAlarm, and I am using the free program.

rhymer
04-25-2003, 05:11 PM
I&#39;ve tried all the programs mentioned in this post and more.
I had no problems with any of them, variously used on Windows 95, then 2000 and now xP pro.
But, by far the easiest and most useful has been Agnitum Outpost (free edition) which I recommend everyone to try.
We each will have different preferences, so I can&#39;t say it&#39;s the best, just that it&#39;s the best for me&#33;

Best wishes all, Rhymer.

Guest
05-03-2003, 01:48 AM
A couple of things you can do to make ZA 3.1 unobtrusive: launch it using these options: "-nopopup -nosplash". (Modify the properties of the shortcut; eg mine looks like :
C:&#092;PROGS&#092;ZoneAlrm&#092;zonealarm.exe -nopopup -nosplash. (Depends on where you installed it.)
Then it only comes up when there is a new connection it wants to ask you about.

It is automatically started on boot from the "Startup folder". Remove that shortcut if you don&#39;t want that. I have "Launch". a freebie Internet connect manager, start it when I connect.

Note that unless you have logging turned off, it will accumulate log files indefinitely, hidden away in "&#092;Windows&#092;Internet Logs". I found 100MB of log files there afer 6 months. Either turn off logging, or periodically delete the older ones (filenames like "ZALog2003.04.25.txt"). But note that&#39;s also where it keeps its database of allowed connections and other settings, so don&#39;t just wipe everything.

Alan
05-03-2003, 01:49 AM
A couple of things you can do to make ZA 3.1 unobtrusive: launch it using these options: "-nopopup -nosplash". (Modify the properties of the shortcut; eg mine looks like :
C:&#092;PROGS&#092;ZoneAlrm&#092;zonealarm.exe -nopopup -nosplash. (Depends on where you installed it.)
Then it only comes up when there is a new connection it wants to ask you about.

It is automatically started on boot from the "Startup folder". Remove that shortcut if you don&#39;t want that. I have "Launch". a freebie Internet connect manager, start it when I connect.

Note that unless you have logging turned off, it will accumulate log files indefinitely, hidden away in "&#092;Windows&#092;Internet Logs". I found 100MB of log files there afer 6 months. Either turn off logging, or periodically delete the older ones (filenames like "ZALog2003.04.25.txt"). But note that&#39;s also where it keeps its database of allowed connections and other settings, so don&#39;t just wipe everything.

The Muffin Man
05-03-2003, 01:44 PM
Here is a good tip for starting up ZoneAlarm faster. As you may or may not know, Vsmon.exe is the very heart of ZoneAlarm, it loads with ZoneAlarm and acctually does all of the protection, the rest is just a user interface. After you are finished configuring ZoneAlarm, you can run the Vsmon security engine without ZoneAlarm, allowing for faster startups. I did this with ZoneAlarm Pro v3.7.159, but it should work will all versions of ZoneAlarm beyond 3. I also did this under Windows98, so some registry keys or directories could be different.

1) In ZoneAlarm preferences, uncheck "load ZoneAlarm at startup". Then, shutdown ZoneAlarm.

2) Press "Start" > "Run..." and type in "regedit". This will load up registry editor. Be careful what you edit here.

3) Go to HEKY_LOCAL_MACHINE&#092;Software&#092;Microsoft&#092;Windows&#092;Curr entVersion&#092;RunServices

4) At this point, you should see string values, such as LoadPowerProfile and AchedulingAgent on the right. If you don&#39;t see those, you probably are not in the right place...

5) Right click on the empty space and select "New" > "String Value".

6) Call the string value "TrueVector" (no quotes).

7) Right click on "TrueVector" and select "Modify".

8) Under value data, type in
"C:&#092;windows&#092;system&#092;zonelabs&#092;vsmon.exe - service" (no quotes). The directory might be different though, it might be
"c:&#092;winnt" instead of "c:&#092;windows". That depends on what OS you have.

9) Now you are done&#33; Now you will be protected and can choose when you want to load the User Interface.

Soon, I will be posting up a web site that will explain ZoneAlarm Pro simply, as well as some other terms. This will help people who are not good with computers. I don&#39;t blame anyone who doesn&#39;t know what "ActiveX" is or what a "port" is, but they do not deserve any less security than I. Once I post it up, I will give the URL here and an e-mail address so people can suggest/complain. If it helps just one person, then my mission is complete.

Sygate and ZoneLabs know what they are doing when it comes to firewalls. Steve Gibson is coming out with his own...someday.