For those still using ZoneAlarm...

[Flawless115]

...I actually encountered this problem a few days ago, and saw this article just yesterday in the Washington Post. I suspected it was a problem with ZA, but lo and behold, another great job by Microsoft!

 

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix...l?hpid=sec-tech

[spinningwheel]

 

Good catch Flawless115;

 

Lost internet access on 3 laptops in a row and all within 20 minutes of each other. Took hours of rebooting and re-addressing the wireless and cable modems to figure out that something had slamed ZoneAlarm and Explorer and Firefox were out of the loop as far as internet browsers were concerned. Uninstalled ZA and all worked fine...went to the ZA website and found that all you had to do was set the access slider to 'medium' and all would work just fine...now have to reinstall ZA, go through the ass-ache of telling it to ok this and that program and all of the good stuff you buy decent programs to avoid.

[LOCOENG]

now have to reinstall ZA, go through the ass-ache of telling it to ok this and that program and all of the good stuff you buy decent programs to avoid

 

I would just move onto another product...Comodo or another of the free offerings perhaps. I personally don't use an aftermarket firewall, but rely on my routers hardware firewall and Vista's own firewall. No annoying popups to deal with and I haven't seen anything get through yet.

[dontasciime]

I personally don't use an aftermarket firewall, but rely on my routers hardware firewall

 

[Flawless115]

@spinningwheel,

 

Playing around with different things, I also slid the access bar to "medium," and found that the problem was temporarily resolved. However, I wasn't comfortable with that solution since I was accessing the Internet perfectly fine before having set it to "medium."

 

@LOCOENG,

 

I tried using Comodo on this particular laptop before, and ironically, had this very same problem where I couldn't access the Internet due to Comodo. At that point, I ditched Comodo and went back to ZA.

 

Regarding hardware firewalls, I am speaking from an ignorant point of view because I can honestly say I don't know much about routers, but my understanding is that not all routers are firewall-enabled. True, or not?

[dontasciime]

The majority of Router's will have a firewall.

 

All the ones I own which is about 20 have one so the Norm should be they have one but it is wise to check if purchasing.

[LOCOENG]

Regarding hardware firewalls, I am speaking from an ignorant point of view because I can honestly say I don't know much about routers, but my understanding is that not all routers are firewall-enabled. True, or not?

 

You are probably right, but the one I use (Linksys WRG52v2 or something like that) does have one onboard.

[Flawless115]

The Linksys router that I've got (can't remember the model) is probably at least six years old. Is there any obvious way to tell if it has an integrated firewall? I've gone in to the Setup many times, but I've never seen anything that sticks out as far as a firewall is concerned.

Edited July 16, 2008 by Flawless115

[dontasciime]

The Linksys router that I've got (can't remember the model) is probably at least six years old. Is there any obvious way to tell if it has an integrated firewall? I've gone in to the Setup many times, but I've never seen anything that sticks out as far as a firewall is concerned.

 

 

What's model number ? look on back or hook it up and log in

[Flawless115]

I'm actually at work right now, but I'll try to get the model number when I get home. Perhaps I can find the user guide somewhere and see what it says.

[Flawless115]

I just went on the Linksys website, and checked their Tech Support, and I'm almost certain the router I have is the BEFW11S4. I'm looking at the data sheet for version 1.0 and it says that it has a NAT Firewall. However, when I check the user guide for a more detailed explanation, it doesn't offer too much more. Is this a feature that typically comes enabled by default, or something that has to be configured?

Edited July 16, 2008 by Flawless115

[dontasciime]

they are normally on @ default [edit having quickly looked at the user guide it has a firewall) it has to as the other options are present also to punch a hole in firewall to let applications work thru port triggering etc.

[Flawless115]

it has to as the other options are present also to punch a hole in firewall to let applications work thru port triggering etc.