Firewall turns off on Restart--Zonealarm installed

[Willy]

I recently installed ZoneAlarm Security Suite 8.0.059 and it has a Firewall
which is turned on by default & I understand by default it turns Off the
Windows Firewall. However, on Restart, I get that Red Shield in Tray next
to clock. I click it and of course the Windows Firewall is off but it is
telling me that the ZoneAlarm FW is off which is false.
I turn the Windows Firewall back on to get rid of the Red Shield but upon
another Restart the Windows Firewall again gets turned off & Red Shield
comes back.
Any suggestions or help?

 

[JS]

ZoneAlarm User Forum
http://forums.zonelabs.com/zonelabs

Current version is 8.0.259.000
Earlier version of 8.x where know to have problems

 

[Willy]

8.0.259 is a Beta version.
--
Thanks, Bill
Post replies back to News Group

ZoneAlarm User Forum
http://forums.zonelabs.com/zonelabs

Current version is 8.0.259.000
Earlier version of 8.x where know to have problems

 

[Kayman]

I recently installed ZoneAlarm Security Suite 8.0.059 and it has a Firewall
which is turned on by default & I understand by default it turns Off the
Windows Firewall.

This has to be one of your worst decision you made sofar in 2009!

However, on Restart, I get that Red Shield in Tray next to clock.
I click it and of course the Windows Firewall is off but it is
telling me that the ZoneAlarm FW is off which is false.
I turn the Windows Firewall back on to get rid of the Red Shield but upon
another Restart the Windows Firewall again gets turned off & Red Shield
comes back.
Any suggestions or help?

Yes, but do you really want it? Can you handle the truth? Are you ready to
be educated? If so, let us know

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

What you're seeing is called a "race condition::" Security Center is loading
before ZA loads when you start your computer. See how quickly, if at all,
the Security Center alert goes away if you do NOT enable the Windows
Firewall.

As JS points out, this is a topic for ZA Forum, not here:
http://forums.zonelabs.com/zonelabs

 

[Willy]

Go ahead with the TRUTH, I'm 56 & can handle it.

 

[Willy]

That alert goes away if I Disable the Windows Firewall Alerting.

Sorry for the posting here, wasn't finding answer in that forum cause I did
try it first but came here cause you as many others in past years have
answered many questions for me due to your vast computer knowledge/

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Did I suggest disabling Security Center's monitoring of the firewall? No.

 

[Willy]

No you didn't & I don't think I'm implied you did. Sorry if it came out
that way. I was just doing some self-tests & disabled it to see what would
happen but I immediately enabled it after the self-test I did.

 

[Kayman]

Go ahead with the TRUTH, I'm 56 & can handle it.

Alright son

Consider removing this software from your operating system, it will cause
you more headaches & confusion and certainly won't make you more 'secure'!

Develop a security concept, the use of LUA and utilize good-quality freely
availble software from different manufacturers (never place all your eggs
in one basket).

For the average homeuser, the Windows Firewall in XP does a fantastic job
at its core mission and is really all you need if you have an 'real-time'
anti-virus program, [another firewall on your router or] other edge
protection like SeconfigXP and practise Safe-Hex.
The windows firewall deals with inbound protection and therefore does not
give you a false sense of security. Best of all, it doesn't implement lots
of nonsense like pretending that outbound traffic needs to be monitored.

Let me know if your interested and require additional info & guidance

 

[Willy]

What's LUA?
I've got a Linksys router which I've set it secure so neighbors can't use
it.
I've got Windows Defender installed & set to update & scan each day. Of
course it's a joke as I've run Lavasoft's Ad-Aware immediately following &
it found Spyware that Defender didn't. I run Ad-Aware about once a week
I had AVG 8.x installed and it seemed like a good Free Antivirus/Spyware
program, had it set to update & scan daily.
The ZA I have is just a 15 day trial. I used to use ZA back before XP as a
Firewall on my Win 98SE PCs.

What's your recommendations, besides uninstalling ZA, as far as Folders to
scan, etc.?

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

To whom are you replying?

Apples & Oranges: Defender and Ad-Aware don't look for the same things.
Defender will find things that Ad-Aware does not. Defender provides
real-time protection: Ad-Aware does not.

AVG Free is NOT a "good" anti-virus/anti-spyware application.

 

[Willy]

Robert, I was replying to Kayman. My reply was under his post wasn't it?
Anyway, what's your recommendation regarding anti-virus/ant-spyware
software? I'm aware Ad-Aware is not real-time protection unless I purchase
the Pro version. Free version is strictly manual, whereas I knew Defender
is auto & real-time.
A few years ago, I used Norton but read now it is such a memory hog.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

To keep track of things, it helps immensely if you include all of previous
message(s) in your replies to the newsgroup (as you did when replying to my
post). Thank you.

To see why this can be a problem, click on OE View | Current View | Hide
read messages. <w> Most of us have that View enabled.

Opinions on security-related software are entirely subjective and
wide-ranging. That being said, I can recommend...

AV (paid): NOD32 or Kaspersky (not the "suites")

AV (free): Avira AntiVir (only)

FW (pick one): Windows Firewall used in conjunction with a router; Comodo;
Online Armor

Anti-Spyware: Defender; SpywareBlaster; BOClean; ThreatFire (all free)

Windows Update: Enable Automatic Updates & keep the machine fully patched at
all times.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Monday, January 12, 2009 9:58:13 AM, and on a
whim, Willy pounded out on the keyboard:

Robert, I was replying to Kayman. My reply was under his post wasn't it?
Anyway, what's your recommendation regarding anti-virus/ant-spyware
software? I'm aware Ad-Aware is not real-time protection unless I purchase
the Pro version. Free version is strictly manual, whereas I knew Defender
is auto & real-time.
A few years ago, I used Norton but read now it is such a memory hog.

Hi Willy,

As you can see here, I replied to your post. But because you are using
OE and choose to reply above the quote and use a sig file, OE inserted a
"delimiter", which is the dash dash space "-- " above your sig.

The BIGGEST drawback in MS mail clients IMO is the delimiter bug. MS
clients will insert a delimiter (dash dash space "-- ") when someone is
replying above a quote and inserts a sig file. This is INCORRECT usage
of the delimiter. But MS has never fixed it. And MS clients IGNORE the
delimiter when replying to a post that has one, another bug.

So when someone using an MS client replies above a quote (top posting)
and uses a sig file, a proper newsreader removes everything below the
delimiter (which is what is was designed for), which wipes out the text
the person is replying to. So someone can never go to the last post in
a thread and see the question and answer provided in one post. They
have to sift through the complete thread.

You can install Quotefix which fixes the delimiter bug and others:
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/


--
Terry R.

***Reply Note***
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.

 

[Willy]

Robert,
I see what you mean about the views. I'll keep that in mind in future. I
remembered an MVP in another Thread a few years ago recommend deleting, as I
did, cause all could see via previous post but I can see where that would be
a problem if checked as you mentioned.

Thanks for your opinions & recommendations. I keep Windows Updater on
Automatic as you recommended, always have since it came out by MS.
You think Windows FW with my Router FW is sufficient for just a home user?

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

You think Windows FW with my Router FW is sufficient for just a home user?

Yes.

 

[Willy]

Thanks Robert for all your help. Oh, is Terry's post below a good idea

 

[Willy]

Robert, What Folders would you recommend scanning on a daily basis after a
total scan?

 

[Kayman]

What's LUA?

For WinXP the most dependable defenses are:-
1. Do not work as Administrator; For day-to-day work routinely use a
Least-privileged User Account (LUA).
Applying the Principle of Least Privilege to User Accounts on WindowsXP
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb456992.aspx

2. Secure (Harden) your operating system.
http://www.5starsupport.com/tutorial/hardening-windows.htm

3. Don't expose services to public networks.
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Service Configurations
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

4. Keep your operating(OS)system (and all software on it) updated/patched.
How to configure and use Automatic Updates in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306525
http://www.update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us

4a.Got SP3 yet?
Why Service Packs are Better Than Patches.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/community/columns/security/essays/srvpatch.mspx?mfr=true

5. Reconsider the usage of IE and OE.
Utilizing another browser application and e-mail provider can add to the
overall security of the OS.
Consider: Opera,FireFox or Seamonkey and PegasusMail,Thunderbird,or WLM.

5a.Secure (Harden) Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer7 Desktop Security Guide.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...DA-6021-468E-A8CF-AF4AFE4C84B2&displaylang=en

6. Review your installed 3rd party software applications/utilities; Remove
clutter, *including* all Anti-WhatEver ware and 3rd party software
personal firewall application (PFW) - the one which claims:
*"It can stop/control malicious outbound traffic"*.

7. If on dial-up Internet connection, activate the build-in firewall.
Windows XP: How to turn on your firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/firewall/xp.mspx
Uncheck *all* Programs and Services under the Exception tab.

7a.Configure Windows by using:
Seconfig XP 1.1
http://seconfig.sytes.net/

7b.If on high-speed Internet connection use a Router and
implement Countermeasures against DNSChanger.
http://extremesecurity.blogspot.com/2008/06/use-default-password-get-hijacked.html

7c.And (just in case) Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) has been superseded by
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).

8. Utilize one (1) each 'real-time' anti-virus and anti-spy
application.
Consider: Avira AntiVir® PersonalEdition Classic - Free
and Windows Defender.

9. Employ back-up application(s).
Windows XP Backup Made Easy
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03july14.mspx
Consider: Acronis, Casper or Norton Ghost and ERUNT.

9a.Utilize vital operating system monitor utilities/applications but you
need to know the nature or meaning of what those programs are
disclosing.
Consider: Process Explorer, AutoRuns, TCPView, WALLWATCHER, Wireshark,
Port Reporter Regmon/Filemon, rootkit detection tools like Rootkit
Revealer, Gmer Rootkit or Hook Analyzer etc.. There are more but beware
computer forensics is a quite difficult and complex field.

10.Routinely practice Safe-Hex.
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

The least preferred defenses are:-
Myriads of popular anti-whatever (*real-time*) applications and staying
ignorant.

Good luck

Avoiding Rootkit Infection.
"The rules to avoid rootkit infection are for the most part the same as
avoiding any malware infection however there are some special
considerations:
Because rootkits meddle with the operating system itself they *require*
full Administrator rights to install. Hence infection can be avoided by
running Windows from an account with *lesser* privileges" (LUA in XP and
UAC in Vista).

I've got a Linksys router which I've set it secure so neighbors can't use
it.

Excellent! Read and implement #7b above and ensure your router is compliant
with the latest firmware upgrade!

I've got Windows Defender installed & set to update & scan each day.

It's a good application.
Windows Defender - Free
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
WD monitors the start-registry and hooks registers/files to prevent spyware
and worms to install to the OS.
Interesting reading:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136195/article.html
"...Windows Defender did excel in behavior-based protection, which detects
changes to key areas of the system without having to know anything about
the actual threat."

Of course it's a joke as I've run Lavasoft's Ad-Aware immediately following
& it found Spyware that Defender didn't. I run Ad-Aware about once a week

Ad-Aware lost its lustre. Try these apps instead (you'll be glad you did):
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/downloadfile.html?productid=SUPERANTISPYWAREFREE
--and--
Malwarebytes© Corporation - Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe

I had AVG 8.x installed and it seemed like a good Free Antivirus/Spyware
program, had it set to update & scan daily.

AVG has become bloated and cumbersome to use.
Good alternative:
Avira AntiVir® Personal - FREE Antivirus
http://www.free-av.com/
(The free version won't scan your emails.)
Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm
Ensure your e-mail program is configured to display e-mail messages in
'Plain Text' only.
You may wish to consider removing the 'AntiVir Nagscreen'
http://www.elitekiller.com/files/disable_antivir_nag.htm

The ZA I have is just a 15 day trial.

Uninstall this useless application!

I used to use ZA back before XP as a Firewall on my Win 98SE PCs.

3rd party firewalls were a kind of essential on Win98 but not on WinXP!

What's your recommendations, besides uninstalling ZA, as far as Folders to
scan, etc.?

Good luck