Zone Alarm problem

[Buddha]

I've used Zone Alarm free firewall for quite some time, both on my old XP
system and my present Vista system with no problem. Suddenly, everything
I've tried to do with Zone Alarm has informed me that it is "Not a Valid
Win32 application".

I've tried reinstalling, but then I'm told that the program cannot log into
the True Vector internet service, and I should restart it in control panel.
All my attempts to do anything with this service either give me "Access
Denied", or "Could not start TrueVector Internet Monitor service on local
computer. Error 193:0xc1", whatever that means.

In the meantime, windows insists the Zone Alarm firewall is still installed,
and won't let me install a replacement. I cannot even delete the folder for
Zone Alarm in the System32 folder, even in safe mode.

What do I have to do to either get Zone Alarm working again, or finally be
rid of it and install a replacement?

Buddha

 

[Richard Urban]

Instead of trying to delete the ZA folder - why don't you uninstall it the
correct way. Then reboot and reinstall ZA. Reboot again and you should be
good.

 

[Kayman]

I've used Zone Alarm free firewall for quite some time, both on my old XP
system and my present Vista system with no problem. Suddenly, everything
I've tried to do with Zone Alarm has informed me that it is "Not a Valid
Win32 application".

I've tried reinstalling, but then I'm told that the program cannot log into
the True Vector internet service, and I should restart it in control panel.
All my attempts to do anything with this service either give me "Access
Denied", or "Could not start TrueVector Internet Monitor service on local
computer. Error 193:0xc1", whatever that means.

In the meantime, windows insists the Zone Alarm firewall is still installed,
and won't let me install a replacement. I cannot even delete the folder for
Zone Alarm in the System32 folder, even in safe mode.

What do I have to do to either get Zone Alarm working again, or finally be
rid of it and install a replacement?

The problem with badly coded 3rd party software, such as ZA, is it can be
difficult removing it from the OS completely. Often it can play havoc with
the PC.

Here is what I would do:
Try uninstalling ZA in Add or Remove Programs.
--or--
http://zonealarm.donhoover.net/uninstall.html
--or--
Revo Uninstaller
http://www.revouninstaller.com/

Reboot.

Then:
Activate and utilize the Win XP built-in Firewall; Uncheck *all* Programs
and Services under the Exception tab.
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.

Windows XP: How to turn on your firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/firewall/xp.mspx

Educational reading:
Understanding Windows Firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/internet/sp2_wfintro.mspx

Using Windows Firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/security/winfirewall.mspx

At Least This Snake Oil Is Free.
http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2007/07/19/at-least-this-snake-oil-is-free.aspx

Deconstructing Common Security Myths.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2006/05/SecurityMyths/default.aspx
Scroll down to:
"Myth: Host-Based Firewalls Must Filter Outbound Traffic to be Safe."

Exploring the windows Firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/VistaFirewall/default.aspx
"Outbound protection is security theater¡Xit¡¦s a gimmick that only gives the
impression of improving your security without doing anything that actually
does improve your security."

In conjunction with WinXP SP2 Firewall use:
Seconfig XP 1.0
http://seconfig.sytes.net/
(http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Seconfig-XP-Download-39707.html)
Seconfig XP is able configure Windows not to use TCP/IP as transport
protocol for NetBIOS, SMB and RPC, thus leaving TCP/UDP ports 135, 137-139
and 445 (the most exploited Windows networking weak point) closed.

Educational reading for both Vista and XP users:
Managing the Windows Vista Firewall
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc510323.aspx

Routinely practice Safe-Hex.
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html
Hundreds Click on 'Click Here to Get Infected' Ad
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2132447,00.asp

Good luck

 

[Buddha]

That was the first thing I tried, just as I always do with anything I decide
to remove. Uninstall, as with everything else Zone Alarm related, refuses
to run, reporting it is "Not a Valid Win32 Application".

Buddha

 

[Joe Morris]

I've used Zone Alarm free firewall for quite some time, both on my old XP
system and my present Vista system with no problem. Suddenly, everything
I've tried to do with Zone Alarm has informed me that it is "Not a Valid
Win32 application".

I've tried reinstalling, but then I'm told that the program cannot log
into the True Vector internet service, and I should restart it in control
panel. All my attempts to do anything with this service either give me
"Access Denied", or "Could not start TrueVector Internet Monitor service
on local computer. Error 193:0xc1", whatever that means.

In the meantime, windows insists the Zone Alarm firewall is still
installed, and won't let me install a replacement. I cannot even delete
the folder for Zone Alarm in the System32 folder, even in safe mode.

What do I have to do to either get Zone Alarm working again, or finally be
rid of it and install a replacement?

The following is based on a crowbar removal procedure for various Zone
products under XP. I HAVE NOT TESTED THIS PROCEDURE UNDER VISTA, but as a
last resort it might be something to try before rebuilding the system. Note
that all of the actions require administrator privileges.

**** WARNING ************************************************
** **
** This procedure works under XP, and may work under **
** Vista. I suggest its use only as a last resort since **
** it may leave the system unusable if something goes **
** wrong; use it at your own risk. **
** **
*************************************************************

1) Uninstall Zone and any other Checkpoint products (if possible). If you
have any other Checkpoint products installed (e.g., Pointsec encryption)
when executing the remaining steps, this procedure will probably break them.
Reboot the system.

2) If you have installed a Cisco VPN client, stop its service (SC STOP CVPND
from the command line). The Cisco client and Zone share a common log file.

3) Delete all log files from %WINDIR%\INTERNET LOGS

4) Delete any folders named ZONELABS or CHECK POINT from %WINDIR%\System32

5) If it exists, delete the folder %PROGRAMFILES%\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm

6) In the folder %WINDIR%\System32 delete any of the following files if they
exist. Note that some of them may be hidden. Some of the files may not be
deletable; we'll handle that later.

VSCONFIG.XML
VSDATA.DLL
VSDATNT.SYS
VSINIT.DLL
VSMONAPI.DLL
VSPUBAPI.DLL
VSUTIL.DLL
VSXML.DLL
VSMON.EXE
ZLCOMM.DLL
ZLCOMMDB.DLL
ZLLICTBL.DAT

7) Using REGEDIT, open the Registry key
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services and under this key delete the keys
VSMON and VSDATNT.

8) Still in REGEDIT, look at the keys HKLM\SOFTWARE and HKCU\SOFTWARE and
under these keys delete the key ZONE LABS if it exists.

If any of the file deletions failed, reboot the machine and try again; if
deletions still fail, reboot into safe mode and make one last try to delete
them.

9) Go get a beer, start drinking it, reboot the machine, and try
reinstalling Zone. If you're successful but don't want to use it, you
should now be able to cleanly uninstall it.

10) Go get another beer. You deserve it.

Joe Morris

 

[Charlie Tame]

I've used Zone Alarm free firewall for quite some time, both on my old
XP system and my present Vista system with no problem. Suddenly,
everything I've tried to do with Zone Alarm has informed me that it is
"Not a Valid Win32 application".

I've tried reinstalling, but then I'm told that the program cannot log
into the True Vector internet service, and I should restart it in
control panel. All my attempts to do anything with this service either
give me "Access Denied", or "Could not start TrueVector Internet Monitor
service on local computer. Error 193:0xc1", whatever that means.

In the meantime, windows insists the Zone Alarm firewall is still
installed, and won't let me install a replacement. I cannot even delete
the folder for Zone Alarm in the System32 folder, even in safe mode.

What do I have to do to either get Zone Alarm working again, or finally
be rid of it and install a replacement?

Buddha

Zone Alarm used to protect itself quite well. If you tried to uninstall
it without first turning it off and rebooting it would let you ununstall
the controls but the firewall would still be there and running. No harm
done except you had no way to change the settings

Then the procedure was to reinstall, use the controls to prevent
TrueVector running at atartup and then reboot and make sure it is not
running. Only then was it safe to uninstall.

 

[Buddha]

When I try to reinstall, it says it is unable to start the True Vector
service. Checking in Control Panel shows True Vector service is running.
Control Panel and MSCONFIG would not allow me to turn the service off. I
finally managed to turn disable it from Control Panel in Safe Mode, but it
still won't reinstall, giving the same warning.

I had to use Total Commander Ultima Prime to delete the Zonelabs folder from
Windows\System32, since Explorer was unable to delete it. The folder has
since reappeared with only 2 files in it, fbl.dll and FeatureMap.dll, and
now nothing I try will delete them. At least Vista Firewall no longer
reports Zone Alarm as running, but the fact is that I really liked the Zone
Alarm firewall and would like to have it back, but there seems to be no way
to remove all traces of it or to reinstall it correctly.

This whole problem started when for some reason everything Zone Alarm
related suddenly started being reported as "not a valid Win32 application",
whatever that means. True Vector service seems to be the sticking point,
but I've tried reinstalling with it off, and with it on, with no luck in
either case.

Buddha