Firewall switches off after logoff

[Nik]

Hi

If I switch users, then come back to my "master" profile, XP reports that
the firewall has switched off, and my computer may be at risk. Everytime I
just go into settings and set it back to "on".

It's not a major issue, as I have Zonealarm running. Do the two firewalls
conflict?

Thanks in advance.

Nik.

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[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Hi

If I switch users, then come back to my "master" profile, XP reports
that the firewall has switched off, and my computer may be at risk.
Everytime I just go into settings and set it back to "on".

It's not a major issue, as I have Zonealarm running. Do the two
firewalls conflict?

Thanks in advance.

Nik.

If you are using a third party firewall, you should turn the XP Firewall
off. You might also check to make sure that you have the latest version of
ZoneAlarm.

 

[Nik]

That's the problem.

I have the latest Zonealarm, and when I check the Firewall settings, it
appears that Zonealarm is up and running. It's just when I log back on that
I get the little red warning bubble advising me that my PC may be at risk.
What causes this?

Thanks for your help.

Nik.

 

[Nik]

Further to that, if I go into Windows security centre, and turn off Windows
firewall, it advises me that I just turned off Zonealrm.

 

[Unknown]

Why don't you simply get rid of Zone Alarm. It is in conflict with Windows
firewall and is not needed. (if you have SP2).

 

[Nik]

Oh, OK. So Windows Firewall monitors both incoming AND outgoing traffic
then?

 

[Nik]

Something I read...

"With SP2, XP finally has a built-in firewall. Great for the internet as a
whole; bad for the companies that produce other software firewalls.

Now that XP comes with a firewall, should the average user uninstall and
forget about their favorite software firewall?

No! Software firewalls do something that SP2's firewall does not do--block
and filter outbound connections as well. The quote from Microsoft: "Windows
Firewall will automatically allow all outbound connections, regardless of
the program and the user context."

Why block outbound connections? Software packages send information back to
"home-base" all the time. Spyware can collect information and send it back
to the author. These are invasions of your privacy that Zone Alarm and most
other software firewalls stop.

SP2's firewall will be good because it will decrease the number of targets
for hackers and authors of spyware. Users who are not experienced enough to
install a software firewall will have an easy option available to them and
turned on by default. SP2's firewall be also be very unlikely to have a lot
of conflicts on the long run."