Ddi you do a clean install of ZA or an update? An update preserves
settings, such as which programs are allowed to connect to the internet. A
clean install will disallow all programs, until you give them permission.
Most programs will cause ZA to pop-up and ask you for permission, but some
need to be pre-set as "good guys". These experiences pertain to frequent,
minor ZA upgrades. I do not know what would happen if you jumped 2 or more
versions.
I just upgrade ZA a few days ago, and Spybot has no problems. I did NOT use
any auto-update feature of ZA. Rather, I went to the ZA website and
downloaded the latest version directly.
Suggestion: Do not use/trust the XP security center; I am not confident
that always tells the truth. Look for the ZA icon in the system tray, and
use that to open the ZA interface to check which, if any, programs have
internet access, and modify them if necessary. If ZA is not in the system
tray, try manually starting it from a place like "C:\Program Files\Zone
Labs\ZoneAlarm". The program is called "zclient.exe".
You might also want to download a fresh copy of ZA (free version) and do a
clean install. First uninstall the current one. This will lose all
settings, but should result in a working ZA. You will then need to train it
to allow specific programs to have internet access.
You might want to chekc the ZA and Avast websites for any adverse
interaction between their programs. I use Norton antivirus, and ZA plays
well with that.