ZoneAlarm??

[Brian and Kim]

I can't get my network between 2 desktop PCs, both running WinXP. I've seen
some messages here that say ZoneAlarm is the problem, but I don't understand
how to fix it. How do I find the IP address of my 2nd computer if it's on
dial up and always changes IPs? I'm confused and would really appreciate
some help! Thanks so much,

Kim

 

[Joe727]

The biggest problem I had setting up my two XP Pro PCs was the XP built in
firewall. Make sure you disable it.

As for Zone Alarm, it actually helped me set up my network since the ZA
popups showed me the IP address of each computer.

Joe

 

[Bob Willard]

I can't get my network between 2 desktop PCs, both running WinXP. I've seen
some messages here that say ZoneAlarm is the problem, but I don't understand
how to fix it. How do I find the IP address of my 2nd computer if it's on
dial up and always changes IPs? I'm confused and would really appreciate
some help! Thanks so much,

Kim

Your configuration is not clear, so I'll guess -- twice:

1. If you use DUN (DialUp Networking) to get to the 'net from one PC
and use a LAN (via a crossover cable or a hub/switch) between NICs
so that the other PC gets to the 'net via ICS and the host PC's DUN,
then the host PC has two IPAs and the client PC only cares about
one of those IPAs - namely the IPA assigned by ICS, which is fixed.
So, turn off ICF on all PCs running XP; for ZoneAlarm, on each PC,
add the (LAN) IPA of the other PC to ZA's Trusted Zone.

2. If you don't have a LAN between PCs, and use DUN to get to the 'net
from one PC and use whatever means to get to the 'net from the other
PC, then it is extremely dangerous to attempt to share files between
those two PCs because exposing your files from one PC to the other
also exposes them to every PC in the world: your enemies, your friends,
and random strangers who want your credit card numbers. I strongly
recommend that you not attempt to share files across the 'net, unless
you deploy VPN (Virtual Private Networking) to encrypt and
password-protect your inter-PC communications.

 

[Brian and Kim]

I did disable XPs firewall, and I'm connecting the client PC to the net
through the host PC, via a LAN cable. I added a range of IPs to the trusted
zone (that I got at the ZoneAlarm website) and still nothing. Now I'm
wondering if it's because I have the free version. I couldn't find anything
at ZA to suggest that networks won't work with the free version, so I'm not
sure. Does anyone know if I have to upgrade or not?

Thanks a million and one!
Kim

 

[Bob Willard]

I did disable XPs firewall, and I'm connecting the client PC to the net
through the host PC, via a LAN cable. I added a range of IPs to the trusted
zone (that I got at the ZoneAlarm website) and still nothing. Now I'm
wondering if it's because I have the free version. I couldn't find anything
at ZA to suggest that networks won't work with the free version, so I'm not
sure. Does anyone know if I have to upgrade or not?

Thanks a million and one!
Kim

I use ZAfree on one PC here, and it does not block F&P sharing on my LAN.

If you can get to the 'net from the client PC as well as from the host PC,
then your network is working OK. If that's true, then I assume your
complaint is that file sharing does not work; right? If so, then your
problem is with file access across your LAN. Are you using XP HE, or
XP PRO, or a mixture? NTFS or FAT32 or a mixture? If XP PRO, are you
using simple file sharing? Do you have the Guest account enabled on
both? Do you have a shared non-root folder, with a short simple folder
name a short simple share name on each PC? Can you map a network drive
to those shares in either direction?

 

[Brian and Kim]

Okay. XP HE on both PCs. Host PC is FAT 32, client PC is NTFS. If I disable
ZA, everything works fine (file sharing & net), so I assume my network is
set up okay. When I enable ZA, I can't do anything from the client PC, so I
assume the problem lies with ZA.

I really appreciate your help Bob, thanks again!
Kim

 

[Bob Willard]

Okay. XP HE on both PCs. Host PC is FAT 32, client PC is NTFS. If I disable
ZA, everything works fine (file sharing & net), so I assume my network is
set up okay. When I enable ZA, I can't do anything from the client PC, so I
assume the problem lies with ZA.

I really appreciate your help Bob, thanks again!
Kim

trusted

anything

not

appreciate

friends,


I use ZAfree on one PC here, and it does not block F&P sharing on my LAN.

If you can get to the 'net from the client PC as well as from the host PC,
then your network is working OK. If that's true, then I assume your
complaint is that file sharing does not work; right? If so, then your
problem is with file access across your LAN. Are you using XP HE, or
XP PRO, or a mixture? NTFS or FAT32 or a mixture? If XP PRO, are you
using simple file sharing? Do you have the Guest account enabled on
both? Do you have a shared non-root folder, with a short simple folder
name a short simple share name on each PC? Can you map a network drive
to those shares in either direction?

1. Don't worry that the host PC uses FAT32 while the client PC uses
NTFS. That works fine.
2. Since you've deduced that ZA causes the problem, there are only a
couple of likely causes I can think of for the failure to share:
a. The other PC is not included in ZA's Trusted Zone - for simplicity,
set them all up to make 192.168.0.0-192.168.0.255 in the Trusted
Zone, since that covers both the ICS host and all possible ICS
client assignments. {You should normally see 192.168.0.1 for
the host and 192.168.0.2 for your only client.}
b. The client cannot get Domain Names translated because the IPA used
for DNS is outside of the 192.168.0.x range. Run CMD, then type
IPCONFIG/ALL in the CMD window; you'll see a few IPAs listed as
DNS Servers, so add each of them into ZA's Trusted Zone.

There are lebenty-leben other causes of sharing failures, but the two
above are the only ones that seem likely for your case.

 

[Phil Capron]

ZA is the problem.Try uninstalling ZA using it's own prompt (important-but
don't ask me why).Make sure your network is working OK and then try a
re-install possibly using a fresh free version of ZA.It worked for me but
having said that I now use Kerio personal-just as good and less aggro.The
same applies though-any fiddling with your network-switch off the
firewall(s) or uninstall them.
HTH.
(e-mail address removed)

 

[no1]

About the firewall. I'm not knocking your choice of ZA but I took it
off my system due it's annoying feature of shutting my entire system
down because it detected an intruder. That's not my main point. I
checked out other firewalls and found the free Sygate personal
firewall has a nifty little monitor that allows you to watch traffic
and applications. It's almost like a standalone port monitor. The free
version is not quite as configurable as the Pro version, but you can
set Advanced Rules just the same.

I have never had a problem with the Sygate firewall interfering with
the network either. It does interfere with email attachments on
Hotmail though, slowing them right down. Firewalls, in general, all
seem to be scanning file activity in the background, which is annoying
to me. I work with sound programs and the last thing you want is
background interference taking up CPU time slices.

I'd give the free Sygate program a go and see if it helps, even in the
'out of the box' condition. After using ZA, I found it easier to
implement, without the annoying shutdown feature of ZA.

Okay. XP HE on both PCs. Host PC is FAT 32, client PC is NTFS. If I disable
ZA, everything works fine (file sharing & net), so I assume my network is
set up okay. When I enable ZA, I can't do anything from the client PC, so I
assume the problem lies with ZA.

I really appreciate your help Bob, thanks again!
Kim