Microsoft Update & Zone Alarm 7.0

Did you read what the Moderator on the Zone Alarm Forum posted ?
Do you understand that Zone Alarm is at fault for not recognizing the
differing file sizes and checksums ?
There is NO issue with the update except on systems with Zone Alarm
installed. Does that tell you anything ?

The fix posted by Old Sod works and does not lower Security, as opposed
to those who recommend setting ZA's security level to Medium are doing.
Read his post and see how the issue is resolved.
End of story.
Next !


MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============




Stephanie wrote:

>
> "MowGreen [MVP]" wrote:
>
>
>>No, the issue is caused by Zone Alarm, as explained by a moderator in
>>the ZA Forum:
>>http://forum.zonelabs.org/zonelabs/b...ssage.id=52727
>>
>>
>>>If the windows update changed the usual needed files for networking/internet, then the ZA will not
>>>see the changes and continue to use the previously known files and ignore the newer files. Even though
>>>the file names and locations are still the same from before, now the file size and checksums no longer
>>>match.
>>
>>This is wholly *** Checkpoint's fault ***, not Microsoft's.
>>Resetting the ZA database in Safe Mode is the recommended fix. Please
>>click the ZA Forum URL for the entire fix.
>>Setting security to "Medium" is not good practice.
>>
>>
>>MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]
>>===============
>> *-343-* FDNY
>>Never Forgotten
>>===============
>>
>>
>>Stephanie wrote:

>
>
> Sorry. I disagree that it is ZA's fault since nothing has been determined
> other than uninstalling the update allows ZA to return to the highest mode
> for its firewall. It's too soon to say one way or the other what the exact
> cause is, but Microsoft is "famous" for issuing updates and patches that
> don't work. It's just the cost of trying to satisfy a lot of different O/Ses
> and software although I think it could have been tested on the more popular
> software people use before being released.
>
> Ron

"MowGreen [MVP]" <mowgreen@nowandzen.com> wrote in message
news:eEGNb5U4IHA.2336@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Anthony Buckland wrote:
>
>> "MowGreen [MVP]" <mowgreen@nowandzen.com> wrote in message ...
>>>Knowing Mike, I ***highly*** doubt that any product he would be
>>>associated with has as many issues as Zone Alarm has with updating
>>>Windows. ZA has gone waaayyy downhill since Checkpoint acquired it.
>>>
>>>Just my 2¢
>>>...
>>
>>
>> My couple of hours of extra work dealing with this issue is
>> that, if Microsoft is going to issue an update incompatible
>> with a popularly used antivirus product already in use, they
>> should detect and deal with the problem _before_ users
>> start finding themselves in serious trouble.
>
> You claim it's Microsoft's fault. I claim it's Checkpoint's fault.
> ...

Not at all. I'm just looking at the time line, which has
the latest (so far as I know) ZoneAlarm release in use
for at least over a month, whereas the Microsoft update we're
talking about just came out. The fault may well lie in
the ZoneAlarm code, but Microsoft's prerelease testing
should have included all the most popular antivirus
products, and a warning should have accompanied the
update description. I'm not saying Microsoft necessarily
need to modify their update, just that they should warn
their users if that update should be avoided by some
of those users until the maker of the product they're
using modifies _its_ product.

IMHO.

"MowGreen [MVP]" <mowgreen@nowandzen.com> wrote in message
news:eptIcMW4IHA.4492@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Did you read what the Moderator on the Zone Alarm Forum posted ?
> Do you understand that Zone Alarm is at fault for not recognizing the
> differing file sizes and checksums ?
> There is NO issue with the update except on systems with Zone Alarm
> installed. Does that tell you anything ?
>
...

I appreciate your consistency, MG, but what it tells a number
of us is that Microsoft issued an update safe on only
some systems, namely those whose users had not opted to
use ZoneAlarm as their AV. If it had been safe only on all
machines except Dells, or all machines without WordPerfect
installed, or all systems which use Outlook Express for
mail, would you still say there was no issue?

'MowGreen [MVP Wrote:
> ;3150788']I've installed it to 4 different XP versions ... Home, Pro,
> and
> MediaCenter with no issue.
> Perhaps a rebuild of the winsock stack would resolve the issue ?
>
> BTW, Mike Nash is now affiliated with a company that just came out with
>
> a firewall. The free version is he
> http://tinyurl.com/34d8b4
>
> Knowing Mike, I ***highly*** doubt that any product he would be
> associated with has as many issues as Zone Alarm has with updating
> Windows. ZA has gone waaayyy downhill since Checkpoint acquired it.
>
> Just my 2¢
>
> MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]
> ===============
> *-343-* FDNY
> Never Forgotten
> ===============
>
>
>
> R. McCarty wrote:
> -
> The issue is with KB951748. It's advisable to unselect it as part of
> the
> 5 updates available today or uninstall if already applied. ( IF your
> PC
> is using Zone Alarm ).
>
> Cannot say if the hotfix causes issues on PC's that do not have Zone
> Alarm installed.
>
> "swassociates" swassociates@discussions.microsoft.com wrote in message
>
> news:B34288EA-000B-43D7-A7DC-93DC93C8BE4E@microsoft.com...
> -
> I've experienced the same problem. I also posted the problem on the
> ZoneAlarm
> website.
>
>
>
>
> "R. McCarty" wrote:
>
> -
> Just a little info. Be careful of today's Microsoft Updates on
> machines
> that are using Zone Alarm Free ( Version 7.0.462 ) after rebooting the
> Zone Alarm client will block almost every web access with an alert.
> Still investigating and trying the newer 7.0.473 version to see if it
> will
> rectify the situation.
>
>
> --
>
>
> -
Thanks for the thumbs up on online Armor.
after installing the new Microsoft update i was no longer able to go
online.

zonalarm has not been good lately and i have now downloaded online
Armor.
this seems to be a great Firewall

Many thanks for the info.
Clive.




--
DEFENDER01

It didn't on mine as I use Online Armor for my firewall alongside XP Home
SP3, all updates installed without a problem, the same can't be said of my
husbands machine as that has Zone Alarm Pro and had the problems so I just
uninstalled that update for now.

--
Joan Archer
http://www.freewebs.com/crossstitcher
http://lachsoft.com/photogallery

"R. McCarty" <PcEngWork-NoSpam_@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:uocEapT4IHA.3500@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> The issue is with KB951748. It's advisable to unselect it as part of the
> 5 updates available today or uninstall if already applied. ( IF your PC
> is using Zone Alarm ).
>
> Cannot say if the hotfix causes issues on PC's that do not have Zone
> Alarm installed.
>
> "swassociates" <swassociates@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:B34288EA-000B-43D7-A7DC-93DC93C8BE4E@microsoft.com...
>> I've experienced the same problem. I also posted the problem on the
>> ZoneAlarm
>> website.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "R. McCarty" wrote:
>>
>>> Just a little info. Be careful of today's Microsoft Updates on machines
>>> that are using Zone Alarm Free ( Version 7.0.462 ) after rebooting the
>>> Zone Alarm client will block almost every web access with an alert.
>>> Still investigating and trying the newer 7.0.473 version to see if it
>>> will
>>> rectify the situation.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>

Your logic is faulty. Xp is an operating system and anyone who develops a
program (any program) to run with that OS has the responsibility to make it
compatible. Is it Microsoft's responsibility to test the thousands and
thousands of programs
developed by others for compatibility?

"Anthony Buckland" <anthonybucklandnospam@telus.net> wrote in message
news:OTR915W4IHA.1192@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
> "MowGreen [MVP]" <mowgreen@nowandzen.com> wrote in message
> news:eptIcMW4IHA.4492@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Did you read what the Moderator on the Zone Alarm Forum posted ?
>> Do you understand that Zone Alarm is at fault for not recognizing the
>> differing file sizes and checksums ?
>> There is NO issue with the update except on systems with Zone Alarm
>> installed. Does that tell you anything ?
>>
> ...
>
> I appreciate your consistency, MG, but what it tells a number
> of us is that Microsoft issued an update safe on only
> some systems, namely those whose users had not opted to
> use ZoneAlarm as their AV. If it had been safe only on all
> machines except Dells, or all machines without WordPerfect
> installed, or all systems which use Outlook Express for
> mail, would you still say there was no issue?
>

I have soreted this problem by removing Zone Alarm and installing the free
version of Online Armor as recommended by MowGreen in this thread
--
Regards, Richard


"R. McCarty" wrote:

> Just a little info. Be careful of today's Microsoft Updates on machines
> that are using Zone Alarm Free ( Version 7.0.462 ) after rebooting the
> Zone Alarm client will block almost every web access with an alert.
> Still investigating and trying the newer 7.0.473 version to see if it will
> rectify the situation.
>
>
>

You're mowst welcome, Clive. The issue that KB951748 addresses is *not*
trivial. Sadly, the bad gUyZ will be exploiting it when they can either
reverse engineer the update or, when specific details are released.
Here's an interesting read by the person who has been investigating it:
http://www.doxpara.com/?p=1162

There's a DNS checker that one can use to see if having the update
applied mitigates the issue.

BTW, I doubt that the Mike Nash associated with Online Armor is the same
Mike Nash that I'm familiar with. The latter is the VP of Windows
Product Management.


MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============




DEFENDER01 wrote:

> 'MowGreen [MVP Wrote:
>
>>;3150788']I've installed it to 4 different XP versions ... Home, Pro,
>>and
>>MediaCenter with no issue.
>>Perhaps a rebuild of the winsock stack would resolve the issue ?
>>
>>BTW, Mike Nash is now affiliated with a company that just came out with
>>
>>a firewall. The free version is he
>>http://tinyurl.com/34d8b4
>>
>>Knowing Mike, I ***highly*** doubt that any product he would be
>>associated with has as many issues as Zone Alarm has with updating
>>Windows. ZA has gone waaayyy downhill since Checkpoint acquired it.
>>
>>Just my 2¢
>>
>>MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]
>>===============
>>*-343-* FDNY
>>Never Forgotten
>>===============
>>
>>
>>
>>R. McCarty wrote:
>>-
>>The issue is with KB951748. It's advisable to unselect it as part of
>>the
>>5 updates available today or uninstall if already applied. ( IF your
>>PC
>>is using Zone Alarm ).
>>
>>Cannot say if the hotfix causes issues on PC's that do not have Zone
>>Alarm installed.
>>
>>"swassociates" swassociates@discussions.microsoft.com wrote in message
>>
>>news:B34288EA-000B-43D7-A7DC-93DC93C8BE4E@microsoft.com...
>>-
>>I've experienced the same problem. I also posted the problem on the
>>ZoneAlarm
>>website.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>"R. McCarty" wrote:
>>
>>-
>>Just a little info. Be careful of today's Microsoft Updates on
>>machines
>>that are using Zone Alarm Free ( Version 7.0.462 ) after rebooting the
>>Zone Alarm client will block almost every web access with an alert.
>>Still investigating and trying the newer 7.0.473 version to see if it
>>will
>>rectify the situation.
>>
>>
>>--
>>
>>
>>-
>
> Thanks for the thumbs up on online Armor.
> after installing the new Microsoft update i was no longer able to go
> online.
>
> zonalarm has not been good lately and i have now downloaded online
> Armor.
> this seems to be a great Firewall
>
> Many thanks for the info.
> Clive.
>
>
>
>

In article <#8Mhx7S4IHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>, PcEngWork-NoSpam_@mindspring.com
says...
>
>
>Just a little info. Be careful of today's Microsoft Updates on machines
>that are using Zone Alarm Free ( Version 7.0.462 ) after rebooting the
>Zone Alarm client will block almost every web access with an alert.
>Still investigating and trying the newer 7.0.473 version to see if it will
>rectify the situation.
>
The official temp workarounds from ZA are here:

http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/fr...cessIssue.html

whosbest54
--
The flamewars are over...if you want it.

Unofficial rec.audio.opinion Usenet Group Brief User Guide:
http://www.geocities.com/whosbest54/

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"Unknown" <unknown@unknown.kom> wrote in message
news:Fa4dk.13587$xZ.967@nlpi070.nbdc.sbc.com...
> Your logic is faulty. Xp is an operating system and anyone who develops a
> program (any program) to run with that OS has the responsibility to make
> it compatible. ...

The reason people buy an operating system is to provide an environment
in which they can run applications which do actual work. An OS has no
other reason for existence, and if it fails to provide the desired
environment
it isn't doing its job. Once people develop applications to run with an OS,
and have achieved compatibility, they should be able to expect the OS not
to change so as to redefine that compatibility and to require that they
modify their application accordingly. They should expect to spend their
money on making their application compatible with a new OS, such as
Vista, but they shouldn't, ideally anyway, have to waste it on recovering
compatibility after a change in an existing OS, such as XP.

A side issue, but not an insignificant one, is the damage to the
reputation of a product which a situation like the current one can
cause. Just look at the trashing of ZoneAlarm in some responses
in the threads in this group, and at the reports by some users of
following advice to switch to another product. Which works for now.
What happens if another MS update yanks the floor from under _it_?