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| Internet Firewalls - Part 2 |
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PC support #7: Internet Firewalls, part 2
1st January 2003 (revised 2 times - last issue 8th February 2002)
C O N T E N T S
----- INSTALLING AND USING ZONEALARM
1. How do I get ZoneAlarm?
2. How do I install ZoneAlarm?
3. How do I use ZoneAlarm?
4. I've got a ZoneAlarm Alert on my screen. What do I do?
5. Help! My e-mail and web browser have stopped working!
6. Do I still need a virus checker?
----- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
7. Configuring ZoneAlarm
8. Learning more and getting help
9. ZoneAlarm and E-mail attachments
10. How can I check how secure my PC is?
11. Using ZoneAlarm with Windows XP
12. ZoneAlarm and McAfee VirusScan
----- CONTACT DETAILS
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----- INSTALLING AND USING ZONEALARM -----------------------------------
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-- 1. How do I get ZoneAlarm?
You can download the ZoneAlarm Internet firewall for free over the Internet (as long as you only use it for personal, non-commercial purposes). Go to the ZoneLabs website at:
http://www.zonelabs.com
and you will find a button to click to download it. TAKE CARE not to confuse "ZoneAlarm" with "ZoneAlarm Pro", which you have to pay for. The web site (not surprisingly) emphasises the paid-for version, but for most people the free one does everything they will need.
NOTE: The current version of ZoneAlarm no longer supports Windows 95. Windows 95 users can however run the older version 2.6 - contact me for more information.
-- 2. How do I install ZoneAlarm?
The installation is pretty simple. It comes as a single program file. Double-click the file to run it, and it will talk you through the installation. You will have to fill in a few basic details such as your e-mail address, but it's all pretty straightforward. If you have any problems with the installation, let me know and I'll help you out if I can.
Note that it will ask you if you want to register it so that you can download updates. You don't have to register it - you can always go to the web site and check for updates yourself - but it's probably best
to register. You can then get automatic notification (if you want) when a newer version is available (it's updated frequently) and ZoneLabs appear to be pretty responsible about information submitted
to them during registration.
-- 3. How do I use ZoneAlarm?
Basically, it looks after itself. A "ZA" icon will appear in the system tray (bottom right of the screen, usually) once it is installed. This will change to a red and green bar graph showing Internet activity in both directions whenever you use the Internet. You can double-click on this icon to bring up the full ZoneAlarm windows.
Version 2.6 had a small optional toolbar with a few icons on it, called the DeskBand, but this is not included in version 3.
-- 4. I've got a ZoneAlarm Alert on my screen. What do I do?
If any unauthorised attempts are made to access your PC, ZoneAlarm will automatically stop them. If the Alert popup window is turned on (see item 7 (b) for more information) a coloured "PROTECTED" alert
window will appear to tell you about it - just click the OK button to get rid of it. You may be surprised at how many times it appears!
In addition, ZoneAlarm will alert you about programs on your computer that attempt to access the Internet. You will get the choice of allowing or denying access. If the program is one you know should
access the Internet (like an e-mail program or an Anti-Virus program) then you can say YES - and you can also tick a little box to tell ZoneAlarm to always allow that program to access the Internet without
bothering you about it again.
-- 5. Help! My e-mail and web browser have stopped working!
Don't panic! When you first install ZoneAlarm, it is configured to block ALL Internet communication that it doesn't "know about". This can sometimes include your e-mail program (e.g. Outlook Express), and
your web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer). The first time you access the web, or try to send or receive e-mail after installing ZoneAlarm, a "NEW PROGRAM" alert window may appear telling you that a program
wishes to access the Internet. It will show the name of the program, which will usually be the name of you e-mail program or web browser.
Assuming you don't want to be bothered by this every time you use your e-mail or web browser, click the "Remember this answer..." box. Then click the "YES" button. Once you have done this your e-mail should work normally.
NOTE: DON'T click "YES" in this box unless you are SURE that the program that is accessing the Internet is meant to be doing so. If in doubt, click "NO".
-- 6. Do I still need a virus checker?
Yes! A firewall and a virus checker do different things. The two are complementary, and I would recommend any frequent Internet user to have both installed (but see item 12 if you are using McAfee).
However, ZoneAlarm can provide some additional protection against viruses. If the "MailSafe" e-mail protection is enabled, it will "quarantine" any attachments (files sent with the e-mail) which it thinks might be dangerous to stop you opening them accidentally. When you try to open them, a warning will appear, asking you if you are sure you want to continue.
This feature is enabled by default. See item 9 in the Additional Information section if you want to turn it off.
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----- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -------------------------------------------
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-- 7. Configuring ZoneAlarm
For most people, it will not be necessary to do any configuration with ZoneAlarm - they will be perfectly happy with the default settings. However, various aspects of its behaviour can be configured if required. Most of the configuration options are beyond the scope of this support note, but there are a few items worth mentioning here.
Instructions for version 3.1
(a) To access the ZoneAlarm control panel, double-click the red and yellow "ZA" icon in the system tray (usually bottom right of the screen). The menu bar to the left accesses the various sections, and the tabs at the top select the pages within those sections.
(b) The "Alert" windows which pop up when ZoneAlarm detects something trying to access your computer can get quite irritating (there can be quite a lot of them, though most of them are harmless). You can turn them off by clicking the "Don't show this dialogue again" box on the Alert pop-up window. You can also turn them off or back on from the "Main" tab of the "Alerts and Logs" section on the
ZoneAlarm control panel.
(c) The "Programs" tab of the "Program Control" section on the ZoneAlarm control panel shows you which programs have accessed (or tried to access) the Internet, and allows you to change the
settings for each individual program. If you don't understand these settings, leave them alone! If there is a program listed there which you don't think should be allowed to access the Internet, click it's name and press the "Delete" key to remove it from the list. ZoneAlarm will then "forget" about the program and
give a "NEW PROGRAM" alert next time the program tries to access the Internet.
(d) The "Main" tab in the "Firewall" section of the ZoneAlarm control panel allows you to change the level of protection you have - for most people the "Internet Zone Security" slider should be set to "High". The "Trusted Zone Security" slider is not important unless you are connected to a local network - this is normally set to "medium".
Instructions for version 2.6 (for Windows 95 users)
(e) To access the ZoneAlarm control panel, double-click the red and yellow "ZA" icon in the system tray (usually bottom right of the screen). Then click on "ALERTS", "LOCK", "SECURITY", "PROGRAMS" or
"CONFIGURE" to access the various pages.
(f) The "Alert" windows which pop up when ZoneAlarm detects something trying to access your computer can get quite irritating (there can be quite a lot of them, though most of them are harmless). You can
turn them off by clicking the "Don't show this dialogue again" box on the Alert pop-up window. You can also turn them off or back on from the "ALERTS" page of the ZoneAlarm control panel - tick or untick the "Show the alert popup window" box.
(g) The "PROGRAMS" page on the ZoneAlarm control panel shows you which programs have accessed (or tried to access) the Internet, and allows you to change the settings for each individual program. If
you don't understand these settings, leave them alone! If there is a program listed there which you don't think should be allowed to access the Internet, click it's name and press the "Delete" key to remove it from the list. ZoneAlarm will then "forget" about the program and give a "NEW PROGRAM" alert next time the program tries to access the Internet.
(h) The "SECURITY" page on the ZoneAlarm control panel allows you to change the level of protection you have - for most people the "Internet" slider should be set to "High". The "Local" slider is not important unless you are connected to a local network.
(i) An optional ZoneAlarm toolbar can be displayed at the bottom of the screen (on the taskbar, next to the system tray). It's main features are an emergency "Stop" button and an Internet "lock", both of which are also on the control panel - see ZoneAlarm Help for details. To turn the toolbar on or off, right-click on a blank area of the taskbar and choose "Toolbars" from the menu that appears. Then click "ZoneAlarm Desk Band" on the next menu.
-- 8. Learning more and getting help
To access the ZoneAlarm Help system, start the ZoneAlarm control panel (see item 7 (a) above) and click the "Help" button at the top right. It will start your web browser to display the help information. Most
of the help information is installed on your PC along with the program, so it won't need to connect to the Internet to display it. However, a few of the items in the help system do need to be connected to the Internet - they are generally marked and the PC will normally prompt you if it needs to connect.
-- 9. ZoneAlarm and E-mail attachments
ZoneAlarm has a feature called "MailSafe" which quarantines certain types of e-mail attachments. In this respect its function overlaps somewhat with anti-virus programs. The difference is that it simply
quarantines all files of certain types, unlike an anti-virus program which only quarantines files if it detects that they are infected.
When ZoneAlarm quarantines a file, it will still appear in the e-mail but with a "ZA" icon. When you try to open it, ZoneAlarm will warn you and ask if you really want to continue.
If you don't like this feature and would prefer to leave e-mail protection to your anti-virus program, you can turn it off on the "E-mail Protection" page of the ZoneAlarm control panel (or the "SECURITY" section for version 2.6 users).
-- 10. How can I check how secure my PC is?
Whether or not you are running ZoneAlarm (or any other firewall), you may wish to find out how vulnerable your PC is to attack. The "Shield's Up!!" website will attempt to determine this. It's at:
http://grc.com
Please note that I can make no guarantees for the effectiveness or otherwise of the tests done by this web site, but to the best of my knowledge the information that it provides is accurate, and it certainly does no harm to try it. The web site also includes a lot of useful security information, even if the tone is a little paranoid at times!
-- 11. Using ZoneAlarm with Windows XP
Windows XP has its own firewall built in, but it does not have all of the facilities provided by ZoneAlarm. In particular, it does not prevent programs on your computer from accessing the Internet without
your permission. This some users will wish to use ZoneAlarm under Windows XP. ZoneAlarm can be used with Windows XP, but there are a couple of additional considerations:
(a) You MUST use ZoneAlarm version 2.6.357 or higher, and version 3.1 or higher is STRONGLY recommended - if in doubt, download the latest version. The notes below apply to version 3.1
(b) When you connect to the Internet, ZoneAlarm may tell you that some of the following programs are attempting to access the Internet, or are requesting server rights:
* Generic Host Process for Win32 Services
* Application Layer Gateway Service
* Windows Explorer
These programs are part of Windows XP, and it is safe to allow them to access the Internet. If you do not, you may not be able to access the Internet, and Windows may experience other problems.
In particular, "Generic Host Process for Win32 Services" must always be allowed access to the Internet, and be granted server rights, so you will probably want to tick the "Remember this answer..." box before clicking "YES" if it asks for access to the Internet.
-- 12. ZoneAlarm and McAfee VirusScan
If you use McAfee VirusScan and ZoneAlarm version 2.6, you may have problems if you activate the "ZoneAlarm Desk Band" (see item 7 (i) above). These problems can be solved, but it's probably easier not to bother with the Desk Band if you are using McAfee. For further information, visit the following web site:
http://www.zonelabs.com/services/support_issues.htm#1issues
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----- CONTACT DETAILS ---------------------------------------
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Chris Livingstone
e-mail: mailto:chris-l@ntlworld.com
web site: http://www.pcparamedic.org.uk |
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