Firewall help

[ElMuerte]

I've used Zone Alarm without a problem for many years now. Well tonight I ran into a problem. Ever since I downloaded the new update I can't access the net. I downloaded the installer, and told it to download and install. After the install I can't even open ZA. I then went to download.com and got the .exe. It won't even let me install it. It says I need to login to the admin account, which I am in. Any ideas? Also, do I really need a software firewall. I have a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router. I use it to secure my laptop. Can it also secure my desktop? Any help would be greatly appreciated. As of now, I have the windows firewall on. I'm on Windows XP Pro. Thanks again!

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Can't stand Zone Alarm..seen it cause too many issues on many many PCs.

If you want a 3rd party software firewall...check out Comodo, and PC Tools. Both very good ones.

I keep my PCs behind NAT routers, so I don't bother with additional software firewalls. All I want is to protect my PCs behind NAT..to stop the unwanted incoming bad stuff.

It's a personal decision though....some people like the additional warm 'n fuzzy feeling of a firewall that screams about all your outgoing traffic.

 

[ElMuerte]

So will my router be enough? How do I set it up to protect my desktop? The less software running, the better

 

[ElMuerte]

Update..Now there is a new problem. I can only access the internet after a restart. If I close firefox it will not connect again unless I restart my comp. What the hell is going on? Man, this is frustrating

 

[Captain Colonoscopy]

Just uninstall ZoneAlrm, its garbage. Then download and install CCleaner. Run that to clean up all the left-over garbage from ZoneAlarm.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Forgot to mention....after any software firewall uninstall....run a TCP/Winsock repair utility.

http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/WinSock_XP_Fix/winsockxpfix.html

 

[ElMuerte]

I did that, still no help. Everything seems to work fine until I play a game. When I exit Fallout 3 I can't access the net. Maybe it's time for a fresh start with windows

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Shouldn't need a reinstall of Windows. It's a common issue with ZA though.

There used to be a removal tool for ZoneAlarm out there....I couldn't find it via Google...but I only looked for a few seconds.

Google around for uninstalling ZoneAlarm...you'll find some manual removal steps. There is some vsdata file which always get left behind and makes a mess of things. Much quicker than a format and reinstall.

 

[ElMuerte]

Thanks a lot for all the help. I did what I should have done first, and searched google I was drunk and inpatient last night...sorry Everything is working as advertised now. Thanks again!