Zone Alarm

I have been using this as a firewall but now it no longer supports WinME.
Can anyone suggest another free one, please?

pmj...

Like Ali says...
If you've been happy with the Version of ZoneAlarm that you have
at the mo, (which, presumably you are?0 then you can just carry on
using it!

Oldrose...

Snipped but read. Thanks pmj and Ali. I will stick with Zone Alarm as it has
served me well in the past.

When the Suppliers of ZoneAlarm say that "it no longer Supports W9x"
That only means that any *new*, Updated Versions won't work properly
(or maybe some of the features of them may not work properly) on w9x.

The *existing* Versions will still work (& continue to work) perfectly
OK.

Unlike an Anti *Virus* thing, a Firewall doesn't need continual
Updating of any "Database" type thing.

Rabbit...

And talking about Zone Alarm
If it's Zone Alarm Security Suite which appears to have an AV. Can anybody
tell me how to get updates? I was helping a friend ( a complete newbie) [1])
this afternoon . The Zone Alarm icon in the systray said it needed updated,
clicking on the *balloon* only took us to the Windows security page, double
clicking on the ZA icon had the same effect. So how does one get ZA to

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

I update my ZA manually:
R-click ZA icon in systray
select *Restore Zone Alarm Control Centre*
Click on *Preferences* tan
Click on *Check for Updates*
If there's an update available that will guide you to it.
If not it will say so.

Rabbit...

Ta muchly kind sir but it didn't give me that option. This is ZA with an
AV(recognised by XP security centre) which might be different from ZA
firewall only. and for some reason ( wonder what that can be ;-)) I suspect
you don't have the ZA AV.

Lofty....

Did you not have an auto option available to you, after following FN's
instructions.?

Rabbit...

I haven't seen the friend's pooter since FN's post, I'll look the next time.

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Nope - but it has Anti-virus monitoring that apparently monitors some AV
software you could have installed and lets you know when it becomes out of
date. I don't think it w*rks with Grisoft AVG - but then I never let that
get out of date for longer than a few hours, do I? :)

Rabbit...

But I thought it was a bad idea to run two different AVs ???? Anyway it

pmj...

He's not talking about Running 2 *Anti Virus* Programs...

He's talking about the "Status Monitoring" thingy that ZoneAlarm
(& other similar things) has, in its "Control Center" - that's a bit
like the "Security Center" that WinXP has.

What they do is to ask the actual AV Program (AVG, Avast, Norton
or whatever) to Notify them of the Status of the AV Program (whether
it's on & Enabled & whether it's up to Date etc,) & then they show
the "Status" in their own Window/Ballon.

Rabbit...

Ah right, very deceiving it was 'cos it said ZA security AV is out of date.

still didn't give me any options but the XP Security Centre and nowhere to

pmj...

Open up the actual ZoneAlarm Control Centre thingy & look on the
various Sections (on the left) & on the various Tabs (at the top)
within the different Sections.

& also, have a look in the ZoneAlarm Help - that will tell you how
to use it & where to find the various Features, facilities & Options
that it has.

Rabbit...

I would have done one (or both ) of those if I could have got the option but
I couldn't find that either by double clicking the ZA icon or right clicking
it.We were a bit pushed for time though and she was more concerned about how
to get her mail ( I'm still in shock at the 6.3 Mb mail, which we know
probably only contains a few lines of text ,coming in to a PAYG dial up) but
I'll have another look the next time

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

It's not a 2nd AV it just tells you when your installed AV software needs
updating - well that's how I read it.

click on update:-(

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Ooops! For *tan* read *tab*. LOL

update the AV ?

[1] With a friend of a friend who *knows all about pooters* and set her up
with Firefox ( which is confuddling her). How do you get rid of the preview
pane in Firefox and read in plain text as default since one of her friends
has discovered Incredimail (and on a PAYG dial up she might wait days for
the 6.3 Mb mail to arrive ) and he's set her up with Outlook ( as opposed to
Outlook Express) which appears to me to be incredibly complicated compared
to OE

Steve...

In TB for Message Pane

Rabbit...

Thanks Steve, duly saved for my next visit. In the meantime I've suggested
that she drops hints to her friends using Incredimail though I doubt it will
jbex :-(

F8

or

View
Layout
Message Pane

Re plain text does she mean no pictures in her mail? If yes then:

Tools
Options
Privacy
General
Tick 'Block loading of remote images in mail messages'
if she does this another option will appear below, she will need to
choose whether she
'Allow remote images if the sender is in my:'
I would un-check this so no images load at all.
Click OK

Now when a HTML mail arrives no pictures will be uploaded but the link
to them will be displayed.

MCC...

In Thunderbird there are options under View>Message Body As>
Original HTML
Simple HTML
Plain Text

Just what the difference between Original and Simple HTML is, I haven't
bothered to investigate ;-)

They either work, or they don't. (basically) [*1]

& how well they work depends on their design in the first place
& also on how the User has Set them up & what Options have been chosen
& what Answers are given to the Prompts.

[*1]
When a Firewall first comes out, there may well be Bugs (& even
Vulnerabilities) in it - but they are usually fairly quickly found
ZoneAlarm has been around long enough for any major probs with it
to have been sorted out.

If you do still want a different (Free) Firewall, there is a bit less
choice now than a couple of Years ago - several other firms have also
Stopped offering Free Versions &/or now only offer Versions that work
on WinXP (& not w9x)

But there *are* some around. However, see below...[*2]

I know that the Kerio Firewall is used by quite a few people in here,
so you can be sure of plenty of help (if you need any) when you first
Install it & Set it up (or if you have any probs or queries about it).

Kerio Personal Firewall is now handled by SunBelt Software.

http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio.cfm

When you look there, you will see that they say that it's
a "30 day Trial" - but it works fine as a Firewall after the Trial
Period.

It's only the *extra* Features, such as Web Filtering & AdBlocking
that are designed to Stop working after the 30 Days Trial.

[*2]
Doh!!!
I've just had a look at their FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page
On the SunBelt Software Site...

& apparently the Current (Sunbelt) Version (4.x) of the Kerio Personal
Firewall *doesn't* work on w9x!!!
:-(

http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio-FAQ.cfm

The earlier (Kerio) Version (V2.x) does.

I used to use the original Tiny Personal Firewall (V2.1.x!) & then
it became Kerio & went up to Version 4.x - I'm still using the same
Version (4.2.1-896) that I Downloaded & Installed over 6 Months ago.
& the (original) Version 4.0 came out in 2003 & 4.1 came out in 2004
& 4.2 was released in early 2005.

The later ("Point") Versions of V4 are broadly the same - mainly
a few bug & User Interface Fixes & some added Features.

The reason why the later Versions (V4) doesn't work with w9x is cos
they use a different way of "hooking into" the Operating System
(at a low Level, to give better protection & more facilities for
things such as "Application Blocking") & that can only be done with
WinXP (or W2K)

You can still get the earlier Versions of the Kerio Firewall,
if you look around, but make sure to Download it from a known,
(legit) Site - Post in here if you aren't sure about a Site
& we can help check it out.

Ali...

Just keep using your current ZA - it's not the sort of program that need
updating.

Or use Kerio.