firewall question please help newbie

I tried to install Zone Alarm and became hopelessly confused. I have no money so I used free download and had no idea what I was doing. How am I supposed to know what isp's to allow? My isp would not connect, internet explorer would not connect and I felt bombarded by constant isp addresses trying to get in..none of which I knew whether to allow or not. I recently contracted a keylogger so ofcourse I was nervous. I have no idea what I am doing..please be gentle I'm new at this. Thank You Very Much Sharebiz

 

Actually I'm kind of new to the Firewall thing myself and have been using Sygate and seems to be doing a pretty good job. If I don't recognize it I've been denying access. It doesn't seem to have screwed anything up yet. If anything it's opened my eyes as to how many programs try to use the internet connection... kind of scary actually.

If you're interested here is the link to Sygate on Majorgeeks: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Sygate_Personal_Firewall_Free_d3356.html

If you try it remember to uninstall any other firewall first... otherwise you could have a mess.

Good luck.

 

This should help get you thru the process, http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/support/zasc/gettingStarted.jsp?lid=zasupp_g

Steve

 

Matacumbie, posted a good link for you (which you should have seen when you set yours up), i'd take a look at that, and also what i posted below. i've also got a few questions (below) as well as a couple of screenshots. if you have any questions, just ask, there are alot of knowledgeable people around here. - sos

if i were you (at this point), i'd either delete all of the programs you have blocked currently, or go through them (one by one), and change settings. it'd probably be easier to start from scratch.

double click your zone alarm icon by your clock. on the left side menu (in zone alarm), select program control, then on the upper right hand corner, select programs. you can remove or change program settings from there. i'd remove them all and slowly go thru them (one by one) if you are prompted (to allow them access to the internet)


what do you mean by isp's? <-- are you talking about your browser?

My isp would not connect, internet explorer would not connect <-- how do you connect to the internet (dialup or dsl/cable)? also, you might have your browser blocked as well?

and I felt bombarded by constant isp addresses trying to get in..none of which I knew whether to allow or not. <-- do you have other computers in your home, or on your network (if you have one)? when i 1st set mine up, it blocks other computers in my home until i change settings, to allow them.

I recently contracted a keylogger so of course I was nervous. <-- is this why you got the firewall?

if you disable zone alarm are you able to access the internet? right click zone alarm, and select shutdown. also, what os are you using?

 

Whenever ZoneAlarm asks you about allowing a program to access - you should see a link that says somthing like "more info" - click it, and it will give you a pretty good rundown on what type program is involved, and what action you should take.

 

Hmmm, not always. That "more info" usually takes you to a page that doesn't give much of anything. 9 times out of 10, ZA has no clue what the process is. At least from what I found.

I personally prefer sygate. But, I've said this on multiple other threads.

 

Or...do you even need any firewall program if you have a router connection to your DSL line? I have been told before that the router actually serves as an excellent firewall, eliminating the need for a formal frogram like Zone Alarm. What do you experts think??

 

if your router has a firewall built in, it would be a "hard" firewall, not a software firewall. i'd (as well as most here) would recommend a software firewall as well. i believe the hard firewall would prevent some ports being accessed to (inbound), and would not prevent any programs from accessing the internet like a software firewall would. so you really need both for that extra bit of security. anyway, just my .02 worth. - sos

 

Re: firewall question please help newbie reply

Thank yu everybody for all your gracious help..I can't believe how helpful everyone has been. you are all wonderful to be so kind. Sosaman, I have dial up and I think I use ISP wrong, I meant everybody's isp addresses trying to get in . It could have been the keylogger. I finally gave up on zone Alarm and installed Sygate. I haven't had any real problems yet. It seems to be easier at hooking up with your browser and server. However I'm keeping everone's advice in case I have to use it in the future. Keep on being so kind, I really appreciate it. Sharon