Sygate Personal Firewall Question

I downloaded Sygate Personal Firewall. Now I keep getting messages about Kernel 32 trying to access something. I also get other messages as well. How do I answer these questions? Is there settings that will enable me to browse the web without having to answer questions everytime I'm on the web?

 

General rule if you dont Know, dont allow access.
If suddenly you cant open the web page or what ever, then you'll know you should have allowed.
You should be O.K. to allow Kernal 32.

When the window pop's up asking permission, if you notice there is a little box that say's something to the effect of: remember bla bla bla, just check the box, then it will not ask again, this works for access or deny.

 

Thare are two seperate boxes that appear. Usually, one says something to the effect of the server is trying to access Major Geeks...allow. I always choose yes. Jus got it great! It says

Win32 Kernel core component (kernel32.dll) has received a Broadcast packet from a remote machine (# in parantheses). Do you want to allow this program to access the network?

I have no idea what this means so I just keep saying no but it keeps asking me.

 

anyone?

 

If you don't want to have a pop-up asking for permission to access the net, there should be a check box and a phrase to the effect of 'Do this everytime'. Check that off when you give or dent permission and it will automatically answer yes or no everytime the application accesses the net. The second one I'd personally be suspicious of, and I'd deny it unless it caused problems.

 

This is one reason why ZoneAlarm and Agnitum are better in my opinion, they give much more information on the program requesting access.

Anyway, I would be very wary of anything to do with Kernel32 as a lot of spyware and viruses use this file.

If you are unsure, then deny access. You can always go back later and change it if you need to.

 

I would disable access for kernel32 for right now. I would download some anti spyware and anti virus programs and run those to make sure your system is clean. If your system is clean based on those scans, I would think that the kernel32 access is legitimate. You can download and install antivirus programs from following the instructions here: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=27385. As far as antispyware - download any of the following: spybot search and destroy, lavasoft ad aware. Let us know what you find out when you do a scan!

 

My computer is completely clean. I was having some major problems so I had to delete everything from my hard drive and reinstall everything including ad-aware, spybot, etc. I know there is nothing on my comp as far as spyware, virus, etc.

 

Kernel32.dll itself is not a virus or spyware (Kernel32.exe is a trojan) but a vital Windows system file that handles memory etc, however viruses can infect that kernel and use it to gain access.

Always err on the side of caution. Don't allow access for now, you can always go back and change the setting if needed.