Zone Alarm halts data transfer

[siddjazz]

I recently installed zone alarm, moved from sygate actually...anyway i use firefox 1.7....i have a 128 kbps broadband connection. now the problem is that when a kepp the pc idle for about 15 mins or so and try browsing through firefox(or explorer) it doesnt work. says site cannot be found....then when i restart zone alarm it starts working again!!!!

[dajogejr]

Sounds like you need to switch back to Sygate...I've used it and loved it for years.
I'd uninstall and re-instal ZA, and I imagine you've already combed through it's settings to make sure there was no "timeout" period.
I'd also check the properties of your NIC, making sure "allow XP to turn off this device to save power" is unchecked...
I'm assuming it's XP anyways. You don't have your windows firewall running on top of ZA, do you?

[orkboss]

I sometimes get this and I use Firefox and zonealarm. I did used to like zonealarm until I set up a wireless network then it becomes a pain. I have to disable it or set my connection to the modem router as trusted which means also my internet browsing is on trusted.? If you know what I mean.

[Imperion1]

Program Control, Main, Automatic Lock.
Either turn it off, or change the custom settings.

[Ol'Tunzafun]

orkboss
Your connection to the router, like everything else on the LAN side, should be in the trusted zone. Everything on the other side of the router should be in the Internet Zone.

siddjazz
Are you using a router?
Is that a midband DSL connection or ISDN? It sounds like your ISP is timing you out. Try one of these apps:
http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/comm/fwdisconnect.html
Some routers can be set to do this as well.
Reinstalling ZA, as daj suggested, will often make a difference. That might be easier than creating an "Expert Rule" to fix this.

[orkboss]

orkboss
Your connection to the router, like everything else on the LAN side, should be in the trusted zone. Everything on the other side of the router should be in the Internet Zone.



Its a wireless modem router connected by a patch cable. So I receive all the internet data and shared data from the same place.? If you know what I mean?

[siddjazz]

well im not using a router, XP firewall is turned off, the automatic lock is also turned off...if the ISP times me out then how come i can start browsing as soon as i shut down zone alarm...i noticed another thing, limewire and azereus are not affected in any way firewall or no firewall.

[Ol'Tunzafun]

siddjazz
It sounds like you have disallowed some basic process from connecting, probably to DNS, a service which P2P may not require because it deals deals directly with IP addresses rather than URLs like a browser does. I would reinstall Zone Alarm. Next time when "Services and Controller app" wants to access or accept connections to the internet, allow it, and tick the box to remember it. Also allow "Generic Host Processes" if it asks.


orkboss
I think I do understand your configuration and your concern. It is safe to have the LAN side of your router, which usually has a private IP starting with 192.168.x.x, and every other device, be it wired or wireless, that has an IP on the same 192.168.x.x subnet, in the trusted zone.
I noticed the other day that the new free version of Zone Alarm now places the LAN in the Internet zone by default. I suspect that this change has come about as a result of the proliferation of unsecured wireless LANs. There are, however, better ways to secure your wireless connections, like a unique SSID, MAC filtering and encryption. So, secure the wireless connection, and then move the LAN into the Trusted Zone.

[orkboss]

I was/ am paranoid. As I get my internet connection from the same path as my LAN thats why I placed zonealarms connection to the IP address for the router as internet, otherwise why bother with zonealarm at all. If it was trusted then every connection is therefore trusted and would allow bad things to get to my computer.