Windows patch breaks net access for Zone Alarm users
Software incompatibilities can really be a pain, especially when they cause problems with your internet access. It’s even worse when an update meant to improve security is the one that causes problems.
This past Tuesday (July 8), Microsoft released a patch (KB951748) via Windows update which was meant to fix a DNS exploit where hackers could redirect web page requests to malicious pages. This exploit widely affected hardware and software from many different companies. However, when combined with ZoneAlarm—a popular software firewall by Check Point Software—Windows XP and 2000 users found themselves without internet access after applying the update.
Since many Windows systems are set to automatically update the system, many people woke up that morning to find that they could no longer browse websites or get their email. We received many calls about this problem, and the fix at the time was to either set ZoneAlarm’s security level to medium, or uninstall the Microsoft update.
On Wednesday (July 9th), Check Point Software updated ZoneAlarm to correct this problem. They suggest users either update to the latest version of ZoneAlarm, or use either workaround mentioned above. (Instructions are provided on ZoneAlarm’s page.)
As always, XMission tech support is available 24/7.
