ISP told me to turn off zone alarm

I am on a wireless network and was just told by my ISP to turn off zone alarm and use the new windows firewall
he said my computer would run better and that i didn't need an aditional firewall because i have windows firewall and a built in firewall with my router

is this good advice......

 

No it really isn't the best advice. you should keep ZA as it filters your outgoing and can alert you to anything out of the ordinary.

 

personally, i gotta agree with bigc. just out of curiosity, which isp is this?

 

I believe your ISP was giving you sound advice. You can get by without a bi-directional firewall, and your computer will run smoother with Windows SP2 ICF.

Get NetMeter and WinDump (req. WinPcap) to monitor your net traffic.

 

Ozrick,
Be real careful about following a 1-800-ISP-techsupport advice unless it is specific to their network operations and not your system. I had one over a year ago tell me when some of their functions did not work right it was my ZoneAlarm firewall to just turn it off. In fact just unload it because it still might have some components running even when off that might hender the speed. That I really did not need it. This would have left me with Zero firewall. Really...he did. I told him that would leave me completely unprotected. He just insisted it was not needed. That it was not like I was the Pentagon or Walmart.com nobody would be interested in me.

Of course I thanked him kindly, but left him with a No way!! It was really those AD Blocking features they screw things up sometimes. I usually run with those features off, which is why I would not pay for Zone Alarm Pro.

By the way another time I had a slow connection and download problem. I did some follow up calls later that week to seek tech. support. They said they were having many calls in my area about slow connections and speed. At first they blamed Zone Alarm. A few more days went by boom all of the sudden things were back to normal. Real good and fast. I called again they checked my area and said the trouble call screen showed something, I do not recall exactly what they said but I do remember them saying they had also "made some adjustments." What ever they did they fixed it. It was not me.

Edit:This was before I got my Router and second machine in May of 2004.

 

mmmmmmmmmmmmm......why would he tell me that .......i told him i was big on security ect..... yet he was persistant that i do what he said .....he also told me to do the same with my mums laptop (she has trend micro security) which is an anti-virus and firewall in one that she paid for and which cant be turned off because she will have no anti-virus protection ........

 

very true.

 

Hi ozrick

What type of network issues were you experiencing that prompted the support call? (if it was a support call) The connection to your ISP's network and the Internet would all be done by the router. ZA would/should only impact systems behind the router.

Regards,

CrazyM

 

i am part of a small network that has been set up in our area....(i live in the country and previosly was only able to get dial up)
n e ways i love my new high speed wireless connection ....but
i kept on dropping out and was unable to connect to internet for like half a day and stuff,when i rang them up they said i was connected ... after several phone calls he ended up comming out to my house... hooked up his laptop and admitted it was their problem...he changed my IP number because it was conflicting with someone elses ......i dont know what he did exactly .....i think he manually changed the IP adress/number hopeing that might fix the problem....i dropped out again this afternoon and i had to turn the power on/off on the router.....i was able to get back online .....guess i will just see how it goes

 

To say the least this is not good advise your ISP has given you, but you came to the right place.

Most of all ISP's hire kid's that "think" they know what they are talking about. They are all trained on how to connect your PC to there network and that is it, no advanced training on PC security is offered unless they take it upon themselves to study specific software.

However, they do have reference models on how some software works, but they do not have professional sound advice on security or proper networking, until you reach a professional tier. Most of the tools ISP's use are widely available on the net, nothing fancy.

So, use your judgement, some reps DO know about these issues as these professionals may actually may be in-between jobs to pay the bills until something better comes along


So back to your issue... please explain what problems your are experiencing.

 

back to the issue......my main problem is i keep dropping out and am unable to reconnect to the internet.......also some times pages take for ever to load

 

So give us some details of this wireless network they have set up..and what hardware are they using..and does that hardware come with any software tools such as a site survey program that will let you see you actual signal strength and data rates etc.

 

I read your other thread where you posted your hijack log..I am wondering do you regularly defrag your hard drive..and maybe even do some of these steps..Just to be sure...take your time if you have any questions on any of the steps below..

Clear out your Temporary internet files and other temp files. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel >
Internet Options. Under the General tab click the Delete temporary internet files,
choose to delete all Offline content. Clear out Cookies.

Also, go to Start > Find/search > Files or folders > in the named box, type: *.tmp and choose Edit > select all ->
File > delete.

Empty the contents of the C:\Windows\temp folder and C:\temp folder, if you have one.

This one too if Win2K or XP.
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp\

Empty the Recycle Bin.

This will result in your having to re-enter passwords at forums, banks, and the like.

A small price to pay if it gets rid of any bad guys.

Flush your restore points in ME and XP, by turning System Restore off and then back on.
This will create a fresh restore point.

Explained here:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2001111912274039

Also if you have sunjava installed it's cache should be cleared too.
> control panel java-plugin > cache tab > hit clear!
And make sure you have the latest version if you have sunjava.

Adjust your security settings for ActiveX:
a. Go to Internet Options/Security/Internet, press 'default level', then OK.
Now press "Custom Level."
In the ActiveX section, set/click the options as follows:
Download signed ActiveX controls > prompt
Download unsigned ActiveX controls > disable
Initialize and Script ActiveX controls not marked as safe > disable
b. In your Restricted Sites Zone set everything that can be to "disable". Set anything that cannot be disabled to "prompt".
c. Never add any site to your Trusted Sites Zone.

I would also recommend, In your own self defense and to reduce the potential for spyware infection in the future, installing both SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard.

SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard are by JavaCool and both are free programs. SpywareBlaster will prevent spyware from being installed and consumes no system resources. SpywareGuard offers realtime protection from spyware installation and browser hijack attempts. Both have free ongoing updates.

More info and download is available at:
SpywareBlaster: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2859
SpywareGuard: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3045

Maybe consider this as well:
IE-SPYAD puts over 5000 sites in your restricted zone, so you'll be protected when you visit
innocent-looking sites that aren't really innocent at all.
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm
Also some info on that page to tighten your IE security.

Be sure to also keep up with Windows and IE updates.

Windows security and critical updates.
http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

Internet Explorer security and critical updates.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp

Keep all of these programs updated, its free.

 

jeeze.....i am not sure , i have a D-Link DI-614+ wireless router.....i have no way of knowing my signall strength between the tower and the arial on my roof but am told by them that it is exellant

 

Also i saw this in your hijackthis log..

O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{D60042F3-0D2E-47BF-B1FC-E342634A3D74}: NameServer = 61.88.88.88

It means you are using ns.optus.net.au to resolve names..and most likely using port53 on your PC to do this.. maybe that is why the guy was tell you it would be a good idea not to have a firewall like zone alarm..
*****************************


What is DNS?

The Domain Name System (DNS) was designed in the 1980s to handle the growing number of Internet users. The Domain Name System translates names, such as www.optus.com.au, into IP addresses to enable computers to communicate with each other. DNS makes using Internet applications, such as the World Wide Web, easy. The process is as if, when phoning your friends and relatives, you could use their names instead of having to remember their phone numbers






General Information used for DNS


If you have your own name server you can forward all requests to our DNS farm:


ns.optus.net.au 61.88.88.88

The DNS farm maps to sites in each capital city in Australia, with each site having a redundant load balancing cluster. Queries will be directed to the server farm from your network via the most efficient route.


Do not forward requests to the primary or secondary name servers dns0.optus.net.au or dns1.optus.net.au as this facility will be disabled in the near future.

Primary DNS server for Primary DNS Hosting:


dns0.optus.net.au 202.139.83.3

Secondary DNS server for Primary DNS Hosting:

dns1.optus.net.au 192.65.90.202


Secondary DNS server for Secondary DNS Hosting:

dns0.optus.net.au 202.139.83.3


http://requests.optus.net.au/dns/
************************************


Now i wonder if maybe all the problems you have had might be that the DNS goes down for a while or it is just too busy.

Who is this ISP you have..Name ?

also see this

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=322430


http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=172127&p=2


*****************

Then I see you are still doing win xp SP1 and not SP2 yet..that is not really a problem ..but i would update soon if i were you.

 

The DI-614+ is part of the D-Link AirPlus™ series of high-speed networking products capable of maximum wireless signal rate of up to 22Mbps*.

http://support.dlink.com/products/view.asp?productid=DI-614+

you are using that internally at your home and either hooking up PCs to it hardwire with cat5e cable directly most likely to an ether net card or you are also having other PC's connected to it wireless with other type of cards plugged into those PC's or laptops.

if that is the case and you can tell me more about your system and cards..it is possilble that one has a program install called D-Link AirPlus wireless adpaptor utility..and that utility can do a site survey of your D-link wireless lan and tell you more info..

 

thanks Primrose
i followed your instructions;

Also, go to Start > Find/search > Files or folders > in the named box, type: *.tmp and choose Edit > select all ->
File > delete.

i was unable to delete ZLT01961 it said it was in use by another user and/or program

also i didnt understand the following (please forgive my ignorence) could you explain it step by step

Empty the contents of the C:\Windows\temp folder and C:\temp folder, if you have one.

This one too if Win2K or XP.
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp\

 

oh boy ...you are starting to make my head spin....lol
i will try to keep up please bare with me.......the above highjackthis log is probally a year old.....i was on dial up then.....
i am fully up to date with windows sp2 ect...
i am also using firefox
i have adaware,spybot SD, spywareblaster,nortans anti-virus 2005 and zone allarm installed

 

LOL I should have looked closer at the date of that log posted..my bad..
Since you can not post logs anymore at Wilders..then all i can do is listen to you now

 

name;http://www.wideband.net.au/

 

if that is the case and you can tell me more about your system and cards..it is possilble that one has a program install called D-Link AirPlus wireless adpaptor utility..and that utility can do a site survey of your D-link wireless lan and tell you more info..[/QUOTE]

my wireless network card
D-Link air plus DWL-520+ ......we also have a laptop which we are having the same trouble with....i dont know what sort of card that has in it

 

my wireless network card
D-Link air plus DWL-520+ ......we also have a laptop which we are having the same trouble with....i dont know what sort of card that has in it[/QUOTE]

your Laptop most likely has a dwl-G630 card bus adapter plugginh into the side of it..or it could have a usb adpter card on the back of it with a small antenna..if you install the drivers for that your self..then on your laptop under programs you might find that utiltiy I talked about..that gives details of the connection etc..it is installed from the CD from D-link.

You find that under start> programs

 

ozrick,

Is your CSU/DSU landline or is someone offering you some sort of aerial services? Reason I ask this is you have the ability to check your signal strength of your own network when using wireless... usually your wireless connection will tell you 60-100% connectivity. etc.. etc... Sadly, your external home attenae on the roof does not make a difference in your connection.

Most ISP distribute there services through landline, meaning its physical cabling from the distribution center. Satellite on the other hand uses dishes and feeds with wireless connections to the distribution center.

Another thing you need to be concerned about when using wireless connections within your home are the amount of composite metals, water and other wireless products (ie. portable home phones) in between the signal your using. Iron, Water, Raw Steel and a few others will degrade the use and even cut down on connectivity.

 

Primary DNS Server 202.142.142.142
Secondary DNS Server 202.142.142.242

Proxy Server None Required

Network Card Settings:

Network card settings are specific to each customer. Should you need to re-enter your LAN / Network Card settings, please contact Wideband Support on 03 5135 6888 for your specific settings.

Speed Testing:

If you are a HiBIS Wireless Customer you can also verify the speed of your connection here
http://www.wideband.net.au/support/wireless/index.html


Neat service they have for you out there
http://www.wideband.net.au/wireless/faq.html