OT - Important for ZoneAlarm users
#3
  Re: (...)
A recent Microsoft update (KB951748) fixes yet another gaping hole in Windows' security. The problem is, it causes ZoneAlarm firewall not to allow Internet Explorer, Firefox, Outlook, Thunderbird, etc. to access the Internet.

There IS an update for the complete, ZoneAlarm Security Suite, but not yet for other ZoneAlarm products, including the free version. To see the official, ZoneAlarm page about the problem (where they say they will post the updates/fixes as they become available), go to "Workaround to Sudden Loss of Internet Access Problem .

Until a fix is ready, the bottom line is that the easiest workaround is to change ZoneAlarm's Internet security setting to "medium" instead of "high." It is also possible to remove the KB951748 update, but that could leave your computer vulnerable to the problem is was designed to correct.

The link, above, gives good, detailed information.

If you have Windows set not to update automatically (i.e. to alert you when updates are available, or to download updates but not apply them), it may be a good idea just to wait a bit, until the ZoneAlarm fixes are ready, before applying the KB951748 (which started being deployed yesterday).

I'm not sure if this update will cause similar problems with other firewall products, but if you discover you're having problems accessing the Internet after the Windows update, then that probably is the problem. I use the free Comodo firewall, but have not applied the Windows update, yet, so I can't say how Comodo works with the update.

Edit: I went ahead and applied the Windows update, and have not had any problems with Comodo firewall. I can't say whether the problem would affect any firewalls other than ZoneAlarm.

UPDATE: The ZoneAlarm page (mentioned above) seems to have fixes for each of their versions, now (not just for the Suite).
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#4
  Re: OT - Important for ZoneAlarm users by labradors (A recent Microsoft u...)
Thanks Labs, I use McAfee, so this doesn't apply to me, but I still appreciate the information. If I run into a problem with my security system, at least I'll know where to start looking.
Maryann

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