HELP.

I have had Zone Alarm on my computer for years. I kept getting an "update now" message so I finally did. Now the stupid thing shuts down on me with a "runtime error" every 2 hours and it's a complete pain in the rear end. It won't let my emails come through, I can't load websites, nothing. It was not like that before and I hate it now. I usually let my computer on all night long and I let my email run. My boyfriend sends me pictures and stuff through email and I let them download overnight while I'm sleeping. I can't do that when this firewall shuts off.

So what i want to know is HOW do I get rid of this one (through add delete?) and how do I install a new one that I can get for free? I absolutely have no money to buy one so it has to be something available online for free.

Thanks!

well, uninstall ZA FIRST - and i'll see if i can find some info on that for yah, then you could try either of these 2 free ones:

Tiny Personal Firewall - free edition
http://www.webmasterfree.com/tpfw.html
Sygate Personal Firewall 5.5
http://www.tucows.com/preview/213160.html

what version of Windows are you using and what version of Zone Alarm do you have installed? (click on the Help - About... on the menubar)

Windows 98

Zone Alarm Version 5.0.590.015

what "email" are you referring to ? is it a web-based online account like Hotmail/Yahoo/AOL or is it an account you access through Outlook or other email program?

try to uninstall and re-install it FIRST:

http://nh2.nohold.net/noHoldCust25/Prod_1/Articles55646/ManualUninstall.html
Zone Labs Customer Care

This Information Applies to:

All ZoneAlarm Products

Summary:

I tried to uninstall ZoneAlarm, and now I’ve lost my Internet connection, or I cannot receive e-mail.

Solution:

By far the easiest way to fix this is to reinstall the product (if you still have the original installation file), reboot, and then Uninstall. When uninstalling first right-click on the ZoneAlarm icon in the system tray, and select "Shutdown ZoneAlarm". Also be sure to say OK to the Security Check.

Note: If you have not run the uninstaller, do so now, before booting into Safe Mode.

If you do not have the installation file, or are otherwise unable to reinstall, then do the following.

STEP 1: Boot into Safe Mode:

If you have Windows 98/2000/ME/XP, Reboot your system into Safe Mode. If you don’t know how to do this, from your desktop, click on Start >> Help, and type in "Safe Mode" (no quotes) and follow the instruction to boot your OS into Safe Mode.

NOTE - Do NOT start ZoneAlarm while in Safe Mode -- you may not be able to make the changes necessary.

STEP 2: Remove Registry Entry (Windows 95/98/ME ONLY):

(NOTE - If you plan to reinstall ZoneAlarm afterwards, this step is optional. You will receive a VXD error on boot up, but it will go away once you reinstall ZoneAlarm.)

Important Advisory: Deleting registry entries incorrectly may cause serious problems to your operating system (OS), which may necessitate the need to reinstall the OS. Please make sure you are able to perform these deletions correctly before you decide to edit the entries. If you are not sure, you should seek help from someone who is familiar with editing the registry. For information about how to edit the registry in Windows, from your desktop, click Start >> Run >> and type "regedit.exe". Click on Help >> Help Topics. Under the "Contents" tab, click Change Keys and Values (this may be found under the "How to..." section).

Also, you should always make a backup of the registry before editing it. You can find this in the same section of the Help files.

* To edit the registry, go to Start/Run and type: "regedit"
* Navigate in the left pane to this entry and delete the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VSDATA95
* Click File, Exit to finish.

(NOTE - If on reboot you get a VXD error, hit Enter. In this case, you will need to perform the REGEDIT sequence again from the normal Windows, since Windows didn't allow registry changes while in Safe Mode)

STEP 3: Remove Files :

To make sure that you can see the ZoneAlarm system files, if they are still on your computer, click Start >> Help, then type either "hidden files" or "show all files" (No quotes) – one of these should tell you how to make sure ALL files are visible. Follow the instructions given. Be sure to change these settings back after you are done.

IMPORTANT - THERE MAY BE SEVERAL SETTINGS TO CHANGE, IN ORDER TO SEE EVERY FILE ON THE SYSTEM.

* Click Start >> Find or Search, select your local hard drive, type in "VSDATA*.*" (no quotes) and click on the Find Now or Search button.
* If you find any files named VSDATA95 or VSDATANT, delete them (you can do this directly from the Search window by right-clicking on the file and select delete).
* Now in the Find field, type in "INTERNET LOGS" (no quotes), and click Search.
* You should see a folder by that name. If you wish to keep a record of previous alerts, copy the file ZALog.txt to another location. Then delete the folder, which removes the database files. They are recreated when you run ZoneAlarm again.

If you are running Windows NT and cannot delete these files, try the following from an Administrative account (If you do not know how to do something, click Start, Help for more information):

* Search for vsmon.exe and rename the file. REMEMBER what you changed it to!
* Shut down ZoneAlarm . It doesn't matter if there's a password on it or not.
* Reboot.
* Delete the files referenced in step 3 above.
* Change the renamed file back to vsmon.exe

STEP 4: Clean up deletions:

* Empty the trash (recycle) bin.
* Reboot your machine normally.

STEP 5: Finish Uninstalling:

Now you should have your access back.

FOR FUTURE UNINSTALLING:

* If you reinstall ZoneAlarm , and need to UNinstall again, be sure you always say Yes to the Security Check, or it cannot remove files properly. It is also a good idea to keep the file that you downloaded to install with.
* If you ever need to shut down ZoneAlarm while figuring out any configuration issues – On Overview -> Preferences, UNcheck the box to "Load At Startup". You can now reboot with no ZoneAlarm process running. Making modifications to system files may disable crucial functions of your Windows operating system. We strongly suggest re-enabling the "Hide files and folders" feature once all ZoneAlarm Pro files have been removed. If you received an error message upon deleting the files, or if the original programs remain in the Programs list, or if the problem persists after this, removing the files in Safe Mode will allow you to delete the files properly. If you need further help with this, click Start -> Help, and search for "Safe Mode".

Originally posted by robyrob
what "email" are you referring to ? is it a web-based online account like Hotmail/Yahoo/AOL or is it an account you access through Outlook or other email program?

My email is through Microsoft Outlook - when the Zone Alarm thing shuts down I lose all connection to the internet even though I'm on cable modem. It won't load web pages or anything.

Let me read what you wrote in the following post.

Geez that looks like a lot of mumbo jumbo, I don't get it.

If I shut Zone Alarm off, completey, I dont have this problem. But I realize with cable modem and being online all the time I need to have a firewall.

I dont know what Safe Mode means, I'm afraid to do anything to my computer that might mess it up, cause me to lose files or emails, or anything else. I'm not computer literate at all so doing anything different worries me.

I thought it might be just as easy to uninstall it and download a new firewall.

Another option would be to reinstall the older version of ZA:
after uninstalling,
Download ZoneAlarm Pro 45.594.000 : http://tinyurl.com/36ss4 and save it to your PC. Once the download has completed, reboot. Turn off your Antivirus program and all other running programs before running the Setup Program of ZoneAlarm. Double click the ZoneAlarm setup icon to begin the installation wizard and when ZoneAlarm asks if you want to do a clean install choose that option.

Originally posted by Nanny Fine
Geez that looks like a lot of mumbo jumbo, I don't get it.

If I shut Zone Alarm off, completey, I dont have this problem. But I realize with cable modem and being online all the time I need to have a firewall.

I dont know what Safe Mode means, I'm afraid to do anything to my computer that might mess it up, cause me to lose files or emails, or anything else. I'm not computer literate at all so doing anything different worries me.

I thought it might be just as easy to uninstall it and download a new firewall. try to uninstall it from the Add/Remove programs first, then download the older version i linked above and reinstall with the clean option.

if you STILL have problems, you will need to weed out any leftover files using those LONG confusing instructions (which i found on ZoneAlarm's site - it isnt as bad as it seems)

Originally posted by robyrob
Another option would be to reinstall the older version of ZA:
after uninstalling,
Download ZoneAlarm Pro 45.594.000 : http://tinyurl.com/36ss4 and save it to your PC. Once the download has completed, reboot. Turn off your Antivirus program and all other running programs before running the Setup Program of ZoneAlarm. Double click the ZoneAlarm setup icon to begin the installation wizard and when ZoneAlarm asks if you want to do a clean install choose that option.

Alright will try that in a few minutes.

I hope it works.

Thanks. Will let you know.

Wait, do I uninstall the version of ZA I have now before I download the new one? I mean the older version?