Zonealrm Program Control

[elkangorito]

A friend has a computer with a few problems.

I recently spent a couple of days removing about 26 viruses & a tonne of spyware. Even though antivirus/anti spyware & Hijack This now come up clear, the computer keeps restarting itself from when it is first switched on OR if you ask the computer to restart. It will only reboot itself once.

Also, the Program Control in Zonealarm Free keeps disabling itself.

Any ideas?

[waldwolf]

elkangorito - I suspect your friends computer still has some undetected malware.

There are a number of things you could "play" with, however, if it were my computer I would do a complete reformat/reinstall of Windows. (Fastest way to insure a clean/malware-free system.)

If you want to try fixing it yourself (and I'm assuming your friends computer is running WindowsXP), try the following:

1. Right click on My Computer icon

2. In menu, select Properties

3. Click Advanced Tab >Startup & Recovery

4. Click Settings button

5. Uncheck Automatically Restart and click on Apply

On restart, above should display a blue screen with an error message, rather than rebooting the computer over & over. This error message may help you discover the root cause.

It is also likely one of the malware damaged the WindowsXP Kernel32.dll driver. If you have the original XP install disk, reinstall Kernel32.dll (see windows help file for details).

One of the malware may also have damaged a ZoneAlarm file, in an attempt to disable the firewall. Not a big deal. You can uninstall/reinstall ZoneAlarm once you have the operating system stabilized. (Just stay off the internet until ZoneAlarm (or other) firewall has been reactivated.

waldwolf

[elkangorito]

elkangorito - I suspect your friends computer still has some undetected malware.

There are a number of things you could "play" with, however, if it were my computer I would do a complete reformat/reinstall of Windows. (Fastest way to insure a clean/malware-free system.)

If you want to try fixing it yourself (and I'm assuming your friends computer is running WindowsXP), try the following:

1. Right click on My Computer icon

2. In menu, select Properties

3. Click Advanced Tab >Startup & Recovery

4. Click Settings button

5. Uncheck Automatically Restart and click on Apply

On restart, above should display a blue screen with an error message, rather than rebooting the computer over & over. This error message may help you discover the root cause.

It is also likely one of the malware damaged the WindowsXP Kernel32.dll driver. If you have the original XP install disk, reinstall Kernel32.dll (see windows help file for details).

One of the malware may also have damaged a ZoneAlarm file, in an attempt to disable the firewall. Not a big deal. You can uninstall/reinstall ZoneAlarm once you have the operating system stabilized. (Just stay off the internet until ZoneAlarm (or other) firewall has been reactivated.

waldwolf

Thanks Waldwolf. I did suspect the same things myself. I also did disable the auto restart. So I guess the question still stands...what can disable the Program Control in Zonealarm (free edition)? Does anybody know?

I will try to re-register the (possible) damaged programs & see what happens.

Again, thanks for your input.

[cdnvic]

Make sure Windows isn't blocking the program, look to see if Windows firewall is starting up. A conflict could cause Windows to block the program, or parts of it. Personally, if you have good Antivirus, antispyware, and a NAT router, Windows firewall is all you need.

If that isn't it try a complete uninstall of Zonealarm, clean your registry, then re-install it. This program has a free registry cleaner: http://www.iobit.com/ (Advanced Windows Care)

What antivirus and antispyware are you using?

[JetsetBkk]

Personally, if you have good Antivirus, antispyware, and a NAT router, Windows firewall is all you need.

Can you explain what a 'NAT router' is? I want to check if my one is a 'NAT router'.

[cdnvic]

Network Address Translation. Most routers you buy today are. These make excellent firewalls. Better than the software type because they cannot be disabled by malware. If you have a D-link, Lynksys, Netgear or similar then it's a NAT router.