and go through all the menus as shown below in
the screencaps.
This html page and its images may be downloaded as a zip file (1,131KB) here: zap-4-0-123-012.zip for offline perusal.
This page contains screencaps of settings for zaPro in a configuration which have been working for me so far (no successful unauthorized intrusions, no successful unauthorized outgoing connections which I am aware of).
To access the tutorial, click:
"Start" > "Programs" > "Zone Labs" > "Zone Labs Security Tutorial"
Finally, open ZoneAlarm Pro by doubleclicking on the icon in the system tray
and go through all the menus as shown below in
the screencaps.
Please note that these are settings which seem to have worked well for me. Your system and your requirements may vary.
Also note that this page in no way is meant to replace utilizing the Help feature of ZoneAlarm. This page is meant only to serve as a starting point. When in doubt, Read The Fine Manual!
):
means that the program is always permitted to
communicate in that category.
means that zoneAlarm will ask you each
time the program attempts to communicate in that category.
means that the program is never permitted to
communicate in that category.
To find specific directory and file information for a given entry, click on it and
details about the program will be displayed at the bottom of the screen in the "Entry
Detail" section.
16progcontrolPrograms2.gif
17progcontrolPrograms3.gif
18progcontrolPrograms4.gif
19progcontrolPrograms5.gif
20progcontrolComponents.gif
See above note for Program Control, Main tab.
21alertslogsMain.gif
When you first install zoneAlarm, you might want to set "Alert Events Shown" to
Medium or High; it will give you an idea of just how often attempts are made against your
system (for example, in the 5 or so hours I've been online since I installed this upgrade,
zoneAlarm has blocked 393 intrusion attempts, 202 of which were "high-rated"; this is more
than one per minute...).
In very short order though you will tire of clicking "OK" to get rid of the pop-up
notification so go here and set Alert Events Shown to Off.
Definitely Log Events. Definitely Log All Program Alerts. You never know when a
piece of information will pull your chestnuts out of the fire.
22alertslogsMainCustom.gif
23alertslogsLogviewer1.gif
The log viewer is pretty self-explanatory.
24alertslogsLogviewer2.gif
25alertslogsLogviewer3.gif
26privacyMain.gif
The Privacy settings can get a little tricky especially if you go to certain websites
which require cookies to be enabled (on-line purchasing with "shopping carts", certain
dynamic websites, that sort of thing).
I have found that the settings I have here allow me to do my on-line banking and
make purchases while still maintaining a certain degree of privacy.
If you click any of the "Custom" buttons, they will take you to the same window but
with the appropriate tab selected (see the following three screencaps). These will become
your "global" Privacy settings applied to each site you visit.
You can, however, define individual sites to have their own individual settings. More
on that below under the "Site List" tab.
27privacyMainCookieCustom.gif
If you have problems accessing a website with your current settings, try putting a
check in the "Show Privacy Advisor" checkbox; this will give you a pop-up every time
zoneAlarm blocks something based on your settings and this should give you an idea of what
is preventing access to the site.
28privacyMainAdblockCustom.gif
I have the animation on because I have a couple sites I maintain which use animated
.gif files and I like to know that those are working.
29privacyMainMobileCustom.gif
These I'm not so sure about. I use sites with javascript, regular scripting, java,
and ActiveX; I'm not so sure about mime-type integrated objects.
30privacySitelist.gif
This is where you would define a site to have its own settings regarding cookies,
ad-blocking and mobile code. Once you edit the settings for a site, it remains in this
list in all future sessions.
31privacyCachecleaner.gif
This is just a "handy feature".
32privacyCachecleanerCustomHD.gif
33privacyCachecleanerCustomIE.gif
34privacyCachecleanerCustomNS.gif
35emailMain.gif
This is a feature which, when combined with a decent anti-virus product (with current
virus definitions) really helps to minimize the possibility of incoming email borne viruses.
For each type of file in the following list (Attachments), zoneAlarm replaces the
extension of the attachment with .zl? where ? is a number or letter. This renders the
attached file non-executable in any form.
You can, however, download the attached file and doubleclick on it; zoneAlarm will
then open a warning window telling you the type of original file and give you the option
to run it, view it with Notepad, or not run it.
As always, informed common sense should be first on your mind: Did you anticipate
receiving an email with an attachment? Have you independently communicated with the
sender asking them if they sent the email and what were the contents? Where did they
get it from?
I realize that sounds paranoid, but then again, I have yet to receive a virus which
I did not intentionally put on my computer.
36emailMainAdvanced.gif
This is a rather nice feature which provides some warning if you do manage to get a
virus or worm which is trying to disseminate itself without your knowledge.
37emailAttachments.gif
This is the list of attachments which zoneAlarm checks for. Keep in mind that
zoneAlarm only checks the extension name, it doesn't actually check the contents of the
attachment. This means that the file could be named malware.xxx then somehow get renamed
at a later point to an executable extension.
It used to be Safe Sex, now it's Safe Computing. An excellent resource to Safe
Computing may be found at:
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html#IV
Return to LAFN main page
Return to Mentors' page
This page updated: The Ides of March 2004 0230 pst
jtm