XP Update KB951748 and ZoneAlarm

Hey everyone,

I have just been informed that the KB951748 Security Update for XP interferes with ZoneAlarm, causing the Internet to stop working. To fix it, you can either remove the update (which will probably get installed again next time Windows update runs) or to follow these steps below:

Solution:
Reset the ZA database and the ZA will be “fresh” as when it was first installed:

  • Save ZA settings in XML file like usual.
  • Boot your computer into the Safe Mode
  • Navigate to the c:\windows\internet logs folder
  • Delete the backup.rdb, iamdb.rdb, *.ldb and the tvDebug files in the folder
  • Clean the Recycle Bin
  • Reboot into the normal mode
  • ZA will be just like new with no previous settings or data
  • Now restore your settings from XML file to recover Zones/Ports/etc settings OR restore your settings manually (add subnets to Zones, etc)
    I.E.: Make sure your DNS and DHCP server IP’s are in your Firewall’s Trusted zone.
    The Generic Host Process (svchost.exe) as seen in the Zone Alarm’s Program’s list must have server rights for the Trusted Zone.
    Plus it must have both Trusted and Internet Access. It must have NO server rights in Internet Zone!

The issue and solution applies to all versions of ZA and ZA: Security Suite

Update: ZoneAlarm has issued an upgrade, HERE.

This is a pain in the arse really, it even happened to me - lets just hope there is an update to ZoneAlarm that works fine with this update.

(Thanks to EscondeR and spikejones for the info and solutions)

Update: It seems like it has spread all over the Internet, even the BBC have wrote a report about it HERE.

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