Zone alarm + hotfix = no internet. An FYI

Just thought I would share with everyone who use zone alarm and having trouble getting online after a windows update.

Last night an auto update installed a hotfix on my PC and then my sisters PC this morning. The hotfix is numbered KB951748 and changes some files for your network that zone alarm dont like/understand and as a result basicly locks down your PC from the internet.

Luckly I had a laptop as well as a phone call to comcast to figure out the problem, it was what I suspected, the update. There are a couple fixes listed at the zone alarm site, I chose to delete the hotfix. So if you cannot access the internet and are using zone alarm (vista users are not to worry at least from what I can tell).

Here is the fix I chose:
first got to automatic updates and select, "Notify me but don't automaticly download and install"

Next go to control panel -> add remove programs. Check the "show updates" box and scroll nearly all the way down (or the date when the hot fix was installed, likely 7/9/08) and look for

"KB951748"

and remove it. Users of office XP may have problems. In this case you may have to just lower your security settings untill you can access the internet (medium, I believe) or risk making office XP not run.

Reboot your computer and you should be set.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the tip! :gj:

If you get the "patched" new version of zonealarm now (they have a message up about the hotfix) you can install the hotfix, then upgrade your zone alarm and the net connectivity should come back. It shouldn't cost you anything to fix this.

I had the same problem and removed the hotfix several days ago. Last night I went ahead and upgraded zone alarm after the hotfix. Works fine.