Windows 2000 SP1 and Zone Alarm

Some people sing the blues because they are out of money. Some people sing the blues because of a lost love. And some people sing the blues because they just installed a Microsoft Service Pack. As we've recounted many times, the first people to install a Microsoft Service Pack often run into problems. Last month it was IE 5.01 Service Pack 1. Before that, it was Office 2000, Office 97 (twice), and Windows NT 4.0. This time it is Windows 2000, Service Pack 1. This time, the bad luck came to those who were using Zone Labs' Zone Alarm 2.1.25, a popular firewall program that provides security against Internet marauders. If you were using Zone Alarm, set to High Security, on a Windows 2000 computer, installing

the Service Pack would cut you off from almost all Internet connections, including Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and e-mail programs. Tests by KeyLabs show that only the most basic TCP/IP functions, such as Ping, can get through, while the more advanced programs are stymied. Trying to use Netscape Navigator would result in the error message shown in Figure 1. While there was no mention of this in the Service Pack 1 Release Notes, a workaround was quickly posted in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and at the Zone Labs Site: reducing the Zone Alarm security level from High to Medium allows you to connect to the Internet. (In Zone Alarm, click the Security button, and use the slider to adjust the security level for the Internet). The upshot of this workaround is that while Zone Alarm will still keep hackers out of your computer, you will no longer be operating in Stealth Mode, which makes your computer invisible to others searching for a system to break in. And if they don't know you're there, they can't break in. Gregor Freund, president of Zone Labs, said that the incompatibility was due to a lack of coordination between Microsoft and Zone Labs which prevented either party from adequately testing the firewall service pack combination. Other personal firewall developers have said that a recent change in the Windows 2000 software developer's kit (SDK) reached developers at the same time as the new SP1, again preventing adequate testing. Despite the mix-up, Zone Labs has now released a patch that will allow a Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 computer to operate in ZoneAlarm's High Security, or Stealth, mode. Download the patch from Zone Labs web site. KeyLabs has confirmed that the patch does indeed work. Once you have downloaded it, run the program and follow the installation instructions. Installing the patch does require a system reboot. The BugNet database will have more information on what Service Pack 1 fixes, as well as other things it may break. While it may not make you happy, it may keep you from getting the Service Pack Blues.