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Microsoft addresses ZoneAlarm patch snafu

Microsoft is re-issuing one of its advisories from this week's Patch Tuesday after some ZoneAlarm users complained they had dead Internet connections after installing the fix. Tuesday's MS08-37 update, which fixed a major DNS bug, now has an updated FAQ section that points ZoneAlarm and CheckPoint Endpoint Security customers to their respective Web sites for updates on how to fix the lossed Internet connection. Microsoft itself is not updating the actual patch.

ZoneAlarm users are being told by the company to install the latest version of the affected software, switch Internet Zone Slider to "medium" or uninstall the Windows DNS update. CheckPoint also recommends not installing or uninstalling the DNS update as the main course of action. There are software updates available for CheckPoint customers that want or need to install the DNS patch. If the affected computer is the only one in the house or office, the Windows Update uninstall might be the quickest way to get back online for stranded users.

Switch to Comodo Firewall.

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0

Switch to Comodo Firewall. It is much more powerfull, it's free, and it's not affected by the problem.

Say wha'?

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Re: "If the affected computer is the only one in the house or office, the Windows Update uninstall might be the quickest way to get back online for stranded users."

Ummm. If you've only got the one home/office computer and it can't reach the internet (because of this Microsoft-caused problem), then how are you supposed to learn what caused the problem -- or what your corrective options are? By osmosis with the internet ether?

I ask because I was one of the 'stranded' single-computer users -- who managed to recover via the Windows XP Restore procedure (which you don't mention). But, only after my 'shot-in-the-dark restore' was I able get back online to research the problem -- which is how I came to read your mini-article.

The Microsoft Manager responsible for the release of Tuesday's MS08-37 update should be made to donate a month's salary to the lowest trainee programmer in Microsoft's 'Back Up and Restore' Department -- as a striking reminder to both people that their untested software can cause a lot of unnecessary grief to thousands.

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SecurityBlog is written by Network World Multimedia Editor Jason Meserve

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