Re: ZoneAlarm 5.1.011 is trashing attachments in downloaded newsgroup postings

From: Mike (msnewsgroups_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 08/25/04 

Date: 25 Aug 2004 08:27:02 -0700

So you are saying that ZoneAlarm is forcing me to upgrade for a fee to
get a feature that I do not want (or at least should have the REAL
option of turning off - not a fake yes/no option like it really is
today).

Nice. Free is free is free and shouldnt not include items which break
a user's installation SO THAT I have to upgrade to get it to work for
real.

I dont want to hear anything about "dummy-proofing" anything for
people who "dont know". That is B/S. People who "dont know" STILL
want to know why an on/off switch doesnt work. I mean, GRAY THE DARN
THING OUT THEN - and then tell people that the ONLY way to turn it on
or off is to upgrade. Who is the EINSTEIN of this ZoneAlarm company
anyway? Was he absent the day the brains were handed out? Come on!

In other words, the option SHOULD NOT EVEN BE THERE if it isnt going
to work at all **AND** its doing damage to your PC which you can NOT
control. Thats worse than the AOL "give me your credit card for a
free-trial" B/S. Free is free is free and I dont recall ever needing
to put my hand in my pocket to get a credit card or cash or coins for
FREE items. Geez.

They arent getting a nickel from me. If this is the ONLY solution to
for getting this to work, then I am giving my $ to their competition.
 Thats what this great free nation of ours (USA) allows us to do. And
it also allows companys like ZoneAlarm the ability to hang themselves!

When are companies going to realize that it is US, the consumers,
which make their existance possible? And when will they actually
come to grips with the fact that it is US, the consumers WHO WILL PUT
THEM OUT OF BUSINESS IF WE WANT TO. Idiots!

Bottom-line: Dont add a feature to a FREE product that forces people
to upgrade because the feature is screwing up people's PC's and the
ONLY way to get this fake option box to REALLY stop messing with
attachments is to PAY THEM for a "pro" version. BullSH*T! This is
borderline criminal and I hope the ZoneAlarm management EINSTEINS are
reading this.

Michael <mgordon2@BeamMeUpScottie.earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<10iic6b8chai864@corp.supernews.com>...
> Gerrit Scholten wrote:
>
> > Michael wrote:
> >
> >> Gerrit Scholten wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hello,
> >>>
> >>> I've run into a problem with ZoneAlarm (version 5.1.011) and
> >>> Netscape 7.1 newsreader. When I download newsgroup postings, *all*
> >>> attachments in these postings are trashed by ZoneAlarm. When I look
> >>> in a posting that has e.g. a screenprint as attachment, I can read
> >>> the postings text, but the screenprint is replaced by the Netscape
> >>> 'unavailable image' icon. And when a posting has e.g. logfiles as
> >>> attachments, I can see the filenames in the newreader attachments
> >>> list, but I can't open or save the attachments.
> >>> When I look in the ZoneAlarm logfiles (Alerts & Logs|Log Viewer,
> >>> select 'Program' in the select box labelled 'Alert Type'), I find
> >>> scores of entries that read:
> >>> Description=Renamed e-mail attachment <old_name> to <new_name>.
> >>> Rating=medium
> >>> Type=MailSafe
> >>> Program=Netscp.exe
> >>> Direction=Incoming
> >>> Action Taken=Quarantined
> >>> Source DNS=news.worldonline.nl
> >>>
> >>> According to the ZoneAlarm helpfile, when quarantining an attachment
> >>> it only changes the extension of the attachment, see helpfile text:
> >>> <quote>
> >>> Changing the filename extension quarantines the attachment by
> >>> keeping it from running automatically. When you open the e-mail
> >>> containing the attachment, Zone Labs security software displays a
> >>> MailSafe alert to let you know that it has quarantined the
> >>> attachment. If you try to open the attachment, an alert warns you of
> >>> the potential risk involved. However, you are still able to open the
> >>> attachment if you are sure that it is safe.
> >>> </quote>
> >>>
> >>> When I open the newspost, I don't get the MailSafe alert, so I can't
> >>> open the attachments.
> >>>
> >>> I have set the option 'Basic MailSafe Settings' to 'Off', so ZA
> >>> shouldn't quarantine attachments at all.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Question: Does anybody know how to correct this unwanted behaviour
> >>> in ZoneAlarm 5.1.011 (reinstalling ZA 4.5 is workaround, not a
> >>> solution) ?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> regards, Gerrit Scholten
> >>
> >>
> >> Hello Gerrit,
> >>
> >> In ZoneAlarm open the console and click on E-Mail Protection, then
> >> select the tab Attachments. Change the state of each mail attachment
> >> extension you want ZoneAlarm to pass to your e-mail client. Be
> >> advised that you will not be protected from those types of virus
> >> attachments when you change the state.
> >>
> >> Michael
> >
> > Hello Michael,
> >
> > thank you for your answer. Problem is, I had this problem with ZA
> > free, and the Attachments tab is only available in ZA Professional. I
> > found the reference to this attachments tab in the ZA helpfile, but
> > the helpfile didn't tell me about the Attachments tab being a ZAP feature.
> > I uninstalled ZA free, and reinstalled it. Problem still there.
> > Next trail & error action: I activated the ZAP 15-days trial. Now I've
> > access to this Attachments tab. I unchecked *all* extensions. Problem
> > gone.
> >
> > What I don't know (yet) is what will happen when the 15-days trial
> > ends and ZAP changes back to ZA free.
> >
> > What this ZA feature does is changing the extensions of 'suspect'
> > attachments in different extensions, so the attachments don't launch
> > automatically and can only be opened when you /and/ use ZA /and/
> > indicate (in the presented dialog) that you really really want to open
> > / execute the attachment.
> >
> > One important note: I don't like programs to change the content of my
> > emails or newsgroup postings. When the content is changed, any
> > email/posting which has a digital signature will start of alerts
> > because the content has changed. Worse, you can only acces the
> > attachments when you continue to use ZA - talking about vendor
> > lock-in. If I wanted to use another firewall, or wanted to migrate to
> > another OS (Linux ?), then I couldn't access the attachments in old
> > emails / newsgroup postings anymore - suck suck suck. I do not dislike
> > this ZA feature, I hate it. Protecting users against malicious
> > attachments should be done by antivirus software, not by a firewall.
> >
> > Gerrit
>
> The Free ZA automatically sets all critical options for the new user who
> knows nothing about firewalls and anti virus. As the new user gains
> confidence and knowledge about security threats he is offered the
> "Professional Version" at a reasonable cost. Protecting the user is the
> prime directive for ZA.
>
> If you want more control over how ZA performs its tasks on your PC I
> suggest you invest in the Professional Version where you can have total
> control over how ZA works on your PC. Once you have the Professional
> Version you can find where ZA store its quarantined files and open them
> from there.
>
> Michael

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