comp trouble

[2000xlt]

First i had no lights on the router, now thery are on, if i click on internet settings and open LAN the status is enabled or"connected" but i cant get online at all with that computer, i have optimum by the way. the comp is a dell running xp home. I am typing this from another comp since mine is "unconnected"?

 

[Rossymeister]

Have you tried using system restore?

 

[tvodrd]

Just in case you are running ZoneAlarm firewall, a bunch of folks got pooched by Uncle Bill's latest patches.

Larry

 

[eluminator]

I presume you have powered it off for a while, maybe 30 seconds, by unplugging the power plug in back.

 

[2000xlt]

Have you tried using system restore?

Yes i tried using system restore, and thusly yeilded no avail

I also checked that the controls were set to auto detect IP and DNS. And i spoke to optimum today, he told me about the update which affects zonealarm users, you can unistall hotfix KB 951748, I cant do that since once i open control panel and select add or remove programs, it says wait while the list is being populated and i let it go for 15 minuites and it did not display the list so i closed it and adjusted my firewall to medium setting as per the suggestions via the zonealarm site

 

[Radio]

Uninstall ZA, you are better off running windows own firewall than ZA on medium. DO NOT uninstall the patch!

 

[2000xlt]

well i am due to renew my zonealarm security suite soon, any thoughts on that

 

[mechBgon]

well i am due to renew my zonealarm security suite soon, any thoughts on that

Personally, I'd get Kaspersky AntiVirus and use the Windows XP firewall in conjunction with other safety practices. ZoneLabs licenses Kaspersky's antivirus engine/sigs anyway, which is smart, because Kaspersky is good stuff.

The free version of AntiVir is right up there with Kaspersky for detection rates, and it's free for home/non-commercial use (but generates one pop-up per day to advertise their Premium version). So that would be another option to think about. If you pick AntiVir, go to the Configuration, enable Expert Mode, and methodically go down the settings panels and enable the options, such as spyware detection and whatnot.

If you like the ZoneAlarm firewall, consider just using the free version of ZoneAlarm (firewall only) in conjunction with AntiVir, Kaspersky, or another AV.

I also recommend using the free Secunia Personal Software Inspector to eliminate known, exploitable vulnerabilities in various common stuff like QuickTime, Flash Player, Adobe Reader, WinAmp, RealPlayer, Sun Java, and so on. These vulnerabilities are a major method of attack in today's world, so take care of them.