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Author Topic: Zone Alarm removal  (Read 8160 times)

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Offline Lena

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Zone Alarm removal
« on: March 21, 2008, 04:54:47 PM »
I was considering removing Zone Alarm Firewall (v. 7.0.462.000) from my computer (XP-SP2) and just using the Windows firewall (behind a router). (FiOS).  But I read some horror stories from folks having problems from not being able to access the Internet afterwards, to being unable to reinstall Zone Alarm.

 Some of these post are old and I wonder if the un-install problems still persist. 

I had removed Zone Alarm from my daughter's computer a few months ago when it seemed to interfere with her computer accessing her wireless router, and there were no problems in doing so.  (This was before I read all the chaos folks were having attempting an uninstall of ZA)  I just printed out three pages of instructions on how to remove Zone Alarm and all its residuals and don't feel comfortable going through all those steps; I'd rather leave the beast lie. 

Is removing Zone Alarm just a matter of going to the Control Panel, to RemoveAdd programs and click to uninstall Zone Alarm, or is there a problem with TrueVector Internet Monitor and other nasty things left in the startup folder and registry?

Thanks for any help.
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Offline Vietnam Vet

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2008, 05:19:49 PM »
Hi Lena,

From a personal perspective, I have never had a problem removing any version of Zone Alarm from my system. The earlier versions left some stuff lying around that needed to be removed manually, but the uninstaller did a much better job in later versions. I am using an old computer with 98SE on it, so I can not say anything about the more recent versions as they don't work on that system.

The main thing is to insure that ZA is not running, especially the true vector service. I always disabled the startup entries for ZA client and the true vector service, then rebooted to be sure ZA wasn't running and then did the uninstall.

I don't think you will have a problem as long as you insure ZA isn't running.

HTH,
VV

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Offline GR@PH;<'S

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2008, 12:01:53 AM »
Lena,
For ZoneAlarm, the TrueVector service was not disabled and removed. This can result in loss of network access. To prevent that service from causing the same problem in the future, follow the steps below.

To disable TrueVector at startup:
1.   Click Start >Control Panel (Windows XP), or Start >Settings >Control Panel (all other versions of Windows).
2.   Open the Services tool as described below:

(Classic View) Double-click Administrative Tools. Then, double-click Services.(Category View) Click Performance and Maintenance. Then, click Administrative Tools and double-click Services.
d. Double-click on the entry named TrueVector Internet Monitor.
e.Select Disable from the Startup Type drop-down menu.
f. Close the Services Control Panel.


To properly uninstall ZoneAlarm:

To correctly uninstall ZoneAlarm, use the Add and Remove Programs control panel. Also, for Windows NT, 2000, and XP, you must first disable the True Vector Service (Steps 1 and 2, below).

1.   Click Start, then Run.
2.   Type net stop "TrueVector Internet Monitor" just as it appears in the window below, then press OK.
3.   Click Start >Control Panel (Windows XP), or Start >Settings >Control Panel (all other versions of Windows).
4.   Click Add or Remove Programs.
5.   Click on the entry for ZoneAlarm.
6.   Click Change/Remove to uninstall the program.
7.   Restart your system..

GR@PH;<'S   :Hammys pint:

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Offline Lena

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2008, 01:00:15 AM »
Thanks, Vietnam Vet and GR@PH;<'S.  I had seen some of that stuff in the older write-ups on Zone Alarm removal, plus some instructions on fooling around with the registry and deleting a whole bunch of ZA related files. 

And I've been trying to find some reasons NOT to have ZA on the computer, other than slowing down the boot up process, and from what I've read, it seems that a person like me, with very little computer saavy, ought to just leave it alone and let ZA do its thing. 

And this is certainly not a good weekend  :exorcize: to go fooling around with my computer and then expect to find help if it crashes. 

Thanks again for your assistance..   :thumbsup:
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Offline GR@PH;<'S

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2008, 01:18:46 AM »
Lena,
Quote
ought to just leave it alone and let ZA do its thing
Hmm I would recommend you removed it as if you are going to leave it be then why not reinstall the full program to use.

GR@PH;<'S   :Hammys pint:
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press Enter then have a Brandy then if the problem is still there have another Brandy
Q: does it work
A: It does seem to for a few hours at least.

Offline Vietnam Vet

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2008, 05:38:41 AM »
GR@PH;<'S,

I don't think Lena experienced any problem on her system. She saw some stories,(which were probably true due to people not removing the program properly), and was just doublechecking before she decided to remove the app herself.


Lena,

I realize the update hasn't been posted here, as of now, but all flavors of Zone Alarm updated to 7.0.470.000 and were released to the public on March 20, 2008. Just so you will know in case that info might influence your decision on what to do with your own system.

Best wishes,
VV
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Offline GR@PH;<'S

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2008, 08:10:19 PM »
Lena,
Just to add that ZoneAlarm is in my opinion one of the best free firewalls you can use
just in case you wanted to check out some of the best free firewalls take a look at "Best FREE Firewalls for Windows"

GR@PH;<'S  :Hammys pint:
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press Enter then have a Brandy then if the problem is still there have another Brandy
Q: does it work
A: It does seem to for a few hours at least.

Offline Lena

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2008, 09:27:23 PM »
Thanks, GR@PH;<'S .  My son pointed out "Shields Up" which I ran (with ZA) and it looks like I'm o.k. (stealth in all but port 113 (closed) which posts seem to indicate that is acceptable). 

So I think Zone Alarm stays, even if they are getting sneaky about trying to stick a Yahoo (YUK) toolbar on the machine when I update.
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Offline GR@PH;<'S

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #8 on: March 22, 2008, 10:42:32 PM »
Lena,
I am sure that you do have the option to un-tick for the Yahoo toolbar  :blink:
 but yes it is sneaky the way most of the programs come with a toolbar but it the $ they getting does go to wards there bills thus enabling them to keep if free.

GR@PH;<'S   :Hammys pint:
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press Enter then have a Brandy then if the problem is still there have another Brandy
Q: does it work
A: It does seem to for a few hours at least.

Offline Niecarrah

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2008, 01:05:16 AM »
Yes, isn't it a pitty that the root of all evils is the almighty dollar!
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Offline Basementgeek

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #10 on: March 24, 2008, 01:32:51 AM »
It seems like most free programs, want to install some thing else anymore. 

I recall many months ago, I saw a log at Techsupportforum, that about half the user screen was tools bars !!!!

Zone Alarm has worked well for me.

BG
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Offline Lena

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2008, 05:28:29 PM »
Quote from: GR@PH;<'S on March 22, 2008, 12:01:53 AM

To disable TrueVector at startup:
1.   Click Start >Control Panel (Windows XP), or Start >Settings >Control Panel (all other versions of Windows).
2.   Open the Services tool as described below:

(Classic View) Double-click Administrative Tools. Then, double-click Services.(Category View) Click Performance and Maintenance. Then, click Administrative Tools and double-click Services.
d. Double-click on the entry named TrueVector Internet Monitor.
e.Select Disable from the Startup Type drop-down menu......
GR@PH;<'S   :Hammys pint:


An update.  Decided to remove ZA from an old laptop that was slowing to a crawl with all the stuff on it.  Tried following the steps above (after shutting down ZA) to shut off "TrueVector..." and when I got to "Disable", a window popped up saying "Access Denied".  No way to get around that. 

So I followed a different procedure; after I turned off Zone Alarm, I went into the Security settings and enabled the Windows Firewall.  Then I just went to the Add/Remove Programs and removed Zone Alarm.  Funny, that on the list, Zone Alarm was listed as "rarely" being used, when it was running all the time.  When it started the procedure, a window popped up stating that it was disabling TrueVector Services. 

Restarted the computer as required after the uninstall, and it did seem to boot up quicker.  TIme will tell if we run into any problems without ZA. 
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Offline Lena

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #12 on: April 17, 2008, 08:13:10 PM »
Quote from: Lena on April 09, 2008, 05:28:29 PM
........TIme will tell if we run into any problems without ZA. 

Another update:  I removed Zone Alarm  :tech: from my main computer (after previously removing it from my laptop) four days ago (activated Windows Firewall) and I must say my computer has definitely been booting up quicker and running much smoother.  :Yahoo:  I have Avast! running and scanned with AVG Anti-Spyware immediately after removing ZA, and several more times, found nothing.  CCleaner seemed to have removed residuals of ZA from the registry.  While I miss the little ZA icon that showed Internet activity, I don't miss the sluggishness and freeze-ups when ZA was active. 

I'm told that since I'm behind a router, a firewall like ZA isn't as critical; we'll see.  If I run into problems, I'll report them here.  But I certainly am enjoying using this computer a lot more since I removed ZoneAlarm.   :thumbsup:
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Offline GR@PH;<'S

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2008, 09:02:40 PM »
Lena,
Gald to hear that you have sorted it out and that you are enjoying the use of your computer once more.

GR@PH;<'S   :Hammys pint:
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press Enter then have a Brandy then if the problem is still there have another Brandy
Q: does it work
A: It does seem to for a few hours at least.

Offline zep516

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Re: Zone Alarm removal
« Reply #14 on: May 28, 2008, 04:29:10 AM »
Lena

Zonealarm can & does cause a startup delay on some systems..

Useful link, Mentions Zone Alarm.

http://users.telenet.be/bluepatchy/miekiemoes/slowcomputer.html

zep
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