Zone Alarm Pro/Private Headers

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I just renewed my subscription to Zone Alarm Pro, which I have had on my computer since I installed my cable connection. I noticed that I was entitled to an upgrade, so I clicked away.

From a simple program, this new version has enough features to make a paranoid person hysterical with happiness. It stops ads, cookies, and practically everything else that comes in on a web page.

OK, so I figured it out. The only problem, is that there is a feature that will stop "Private Headers" on a web page. Well, I didn't want anything private to come in on MY computer.

What the hell is a "Private Header"?

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Private headers are used in programming or development of sites. They are not inherently dangerous but can be abused (as can anything).

Disabling them will cause a few sites not to work properly so it ends up being a balance between function and security.

In any case it will make little difference.

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Thanks, Craven!

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Phoenix, I was interested in your comments as to the virtues of Zone Alarm.

I have had it for a few weeks and found out that when it was ON it
prevented me from getting any e-mails. Is that normal?

Naturally it is easy to disable and when this is done the e-mails come
tumbling back on my screen.

What I would like to know is "how do you know what Zone Alarm is doing for you? I don't see a "report" button or a list of what "enemies" it has prevented from entering my "computer space".

Nice to see somebody from Tampa. We lived near there for many years and found it an interesting and unique place (Ibor City & outdoor escalaltor for example).

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ronmac60- No I have not had problems with E Mail. I have Zone Alarm Pro ver.3.5.166. Since I don't know which version that you have, I really couldn't say anything definitive off the top of my head.

All I know is that there are a lot of bells and whistles, and a moderate learning curve. I find that their interface is not as intuitive as I would have liked. You probably have to go to the help section, and see what they have to say about mail.

I have a problem, about which I have already E Mailed them. I have a bunch of websites on my desktop. Sometimes, not always, when I click on them, I get a "this page cannot be displayed" message. When I refresh, on it comes!

I have to go in a bit, but I will scout around later, and see if I can come up with something helpful for you!

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ronmac60- Here is the letter that I received from Zone Alarm Pro, re: my not immediately getting into a site, until I refresh:

Quote:

Hello,

Below is some information that should help.

Paul
Zone Labs Technical Support

This Information Applies to:
ZoneAlarm Pro 3.0, 3.1
Summary
I am having problems accessing certain web sites with ZoneAlarm Pro
3.0 running.
Solution
ZoneAlarm Pro 3 introduced new privacy features. In some cases these
may interfere with certain web sites, especially secure sites (email,
banking, etc) or sites that use a lot of ads.
If you have multiple privacy programs running (Ad-blocking, cookie
control, etc) along with ZAP 3, you should disable either the privacy
features in ZAP 3, or the other program. Be aware that Internet
Explorer 6.x and other recent browser software may perform some
security processes as well, such as cookie control.
If you have trouble with a website, try adjusting the privacy
settings for that site. On the Privacy panel, there are default
settings under the Main tab, and sites affected by the privacy
settings are listed under the Site List tab. You can turn Privacy
features on or off by site there.
If that still does not help, you may need to drop some or all privacy
settings while visiting that site. Our engineers are working on
Privacy issues, and incorporate changes into new builds, so be sure
to Check For Updates often. In addition, you can always download the
latest version here:
(If the closest site doesn't work, simply try another - it is the
same file)
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/zap_za_grid.jsp
NOTE: If the link above does not appear to work, be sure to REFRESH
the download page, as it may be cached locally.
NOTE: SAVE the file to your hard drive, rather than running it from
its current location.

They DO mention E Mail, which does not apply to me, but may be relevent to you. Apparently, there are still some "bugs" to be worked out, and their engineers are aware of it, and are working on it. Hope that this helps!

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I've been using Zone Alarm Pro for years, keeping it contstantly updated to the latesr version. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with it, though it does have its quirks and irritations. The user guide found under the "Help" button offers some good info, and the FAQ section for your particular version of ZA on ZoneAlarm's website is helpful as well. Just for info, I also, on different machines, use MacAfee's product and TrendMicro's product. ZA seems to be my personal favorite. It can be tedious to configure, but the results are wqorthewhile. It IS important to read The User Guides ... as with any program. And, when it gets in the way, I just shut it off ... no big deal. You just have to remember to re-enable it.

timber.

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timber- Somehow, I have the feeling, with this version, that I am killing a flea with a bazooka. Awright, I just have to study it a bit. I DO so love the part where instead of those miserable ads, I just see the word "AD"

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I recently re-subscribed to Zone Alarm and got an upgrade to v6. Most webpages now take forever to load - I've tried disabling various security and privacy features - the only thing that works is to quit ZA temporarily. I'm awaiting a reply from ZA techies - anyone got any ideas? Jay

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Not sure if this applies but..
If you are running IE7 it does scans also.
-Like pop-up blockers, phishing filter scans and probably others too.
You could be getting multiple scans on pages trying to load. Which could be slowing things down.

Check on the tools tab of ie7 and see what it does when you attempt to load a web page.

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ZoneAlarm private headers
I recently changed some ZoneAlarm settings so that I now see a popup on my screen saying private headers have been blocked. From answers in this stream, I now see what private headers are. ZoneAlarm does not list private headers in its index. I need to understand them more - what does blocking them do, and what did I change that blocked them? Thanks.

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What they mean is the referral header. Each time you visit a page, your browser normally sends the referring page.

The implications of blocking the referrer header are that some sites that rely on that variable being correctly set will not function well for you.

There is very little security upside and you'd be better off with a browser extension that allows you to turn it off temporarily if you know of specific situations in which you don't want to pass your referrer information.

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how do I change the header setting?
Thanks for reply. I'd like to change back to not having the private headers blocked, then, but do not know how. Ideas?

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1) In Zone Alarm Pro, select Privacy.
2) Under Cookie Control, click Custom
3) In Custom Privacy Settings, uncheck the box that say Remove private header information.
4) Click OK.

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Zone Alarm Pro/Private Headers

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