On Thursday, Check Point Software Technologies released updated versions of all its ZoneAlarm products, addressing an incompatibility with a patch Microsoft released earlier this week.
The fix requires ZoneAlarm users to download the latest version, 7.0.438.000, from its site. A reboot is required to complete installation.
Since Tuesday, ZoneAlarm customers have complained that access to the Internet was denied after installing MS08-037, a patch designed by Microsoft to correct a vulnerability in both the client and server Domain Name System packages within Windows. Earlier on Tuesday, a security researcher announced a massive, multi-vendor patch release to address a fundamental flaw in DNS that could allow attackers to spoof IP addresses.
Workarounds included uninstalling MS08-037, changing ZoneAlarm's settings from high to medium, or temporarily using the Windows Firewall instead.
Check Point provided no additional comments about the cause of the outage.
Check Point Software Technologies, maker of ZoneAlarm, on Wednesday said it is working with Microsoft to resolve an issue with one of the patches within the software maker's July 2008 Patch Tuesday release.
At issue is the Microsoft Update KB951748 (MS08-037) from Microsoft, which addresses the flaw in DNS made public on Tuesday by security researcher Dan Kaminsky.
For ZoneAlarm customers who have automatic update selected for Windows Updates, and whose ZoneAlarm Internet security level is set to "high," they will experience a loss of Internet connectivity upon reboot.
ZoneAlarm users without automatic update may wish to wait to install the update until the matter is resolved.
For those who have already installed the patch, Check Point recommends users remove Microsoft Update KB951748 from their systems. Detailed instructions for doing this can be found here. Another option is to lower the ZoneAlarm Internet security setting to "medium," although Check Point doesn't recommend that.
Recent attacks on legitimate Web sites may have left some end users vulnerable. But on Monday, Check Point Software Technologies released ZoneAlarm ForceField, which might provide some with the safe surfing protection they need.
ZoneAlarm ForceField sells for $29.95 (for a single user license) or $49.95 (for a three-user license) and currently works only with Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2, and the Firebox 3 beta. In tests at CNET, ZoneAlarm ForceField did not work with Apple Safari for Windows or Opera 9. Installation doesn't require a reboot. When you open your Internet browser, the edges will be fuzzy, like a halo or a forcefield, around the edges to remind you your browsing sessions are safe.
The key feature in ZoneAlarm ForceField is its two-way virtualization technology. This is designed to stop drive-by downloads. However, the idea of vitalizing your Internet browser can be annoying at first. Any file downloaded while ZoneAlarm ForceField is active lives only within the virtual state; when you close the browser, the file vanishes from your hard drive. We had a few instances where we forgot ZoneAlarm ForceField was active and lost the resulting downloads. There is a way to open a non-protected browser, but at this point that workaround seems clunky. Perhaps future downloads could be flagged--trusted or not--and then dealt with accordingly.
Also included within ZoneAlarm ForceField is the same award-winning antiphishing and spyware site-blocking technologies found within ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite. Additional features within ZoneAlarm ForceField include site rating, scanning to prevent dangerous downloads, and keylogger and screen grabber jamming. There's also a private browser mode which prevents a user's personal information from escaping on Web forms.
On Tuesday, Check Point Software Technologies announced support for the Apple iPhone through its Virtual Private Networking (VPN) software tool VPN-1.
Using the iPhone's embedded Layer 2 Transport Protocol (L2TP) client, VPN-1 is able to provide secure, encrypted access for iPhone users communicating with enterprises currently running Check Point's VPN-1 gateway.
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