WARNING! - Firewalls are useless

Just don't use programs with creepy EULAs.

Well your first and main problem is, you're using RealPlayer! Get rid of that and you'll get rid of some problems.

When you use internet explorer is it blocked, no. Is the information scanned, yes it is.
When you use real player is it blocked, no. Is the information sent by real player any different to the information sent by internet explorer, no not really. And is the information still scanned, yes.
So you would trust one program, yet not another despite the fact they are both doing the same thing.

These programs are allowed through for two reasons. The firewall tends to allow programs you personally installed through as long as they are not on a blacklist of harmfull programs or as long as no malicious code is detected. If this gives you a virus its your own fault for installing the program in the first place.
Secondly the firewall asks you for permission for a perticular program. If it doesnt ask you, it doesnt grant full access, just access to internet content. Also its still scanned. Anyway if it doesnt ask you consider swapping to a different firewall, or changing the settings so it does ask you.

All this may well be true, but still only a fool would go online (especailly with hi-speed) and not have any kind of firewall.
How do I cope? I few tricks and programs sure help.
1) After installing all software going into my software Norton's firewall and removing ANY entry for that program (I found I can block most the next time I start it up and see if the program works... most still do even with blocked access firewall rules)
2) That's why having a good AV pgm is needed now a days. Keep it up to date and running.
2) Use at least 2 good adware/spyware removers on hand
Personally I use 3 Don't turn you nose up at some of the good freeware ones.
3) Run at least monthly checks for viruses and spyware
I try to at least every other week.
4) And probably the most important....SS ("Surf Smart")
Don't click on those pop-ups saying the world is going to end if you don't ;-D

I hope that someone from ZoneAlarm comments about this issue. I would like to know what their company has to say about these allegations. For users to communicate via the Internet, we have to allow for one or more programs to opearte from our computers over the Internet. It seems plausible that we have to make the ultimate decision as whether or not to install programs that send and recieve information via the Internet. It would be good for the Internet community to have a listing of programs and companies that could be trusted, but someone has to paid to put this into effect and constantly checked and updated. Is it feasible, I do not know. I have beenusing ZoneAlarm, probably since its inception. I must say that using ZoneAlarm along with reasonable Anti-Virus, Spy Ware deterrents,and so forth, I have never suffered a security violation from which I found myself unable to recover. I have never lost passwords and so forth. I have caught phishing attempts and other attempts at security breaches from outside sources. I could not have stopped or thwarted these attempts without products like ZoneAlarm, Spyware deterrents, and anti-virus software. Finally, it is the user that must remain eternally vigilante. The easiest way for an intruder to break into a system is to have a user install mal-ware on his/her computer. At this time, no amount of security is good enough to over ride the human decision making process. Rela Player lets you know that it will be communicating back and forthe to the Internet. If you use Zone Alarm and tkae the time to try and understand what it will do and what it will not do, I think that the user will be safer. I also use Norton Internet Security as a solution on my wireless systems. It is not perfect, but I know that it works well enough to let me make the decision as whther or not a program should communicate with the Internet. Again, the user is the weak link and the ultimate decision maker. I hope a fire wall producer/vender speaks out on this issue. I know and understand the limitations of fire walls and other security software, but it is better than walking between the rain drops without a raincoat.

I have always considered the Real player to be the work of the devil, one of the most intrusive apps known to mankind. I try to avoid it like the plague.

I have a trojan virus in my windows folder.Whenever I get it in a folder that I can delete I delete it.I am letting the virus be there.I have let the firewall on LOW SECURITY coz if u leave it in medium mode it constantly asks u to give permission.By the way I have AVG PAID VERSION.STOP - SIGN HAS TO FIRST PICK UP THE VIRUS THEN ONLY AVG PICKS IT UP.CAN SOMEONE ALSO TELL ME WHY SYSTEM MECHANIC PROFESSIONAL IS SO SLOW?I have found a lot of adware and spyware but I never remove it as it may affect my programs.So what do u think abt me?

This is an old thread, but the situation hasn't changed. The reason I'm updating it is twofold.

1) All these years later, this critical flaw remains, and it needs to be addressed. A number of people who replied to my original post missed the point. RealPlayer wasn't the issue. The issue was - and still is - that if legitimate programs can set ZoneAlarm to allow them access to the Internet and the Trusted Zone, so can viruses and other malware, such as password-stealing programs.

2) One person who replied insisted that ZoneAlarm Pro, which has a password feature that the free version doesn't, can't have its setting played around with without entering the password. At the time, I couldn't challenge his statement, since I didn't have the Pro version. I've since had a chance to use the Pro version (though I haven't tested the current one), and found that programs were able to set ZoneAlarm Pro to allow them access to the Internet and the Trusted Zone, despite the fact that ZoneAlarm was supposedly password-protected.