ZoneAlarm updated after Microsoft's DNS patch

Update of the popular firewall allows users locked out of the Internet following the installation of the patch to operate normally again.

Robert Vamosi Former Editor

As CNET's former resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to share his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security.

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Robert Vamosi

July 11, 2008 12:43 p.m. PT

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.