TreeWalk and Firewalls

From: Could my third-party firewall be causing problems? TWDNS can be completely trusted and full, bi-directional "server rights" should be allowed for "named.exe" ("named95.exe" in BIND-LE).

Which ports does TreeWalk use? TW and BIND-LE both use TCP and UDP ports 53, while TreeWalk also listens on TCP:953. UDP packets over 512 bytes will usually be resent over TCP, and DNS data packets will be received over UDP or TCP high-end ports. This is normal DNS server/resolver message behavior. Note that it is absolutely imperative that you allow full, unrestricted, bi-directional communications over these ports and protocols or TreeWalk cannot properly do it's job as intended. In addition, a permanent "Permit" or "Allow" type rule should be set if your software firewall requests a connection from "named.exe" to "localhost" or "127.0.0.1". Any previously customized rules for DNS should also be reviewed (and adjusted if required). There are no known, documented security-related problems to worry about when these requirements are met.

TreeWalk newcomers may discover that they have connectivity problems with some software firewalls. This page is intended for those third-party firewall users who may need further assistance with an existing firewall problem or setting that may interfere with the proper operation of TreeWalk DNS. (The TreeWalk site or their agents cannot, and will not, be held responsible for any misinformation provided here. You are therefore asked to acknowledge that any information found on this page is subject to our Disclaimers. The information is provided "as is" and for your convenience only.)

IPSec Policies

Firewall problems? Try a simple IPSec Policy that you can download from our site. The start page for this topic is IPSec Policies. You can visit our Windows XP IPSec or Windows W2K IPSec pages or view them in PDF (.pdf) format or download instructions to your machine. We even discuss How To Create IPSec Rules to assist with modifying the policy we offer. For instance, it can be useful as a temporary stateless firewall for a new Windows 2000 installation as added protection prior to obtaining crucial updates online, for XP Wireless use, or simply as an added layer of protection for your Windows 2000 (or newer) Operating System. Check it out, it could prove to be very handy and may help to demonstrate the powerful advantages of utilizing IPSec!

ZoneAlarm Help *

Removing ZoneAlarm from your computer. Uninstalling the ZoneAlarm firewall application can be a tricky process sometimes. You can preview their forum for additional instructions on how to accomplish this task in Windows operating systems:
ZoneAlarm User Forum removal instructions for uninstalling ZoneAlarm. The topic included this Editor's note: "Message Edited by Forum-Moderator on 09-13-2006 07:01 AM".

Cautionary note: Some of the following information may be out-dated. It has been left here for archival purposes only and is intended to aid those users who may still be using older ZoneAlarm versions, even though it is not recommended to use out-of-date security applications.

Repair a corrupt ZoneAlarm database. The following information was submitted by a ZoneAlarm user to correct a corrupt database.
Please note that this will remove your program permissions and Local Zone settings, so you may want to make note of them. However, re-establishing them is a simple process. You will be prompted again for program access for all the applications that you use to access the local network or Internet.

A "generic" set of instructions for refreshing or rebuilding a corrupt ZoneAlarm database:

• Step 1. Open the ZoneAlarm program, go into the "Overview Preferences" tab and turn off "Load ZoneAlarm at startup".
• Step 2. If you are running Windows 95, 98, ME, or 2000 ® reboot your system into either Safe Mode or to a Command Prompt. The method is determined by your Operating System, but most will boot into Safe Mode either by pressing (or pressing and holding) the F8 key at the beep or by pressing and holding the Ctrl key during bootup. You shouldn't have any ZoneAlarm processes running on your system after this.
• Step 3. Open the Internet Logs directory (in 95/98/ME this will be "C:\Windows\Internet Logs", in NT4 and 2000 it will be "C:\Winnt\Internet Logs", in Windows XP it could be either of these folders), where you will find a file named "iamdb.rdb" and a file named after your computer with the ".ldb" extension. Delete both of these files. If "backup.rdb" exists, delete it also.
• Step 4. Make sure that you EMPTY your Recycle Bin BEFORE rebooting back into normal mode.
• Step 5. You will need to start ZoneAlarm manually. (Click "Start," "Programs," "Zone Labs" and either "ZoneAlarm" or "Zone Labs Security"). ZoneAlarm will start up again with a fresh database. Each program should ask for access again if the files were properly deleted.
• Step 6. Be sure to RECHECK the "Load ZoneAlarm at startup".
  
  Note also that Windows 95, 98 or ME users must use the BIND-LE version found on the Downloads page.

ZoneAlarm Clean Uninstall Note:
You may need to specifically modify the uninstall shortcut in All Programs (or Program Files) to add the /clean parameter for any Windows version:
"C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zauninst.exe" /clean

(Further testing and verification should be committed to determining compatability for your system with any firewall or packet filtering security solution.)
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