firewall software will address the problem

James · Guest

After installation of RealPlayer, I checked, and sure enough, Zone Alarm listed several Real components, with Internet access enabled. I recently installed RealPlayer, the Software configures certain firewall applications such that the user is not alerted when the Software requests or receives data necessary for playback of content over the UDP protocol. If Real can do it, then so can a virus or any other malware, rendering Zone Alarm totally useless.
There is no personal firewall out there that will stop local code from being able to communicate out to the network if it wants to. Zone Alarm is easy to bypass to communicate out to the world.
It would appear that this weakness is not limited to Zone Alarm, but is one that's inherent in all firewalls. The problem is that most other people still believe in things like Zone Alarm... I can't understand why. And there's no easy solution. You can check Zone Alarm’s programs listing to see which ones have permission to access the Internet, but it's highly unlikely that you'll recognize all the program names listed there - even the legitimate ones. And even if you check on a regular basis, if you find a rogue program there with Internet access, the damage may already have been done. It may have already sent out your passwords, credit card numbers, etc.

It's important to spread the word. People need to know that their systems aren't as secure as they think they are. And with enough publicity and pressure, maybe the companies writing firewall software will address the problem.