[MLStrand56]

Ref: XP SP3
Ref: Zone Alarm 10.1.065.000

After Zone Alarm updated to the latest version (above), Its VSMON.EXE process is eating up 96% of my CPU cycles, all the time. Obviously this makes the laptop Very S-L-O-W.

Does anybody know how to fix this? Or should I dump Zone Alarm (which I Love) & go with a different free Firewall like Comodo?

Please no smart-alec suggestions that I buy a new laptop. Those type of comments help no one!

MLStrand56

[smax013]

MLStrand56, on 09 March 2012 - 11:35 AM, said:

Ref: XP SP3
Ref: Zone Alarm 10.1.065.000

After Zone Alarm updated to the latest version (above), Its VSMON.EXE process is eating up 96% of my CPU cycles, all the time. Obviously this makes the laptop Very S-L-O-W.

Does anybody know how to fix this? Or should I dump Zone Alarm (which I Love) & go with a different free Firewall like Comodo?

Please no smart-alec suggestions that I buy a new laptop. Those type of comments help no one!

MLStrand56

Did you save the installer for the previous version that you were using? If so, you could revert to that older version and wait a little bit to see if it is a bug in the newest version that they fix.

FWIW, I tend to wait at least a couple weeks, if not a month or so, before I install updates. I look it as letting all the other people be the "test dummies".

[MLStrand56]

smax013, on 09 March 2012 - 12:31 PM, said:

Did you save the installer for the previous version that you were using? If so, you could revert to that older version and wait a little bit to see if it is a bug in the newest version that they fix.

No I didn't save the previous install program. This was an automatic program update.

MLStrand56

[smax013]

MLStrand56, on 09 March 2012 - 12:34 PM, said:

No I didn't save the previous install program. This was an automatic program update.

MLStrand56

Looks like you might be able to down load older versions here:

http://download.zone...aseHistory.html

Note: I am assuming it is the Free version of ZoneAlarm.

[MLStrand56]

smax013, on 09 March 2012 - 12:45 PM, said:

Looks like you might be able to down load older versions here:

http://download.zone...aseHistory.html

Note: I am assuming it is the Free version of ZoneAlarm.

Yes, the Free version

MLStrand56

[smax013]

MLStrand56, on 10 March 2012 - 03:11 AM, said:

Yes, the Free version

MLStrand56

Then I would try reverting to an older version and see if that solves the problem for now.

[alishathomaz]

Uninstalling Zone Alarm PRO 3.5.169 and install Zone Alarm 3.7 Lite!!!!
This is ONE solution that WORKS!!
There could be another one, haven't found one though.

For some reason in the "PRO" version it makes the PC run at almost 100% CPU,

I tried to overrite the DLLs from the Lite installation onto the PRO one, but this did not work.

So the only resolution is to:
1. Use Zone Alarm 3.7 Lite OR
2. Upgrade to Zone Alarm 4.0 (That might help - not sure)
2. Use some other firewall.

Hope that helps. It was such an annoying bug I've had for a couple of days, which I never had before.

[MLStrand56]

alishathomaz, on 16 March 2012 - 02:01 AM, said:

Uninstalling Zone Alarm PRO 3.5.169 and install Zone Alarm 3.7 Lite!!!!
This is ONE solution that WORKS!!
There could be another one, haven't found one though.

For some reason in the "PRO" version it makes the PC run at almost 100% CPU,

I tried to overrite the DLLs from the Lite installation onto the PRO one, but this did not work.

So the only resolution is to:
1. Use Zone Alarm 3.7 Lite OR
2. Upgrade to Zone Alarm 4.0 (That might help - not sure)
2. Use some other firewall.

Hope that helps. It was such an annoying bug I've had for a couple of days, which I never had before.

In the interim, I'm using Comodo Firewall, which I'm not happy with at all. Zone Alarm let me allow/deny internet access on a program by program basis. I don't see that option in Comodo Firewall.

I will try your suggestions. Hopefully one of them will work & I can go back to Zone Alarm.

Thanks for you Help!!!

MLStrand56

[alishathomaz]

Also try this
Click Start - Run, type in %temp% and then click OK.

Once that temp folder is open and you can view its contents, select and delete EVERYTHING that's inside it.

It's all junk and is a good place for "nasties" to hide.

If a few files resist being deleted, that's normal. Leave them alone and delete EVERYTHING else.

Repeat the steps with c:\windows\temp

After you're done with both temp folders, restart the computer.

Clear cache, cookies..

[snorg]

See if you can find zonealarm 5.5 it should not cause problems.

I use 5.5 and newer versions are worse not better.

Be sure you backup zonealarm security settings often, zonealarm likes to forget security settings and if you restore security settings it forgets them next time you start windoze. You have to uninstall zonealarm then install zonealarm and then restore security settings to get them too stick. That will work fine till the next time it forgets. zonealarm has had this problem since day one and it continues thru to the latest version, people have complained on zonealarm forums for years and they refuse to fix it, they dont even tell you the procedure i outlined above.

Also download the free version of ccleaner it will remove zonealarm logs and allot of temp and other junk files.



.

This post has been edited by snorg: 11 April 2012 - 05:40 AM