An application-related pop-up message will occur for one of the following reasons:
An application that the Personal Firewall has never seen before, or that has been assigned the status of “Ask” is trying to access your network connection.
An application that normally accesses your network connection has changed, possibly because of a product upgrade.
Your computer has received a data packet that is not associated with any particular application.
The Personal Firewall has detected a Trojan horse on your computer.
You may occasionally see the following pop-up message on your computer screen.
The information on the pop-up tells you that Internet Explorer application is trying to access your network connection. Internet Explorer is trying to load www.google.com, which has an IP address of 216.239.39.99. The server that powers that site is using server port 80.
This pop-up appeared because Internet Explorer has been opened, either directly by you, indirectly by you, or by another application.
You might have tried to open Internet Explorer. If so, either this is the first time that you have done so since you installed the Personal Firewall, or you have assigned Internet Explorer a status of “Ask”, meaning that every time Internet Explorer tries to access your network connection, the Personal Firewall will ask you to grant it access.
What if you did not directly try to open Internet Explorer? Perhaps you clicked on a link to a web site in an email. In such a case, it is probably safe to click Yes and allow Internet Explorer to access the network.
What if you didn’t open any program or click on any link, and a program suddenly tries to access your network connection? Again, there could be a number of different reasons. However, if you haven’t opened any programs that use the application listed on the pop-up message, or can’t see any reason why that application should try to access your network connection, it is always safest to click No. This might indicate the presence of a Trojan horse on your computer, something that needs to be checked immediately.
Clicking the Detail button expands the pop-up box, providing further details on the connection the application is attempting to establish. Information such as the file name, version, and path are provided. Look at these items to make sure that they match the description of the application that you normally use. The details section should also indicate the location to which the file was attempting to connect: either local (meaning that it was trying to connect to your computer), or remote (meaning that the application was attempting to connect to an outside destination). Additionally, the local and remote port numbers and IP addresses should be provided, as shown in the following illustration:
This kind of message is common when you first start using the Personal Firewall. In this particular example, Internet Explorer is trying to access the www.google.com web site at the remote port 80. Most servers use port 80 to send and receive information on the Internet, so this isn’t anything unusual.
If you believe that you have triggered this application, it would be safe to click Yes. You have the option to tell the Personal Firewall to remember your answer in the future. If you click Remember my answer, and do not ask me again for this application, the Personal Firewall will remember your choice, and will act accordingly the next time this application tries to access your network connection.
If you have tried to open an application (such as a web browser) or a program that uses another application to access the Internet (such as a media streaming program) and you feel comfortable granting this application access to your network connection, then you can click Yes. The application will then be able to access your network. You can change the status of the application at any time, either in the Running Applications field or in the Applications List.
However, if a pop-up message is unexpected, and you can’t see any reason why the listed application should try to access your network connection, click No, and click Remember my answer.... This will assign the application the status of Block, so that it will be automatically blocked from your network connection any time it tries to gain access. You can change the status of the application at any time, either in the Running Applications field or in the Applications List.
You should also run a virus scan to make sure that you have not inadvertently downloaded a virus or a Trojan horse that could infect your computer files.
Click |
Check “Remember my answer...” box? |
Status Assigned |
Yes |
Yes |
Allow |
Yes |
No |
Ask |
No |
Yes |
Block |
No |
No |
Ask |
What if you change your mind about an application after you have allowed it or blocked it? Simply go to the main console of the Personal Firewall, right click on the application’s icon in the Running Applications field, and click the desired status (Allow, Ask, or Block) from the menu that appears.
Occasionally, you might see a pop-up such as the one pictured below.
The application listed on the pop-up message is trying to access your network connection. Although the Personal Firewall recognizes the name of the application, something about the application has changed since the last time the Personal Firewall encountered it.
This could be because you have upgraded the product recently. The Personal Firewall uses an MD5 checksum to determine the legitimacy of an application. An upgraded version might not pass the checksum test, since a new build or new version of the application is likely to have a different checksum value.
On the other hand, if you have not recently upgraded the application, and see no reason why this message should appear, this could be an instance of a Trojan horse trying to access your network.
Clicking the Detail button expands the pop-up box, providing further details on the connection the application is attempting to establish. Information such as the file name, version, and path are provided. Look at these items to make sure that they match the description of the application that you normally use. The details section should also indicate the location to which the file was attempting to connect: either local (meaning that it was trying to connect to your computer), or remote (meaning that the application was attempting to connect to an outside destination). Additionally, the local and remote port numbers and IP addresses should be provided.
If you have recently upgraded the application mentioned on the pop-up message, it is probably safe to click Yes and allow the application network access. However, if you do not think that you have recently upgraded the listed application, you should click No and run an antivirus software program or, if you are at work, contact your IT department.
What if you change your mind about an application after you have allowed it or blocked it? Simply go to the main console of the Personal Firewall, right click on the application’s icon in the Running Applications field, and click the desired status (Allow, Ask, or Block) from the menu that appears.
Hopefully, you will never see a pop-up message like the following:
This message indicates that the Personal Firewall has detected a known Trojan horse on your computer. It also explains that the Trojan horse has been blocked from accessing your network.
This means that a Trojan Horse is present on your system and has been activated. Either you tried to open the program identified as a Trojan horse, or it has been triggered by another program on your computer. It is possible that the Trojan was on your computer when you installed the Personal Firewall, or that you have recently downloaded it through a legitimate application, such as a web browser. The Trojan tried to access your network connection, and has been blocked by the Personal Firewall.
You should immediately notify your IT department. The Personal Firewall will block the Trojan from sending any information out of or into your computer, but it is still important to remove it from your system as soon as possible. The Personal Firewall will terminate the Trojan process automatically, but removal will require the assistance of your IT department.