Advanced Program alert

Advanced Program alerts are similar to other Program alerts (New Program, Repeat Program, and Changed Program)-they inform you that a program is attempting to access the network.

However, they differ from other Program alerts in that the program is attempting to use another program to connect to the Internet, or is attempting to manipulate another program's functionality.

Why these alerts occur

Advanced Program alerts occur in two situations: when a program on your computer tries to initiate a connection with a computer in the Internet Zone or Trusted Zone by instructing another program to connect; or when a program attempts to hijack the processes of another program by calling the OpenProcess function.

There are some legitimate programs associated with your operating system that may require access to another program. For example, if you were using Windows Task Manager to shutdown Internet Explorer, Windows Task Manager would need to call the OpenProcess function on the Internet Explorer program in order to shut it down.

What you should do

How you should respond to an Advanced Program alert depends upon the cause of the alert. If the Advanced Program alert was caused by the OpenProcess function being called, you should determine whether the function was called by a legitimate program or by a malicious one. Verify that the program cited in the alert is one you trust to carry out this function. For example, if you were attempting to shut down a program using Windows Task Manager when you received the Advanced Program alert, it is probably safe to answer Allow. Similarly, if the alert was caused by a program using another program to access the Internet and that program routinely requests such permission, is probably safe to answer Allow. If you are unsure as to the cause of the alert or the expected behavior of the program initiating the request, it is safest to click Deny. After denying advanced permission to the program, perform an Internet search on the program's file name. If the program is malicious, it is likely that information about it is available, including how to remove it from your computer.

How to see fewer of these alerts

It is unusual to see a large number of Advanced Program alerts. If you receive repeated alerts, research the program name or names and consider either removing the program from your computer or providing the program with the necessary access rights.