New Program alert

New Program alerts are central to your Internet security. They ensure that no program on your computer can use your Internet connection without your permission, preventing hackers from communicating with Trojan horses or other malware they may have distributed. They enable you to set access permission for program that has not asked for Internet Zone or Trusted Zone access before. If you click Yes, the program is allowed access. If you click No, the program is denied access.

For detailed information about the contents of the alert box, see the related topic Alert details.

Why these alerts occur

New Program alerts occur when a program on your computer tries to initiate a connection with a computer in the Internet Zone or Trusted Zone, and that program has not already received access permission from you.

There are many programs and program components that require access permission as part of their normal function. Browsers and e-mail client applications, for example, must connect to remote servers to retrieve Web pages and send or receive e-mail.

Most of the time, you're likely to see program alerts when you're actually using a program. For example, if you've just installed ZoneAlarm Pro, and you immediately open Microsoft Outlook and try to send an e-mail message, you'll get a program alert asking if you want Outlook to have Internet access.

Related Topics

Back to top

What you should do

Click Yes or No in the alert pop-up after following these steps:

  1. Did you just launch a program or process that would reasonably require permission? If so, it's probably safe to click Yes. If not, continue with step 2.

  2. Do you recognize the name of the program in the Alert pop-up, and if so, does it make sense for the program to need permission? If so, it's probably safe to click Yes. If not, or if you're not sure, continue with step 3.

  3. Click the More Info button in the alert box. This submits your alert information (for example, the name of the program and the address it was trying to reach) to AlertAdvisor, which then displays a Web page with information about the alert and the program. Use the AlertAdvisor information to help you decide if it's safe to answer Yes.

    Note    : If your browser does not have permission to access the Internet, you will be re-routed to this help file. To access AlertAdvisor, give your browser permission to access the Internet. How?

Tip If you're really not sure what to do, it's best to answer No. You can always grant permission later by going to the Programs tab. How?

Related Topics

Back to top

How you can see fewer of these alerts

It's normal to see several New Program alerts soon after installing ZoneAlarm Pro. As you assign permissions to each new program, the number of alerts you see will decrease.

Tip To keep from seeing Repeat Program alerts, select Remember this answer the next time I use this program before clicking Yes or No.

 

Related Topics

Back to top

Related Topics

Alert details
What's a Zone?
Program Control

Glossary

access permission
Access permission allows a program on your computer to initiate communications with another computer. This is distinct from server permission, which allows a program to "listen" for connection requests from other computers. You can give a program access permission for the Trusted Zone, the Internet Zone, or both.

Several common applications may need access permission to operate normally. For example, your browser needs access permission in order to contact your ISP's servers. Your e-mail client (for example, MS Outlook) needs access permission in order to send or receive e-mail.

The following basic options are available for each program:

Allow the program to connect to computers in the Internet Zone / Trusted Zone

Block the program from accessing computers in the Internet Zone / Trusted Zone

Ask whether the program should have access permission (show Repeat Program alert)


Back

Internet Zone
The Internet Zone contains all the computers in the world—except those you have added to the Trusted Zone or Blocked Zone.

ZoneAlarm Pro applies the strictest security to the Internet Zone, keeping you safe from hackers. Meanwhile, the medium security settings of the Trusted Zone enable you to communicate easily with the computers or networks you know and trust—for example, your home network PCs, or your business network.

Back

Trusted Zone
The Trusted Zone contains computers you trust want to share resources with.

For example, if you have three home PCs that are linked together in an Ethernet network, you can put each individual computer or the entire network adapter subnet in the ZoneAlarm Pro Trusted Zone. The Trusted Zone's default medium security settings enable you to safely share files, printers, and other resources over the home network. Hackers are confined to the Internet Zone, where high security settings keep you safe.

Back

Trojan horse
A malicious program that masquerades as something useful or harmless, such as a screen saver. Some Trojan horses operate by setting themselves up as servers on your computer, listening for connections from the outside. If a hacker succeeds in contacting the program, he can effectively take control of your computer. This is why it's important to only give server permission to programs you know and trust. Other Trojan horses attempt to contact a remote address automatically.

Back