Programs Want Permission to Access Internet

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cooter
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Cooter

About 10 days to two weeks ago a number of programs have started asking via
the ZoneAlarm alert for permission to access the Internet. These are
programs that don't normally access the Internet (example - Windows
Explorer, other Windows apps and various Norton apps). I deny access and see
no ill effects because of it. It generally happens the first time I run a
particular app after starting the computer.

Last night a Norton virus scan found but could not repair a trojan named
UnkDev which I quarentined. The problem still exists. Is there possibly a
connection? I could find no useful info via a Google search except that such
a trojan exists, and there is also a system error code by the same name.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cooter
 
I recommend you try Ad-Aware, www.lavasoftusa.com. That program is
essential for "spyware" programs, which like to call out to the Internet
without your knowledge and download advertising and such. That program will
find and (in most cases) safely eliminate those types of problems. The fact
that Norton found a trojan is a big thing, but it's quite probable there's
more on there than you might think. Run that utility, and let us know if
you keep having issues. :)

Jared
 
I neglected to mention that I ran both Ad-Aware and Spybot, neither of which
found anything. As of this post I am still seeing the problem. Another
program asking permission is Adobe Reader. The programs are not asking if I
want to check for updates, these are requests to access the internet (for
unknown reasons) coming through the alert boxes of ZoneAlarm.

Cooter
 
Do you have ZoneAlarm logs? If so, I'd love to see those; they may reveal
some clues.

Jared
 
Additionally, make sure you've updated SpyBot and Ad-Aware using their
built-in update functionality...

Jared
 
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