Need help! Zone Alarm preventing weather radar motion(an I'm a tech idiot,what should I do vanity)

2/23/04 | D. Oppler

[Diddle E. Squat]

OK, so I upgraded my Zone Alarm(paid version, I'm no freebie mooch), and ever since then I am unable to put the weather radars in motion(NWS, tv station radars, etc.) If I turn off Zone Alarm, they work just fine, but once I turn it back on, any refresh of the radar loop page kills it again.

Been experimenting with all the various controls in ZA, but haven't yet found the problem. Anyone know exactly what it is that ZA is blocking/stopping to prevent the loops, and more importantly what controls on ZA I can change to fix the problem?

Yes, I am logged in, and yes, I've already had my shower. No time to get a tech degree, the rains are almost here now. Am on Windows ME, spare me the Linux speech. Perhaps I should post this in Breaking News...

Seriously, thanks in advance to any computer savvy freepers that can help me fix this annoying little problem.

[Diddle E. Squat]

'Pardon the interruption' bump

[mikenola]

could be ZoneAlarm is blocking java or javascript, look for an option about those.

[Alberta's Child]

I've had the same problem streaming certain types of music files in RealPlayer. Apparently ZoneAlarm blocks certain things like this because of something the website you're accessing is sending back to your machine.

[Inyokern]

Do you know how to make it a "trusted site?"

By the way, I too have found that the free Zone Alarm is easier to work with than the paid version

[LibWhacker]

I've noticed this too. Some sites seem to require you to accept 3rd party cookies and to put up with ads before they'll work properly . . . So, click on 'Privacy' and turn off cookie control and ad control. Turn them on again when you're done with the site.

[Rocketman]

I think you have some good answers so far -- what I might want to look at is the port number(s) that the weather radar is using. In a simple discussion of ports there are 65,000 ports in a PC.

Certain devices like "RealPlayer" use certain high end port numbers. Firewalls like Zone Alarm shut down as a matter of default all but 2-3 port numbers ussually in the literature of a product like real player or in a Q+A section on a website that transmits data there will be a listing of port assignments.

You then could make the site a trusted site as some one suggested or if it still gives you trouble open that port when you want to use that program and then close the port when you are done.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Does javascript include 'applets'? Whenever I turn off ZA and the radar loop loads up, at the bottom it says 'applet started'.

But on ZA, the only place I've found javascript mentioned in the controls is in 'mobile control' and none of the block boxes were checked.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it.

[Hodar]

Are you using a DSL or cable modem?

If so, please drop Zone Alarm and go buy a $25 router. The Router will provide better protection than Zone Alarm does, and your bandwidth will skyrocket. Zone Alarm is very processor and memory dependant. Your PC must analyze every Ethernet transaction, which takes processor cycles. If you use a $25 Dlink, Linksys or Netcom Router, you will be able to free up your PC from having to sniff each and every transaction.

Trust me, you will really notice the speed difference.

[WSGilcrest]

Try accessing the site again and note the time. Then go to Alerts and Logs in ZA pro and look at the Log Viewer tab. My guess is your ZA is blocking java script.

[snarkpup]

I use intellicast for weather radar. It animates without the need to defeat the whole purpose of Zone Alarm by turning down your security settings.

[Diddle E. Squat]

I haven't figured out how to make it a trusted zone. I entered the weather service http: address, but ZA just said 'could not find' in response.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it.

[WSGilcrest]

From the NWS site, right under the looping animation, it says "Java and Javascript must be enabled for looping.
"

[Diddle E. Squat]

Yep, I tried turning off 'block 3rd party cookies' and 'disable web bugs', and the default 'block animation' in Privacy Controls, as well as allowing such(and web bugs and private headers) for the specific weather sites in the Privacy section's Site List subsection. Still nothing.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it.

[AFreeBird]

I run ZA Pro too, and haven't had any problems with it. You haven't listed the URLS to what you're trying so I can't try them myself to see if the problem presents itself with my setup.

Also, what browser and version are you using?

[Diddle E. Squat]

How do I check which port a website is trying to use?

Thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it.

[Diddle E. Squat]

cable modem (Pain the rear Comcast)

Thanks for the tip. Not sure what a router is, or how it performs a firewall function without the drawbacks or ZA. What's its secret?

Yes, my speed does seem to have deteriorated as I added protection. Just assumed it was a tradeoff.

[Squantos]

AccuWeather.com went south on me too last night for whatever reason....... Has worked flawless with their little weather bug thingie that floats on desktop. Tried to click on a weather alert and all kinds of weird and wrong occurred.

Nothing had been modified or upgraded. Just stopped and had to be forced off.

Intellicast still works fine. As does the ZA.... Just the Accuweather.com site.......??

Stay Safe !

[Diddle E. Squat]

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/radar/loop/DS.p19r0/si.kfws.shtml

Windows ME

[Xenalyte]

Xena's Unsolicited Advice of the Day is to upgrade to Windows XP as soon as you can afford the time or the money. It's far, far more stable and adept at handling memory than ME.