ZoneAlarm and System Slowness

At times ZoneAlarm can be more demanding on system resources, especially while performing system scans, but generally ZoneAlarm should not slow down the computer a great deal.

System slowness is often more apparent on older equipment with inadequate RAM or those that have too many applications and services running. Windows related problems are also known to cause system slowness as well.

It is also very important to ensure that any other equivalent products to ZoneAlarm such as other Firewalls and AntiVirus programs (assuming the version of ZoneAlarm you purchased has AntiVirus protection) have been completely uninstalled. Failing to do so can result in conflicts, problems and system slowness problems with your computer.

UNINSTALL AND REINSTALL ZONEALARM:
To ensure your ZoneAlarm installation is in good working order, we recommend that you uninstall ZoneAlarm and download (if you do not already have it) and reinstall the latest version of ZoneAlarm.

We recommend you first download and "Save" the latest version of ZoneAlarm here (if you don't already have it):

http://www.zonealarm.com.au/main/updates.htm

Once the installation file has completely downloaded, disconnect from the internet and go to the Windows START menu, Program/All Programs, ZoneAlarm, choose "Uninstall ZoneAlarm" and follow the prompts to remove ZoneAlarm from your computer and restart your computer.

Next, locate the ZoneAlarm installation file you downloaded and saved to your computer and begin the installation by double clicking the ZoneAlarm installation file and following the prompts. We recommend you choose "Default quick installation" to ensure that ZoneAlarm is configured correctly. When the initial setup is complete, please choose "Restart Computer" to continue.

If prompted, COPY and PASTE your license key into the license key area of the ZoneAlarm Evaluation window and click "Authorize Key". Your license key would have been emailed to you at your time of purchase.
Please do NOT attempt to type in the key. Due to the length and complexity of the alphanumeric key, mistakes can be made very easily.

We recommend you choose the "Internet Zone" on the "New Network Found" setup window. However, if you are on a private network with other trusted computers and wish to share files, printers or other resources, you may wish to choose the "Trusted Zone."
PLEASE NOTE: More information regarding networking is available in the ZoneAlarm Help file.

The installation is complete. You can now close the ZoneAlarm window and continue using the computer.


DISABLE UNNECESSARY STARTUP ITEMS:
It would be a good idea to disable unnecessary startup items as it will definitely improve the startup and response times of your computer. Unfortunately every computer has different software installed so we cannot advise you on what exactly you should and should not disable nor what the consequences will be.
If you disable the wrong things, then some programs on your computer just won't work at all or properly. Changes can be undone, but care is still needed.

Please go to the Windows START menu and select Run. Type:
msconfig.exe
And then click OK

Click on the Startup Tab up the top. This lists the programs that are installed on your computer that are scheduled to start automatically when you turn on your computer.

Before you disable anything, make sure you take accurate notes of what is and is not ticked as you may need to undo any changes later.
You should only disable items IF you understand what they do and what the consequences will be. If you are not sure what they do then try and find out more information about it first. You can use search engines like Google to search for the file names and see what you can find.

For eg; you will see a Startup Item called zlclient or ZoneAlarm. You can expand the Command column and see C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe". You can see that it is in the Zone Labs and then ZoneAlarm folder and conclude that is part of the ZoneAlarm package and disabling it will probably stop the ZoneAlarm Firewall from working correctly. This being the case you would not want to untick this one from starting.
IF you were not able to determine what the file is a part of you would do a web search for zlclient.exe and quickly find that it is part of the ZoneAlarm package.

You can use this general approach for what you will see listed in the Startup list, but if you are not quite sure then don't disable it. If it is in the Windows directory, be even more reluctant to disable it. IF you disable the wrong things it is likely that some programs may not work correctly, but you can re-enable any programs you disabled at a later stage if required. The changes can be easily undone by ticking the box, but none the less still take care.

After disabling items and clicking OK you will be prompted to restart. Restarting at this time is recommended.

***Please Note: when you restart your computer you may see a prompt from the Windows System Configuration Utility. Please tick the box for "Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows start:" and then click OK.

If the above does not resolve your slowness problems, you may wish to organise a computer technician to examine your computer to determine if your system has adequate resources or other problems that could be causing system slowness.