 | By Susan Bradley Check Point’s security software conflicts with a new Microsoft DNS patch, necessitating a workaround to get your Internet connection operating again. Resetting ZoneAlarm’s firewall database or reinstalling the application will get your PC back online. |
MS08-037 (953230)
ZoneAlarm chokes on Microsoft’s DNS patch
The troublesome Microsoft patch of the month is MS08-037, Knowledge Base 953230, which addresses a vulnerability in the Domain Name Service (DNS). For most PC users, DNS is controlled by their ISP. This patch is intended to protect systems from being “poisoned” by an infected DNS provider.
Microsoft KB article 953230 documents the currently known issues regarding the patch but does not describe what people experiencing problems related to the “fix” are having to deal with. ZoneAlarm users report that after the application of this patch, they are unable to access the Internet.
The recommended way to remedy this is to reset ZoneAlarm’s firewall database. This can be done either by following the steps described in this post or by uninstalling and reinstalling ZoneAlarm. I don’t expect Microsoft to re-release a patch for this, but you may want to watch the ZoneAlarm message boards to see whether someone comes up with a better solution.
[NEWS FLASH: At press time, ZoneAlarm.com had posted an official recommendation to cure things, with links to new software versions that don't suffer from the problem.]
MS08-040 (941203)
SQL database administrators need patience
SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Edition (MSDE), and Windows Internal Database — these three versions of Microsoft’s database program usually don’t require much patching. But this month, SQL database administrators need to be patient.
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