Odd connectivity issue

[jw8186]

Hey all,

I'm finally posting here after having read around on the site before and gotten good info.

I set up a wireless home network between two computers (a laptop and a tablet) a few months ago. The laptop is the "base" computer and the table has a wireless receiver; the router is a DLink 524.

I never had any connectivity issues (internet) until last week on the laptop when my free version of Zonealarm started acting screwy and not displaying any info when I would open the program up. I updated the version, and since then cannot use the internet while Zonealarm is running. I'm confused, though, because the tablet has Zonealarm and has no problems accessing the internet at all. DLink tech support tells me that the problem is in the configuration of Zonealarm, and that I should contact them, but I'm running the freebie version and so don't anticipate getting much help there.

Is this an issue of ports (opening/forwarding)? If so, I have no experience in that and would appreciate if someone could take a second to let me know what they think should be done. I'm willing to just scrap Zonealarm and try something that works better with the router if need be, but I'm willing to bet someone who knows what they're doing could fix this easily, and that the problem is with me.

Thanks so much,

Jason

 

[StormBringer]

Go into the router and turn off the blocking of computers not running ZA. I'm not sure if this is the problem but I do know that I've seen such as problem in DLink routers before because some models now have a feature(some added with firmware update) which will allow you to configure the router with ZA so they don't interfere with eachother, it aslo has a feature which will let you block computers not running ZA so that you don't have unprotected machines on the network. While this is a good idea in theory, it also causes problems for people who don't know it is there.

BTW, the setup you mention where one laptop is "base" as you call it, is incorrect. When using a router to share your internet, the router itself is the server and all computers are the clients. This misconception causes a lot of confusion and sometimes makes it difficult to diagnose a problem when you call one machine a "base" or "server" when it is not.

 

[jw8186]

Thanks

Thanks for the quick reply.

You're right in that some DLink products have Zonealarm features included in them, but I think it's more about looking compatible than it is actually making the routers easy to use. The DLink web site states that the feature only works in conjunction with the Zonealarm versions you pay for, but their tech support guy told me it would still require configuration within the software firewall, whether it's a free or pay version.

Either way, my physical 498th reset of the router finally, magically did the trick and got things rolling somehow, but now if I use the Internet Lock feature within Zonealarm and then unlock it I'm back to square one; no connection to the internet.

Any other ideas? Thanks so much,

Jason