XP SP2 Task Manager Processes shows vsmon.exe grows from about 22MB when first started to over one gigabyte of memory usage during a couple of hours even when no network connection is enabled. Page file grows accordingly. No such problem with free ZA 5.5.
Computer has two gigs of RAM. Windows firewall is disabled. eTrust r7 and Ad-Aware SE scans with latest signatures show no problem.
I'd appreciate hearing from someone who can suggest a line of investigation. A solution would be even better. :=)
Volker, without outbound control, a program can send the computer's files and tables any time to any destination without permission. Is there any software available that adds ZA-style outbound control to WFW?
I was hoping for a line of investigation into a technical problem, not an argument about which FW is best. Can anyone offer such help? This is my first time on the forum.
But the simple fact is that VB and his ilk don't want you using anything better than WFW, not sure why, but they don't.
If you want to use something, just about anything on the market is going to be better thant the WFW.
As for memory use, if you are running the latest updates for ZA, have a clean system, have a NAT device in front of your computer so that ZA doesn't have to deal with the normal background chatter of the Internet, then you should not have any issues with Memory Use by ZA.
What is your setup?
What OS, service pack installed? Memory before doing anything other than booting Windows, amount of memory that ZA consumes, when does it start consuming excessive memory?
What version of ZA, what updates have you installed?
XPpro SP2 at home connected to a satellite server by wireless network hotspot 50 feet away. There is no additional network interface.
AV is eTrust r7. Zone Alarm Pro 6.1.737.000, their latest. The Dell 8400 has 2GB RAM, dual processor.
The memory problem occurs regardless of whether the wireless adapter is enabled or disabled. ZAP uses about 22MB of memory at first, then over a period of an hour or two vsmon.exe grows to over one gigabyte (page file grows) and keeps growing. I restart it periodically to get the memory back.
I've just had e-mail from Zone Labs tech support and, if I understand what they're asking for, they want me to follow an elaborate uninstall procedure (2pp. of 8-point type) to make sure, name by name, every file associated with the product is removed, then install the same version again. I'm waiting for clarification before doing so.
In the meantime, I'd prefer to diagnose the cause if possible. I wonder, for example, if the dual processor is a problem for ZAP. I haven't thought to mention it to Zone Labs. And I have not sought a way to temporarily disable the second processor.
I don't see a Dual CPU option for the 8400, do you mean Hyper-Threaded as what you are calling Dual Processor?
It sounds reasonable - uninstall, ensure that it's the last thing you install, so that nothing new walks over it's files.....
Again, you won't be able to diagnose it without their code/technical documents, you can guess about it, but you would do better to uninstall and reinstall it, then see if the problem comes back, if not, reinstall SP2 and see how it works, follow by reinstalling apps until the problem comes back.
I don't think the Dual CPU's have anything to do with your problem, I've got a lot of Dual Systems, not all running ZAP, but have run on Duals in the past, and not seen any issues.
Try what they suggested, then reinstall - if it stops then you know it was something that walked overtop of the files used by ZAP, then, if you really want to know which one it was, reinstall the apps one at a time and test until you find the one that caused the problem - make sure to post back your testing results.
System Properties Device Manager Processors lists two Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.40GHz
I discovered this by accident when Windows Task Manager Performance had two panes for CPU Usage History and the graphs rarely matched. I had not ordered, nor paid for, dual processors.
No app was installed after ZA Pro.
The recommended removal procedure and reinstall have been done. No change in symptoms. Tech support has been asked what's next. I'll keep you posted.
You can use Process Explorer to look at a running process and see what is using the process.
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You right-click a running process and go to Properties PE will tell you everything about the process. You go to menu Show Lower Pane and Show all Dll(s) and PE will show you everything that's running with it.
If you think that a personal FW with its worthless Application Control is going to stop malware from going under, over, around and through the PFW solution, then you have another thing coming.
You should look for yourself from time to time and don't depend upon a PFW solution like it's some kind of stops all and ends all crutch.
Long
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You should try to implement some of it if possible.
This is way off topic, but... In Device Manager Computer the property is "ACPI Multiprocessor PC" Some interesting reading about this at
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?scid=kb;en-us;309283but at the latter I found MSKB doesn't respond to some of the links. No time to pursue it just now. Where in XP properties does one confirm hyperthreading? And is there a URL that describes it?
This morning I moved the USB wireless adapter six feet. After the move vsmon.exe memory usage has increased less than 10MB in an hour, whereas the rate of increase before the move was about 100MB in ten minutes. No other system changes.
Obviously the chosen solution to the ZAP memory problem is the result of this poster's steel-trap-mind analysis. :=) Can anyone explain the correlation of wireless adapter location and ZAP memory usage? :=)
ZAP 6.1 memory usage problems returned as described at the thread start. Unable to offer any additional suggestions for the memory usage problem, ZL tech support advised me to use an earlier version. ZAP 5.5 exhibits none of the 6.1 memory problems.
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