Zone alarm allows only first connection

[ruckb]

Hello,
I know that this is not really a topic for the VNC forum, but maybe somewhen has solved my problem already.

On my home system VNC is running as server. On my notebook I run the viewer.
I have installed a dynamic dns forwarding via dyndns and setup a the portforwarding in my router.
So I can reach (e. g. ping) my home system via internet.
Problem is that I use ZoneAlarm (free) on both systems. I have configured ZoneAlarm that it should allow incoming connections to the VNC server.

When I try to connect via Internet I can connect exactly one time. When I disconnect and re-try the next connect is not working (VNC does not find the Server, and does not ask for the password).
When I stop the VNC service and restart it I can again connect 1 time via internet ... the second trial fails again ...

If I disable ZoneAlarm I can connect without any problems ...

Any Idea whats going on there?

Thanks for any feedback ...

Hermann

[B]

That's a good description of the problem, but I don't have a real answer. Is VNC server definitely releasing its session and returning to a listening state? I'm thinking that perhaps ZoneAlarm is keeping the session open.

You can do a netstat -an before and after the session drops to see what your listening port is up to. Port 5900 (for example) should read "LISTENING", not "ESTABLISHED", after the connection drops.

[ruckb]

Hello B,

thanks for the anwer! I did not knew the netstat command so far.
So I checked the status of port5900
- before connection, where I got a "Listening",
- during connection where I got a "Listening" and an "Established"
- After connection where I got a "Listening" only ..

But after closing the connection no new connection was possible ...
Thanks for the hint!

Hermann

[B]

You're welcome. So (since you say disabling ZA makes the problem go away) it sounds like a ZoneAlarm bug? I always liked version 2.6 but nothing after that.

[ruckb]

Hello B,
i'm trying to get an account in the ZA forum as I think this is a ZA issue, but so far I was not successful (for whatever reason ...)
I will definitly ask the same question there.

BTW: I would like to control also the outgoing connections from my system, so I checked several (free) firewalls, but so far ZA was the only allowing setting in a way that I understood it
Do you have any alternative solution to ZA ?

Thanks

Hermann

[B]

Nah, I more or less gave up after Vista came out. (ZA 2.6 ran fine on all versions of XP.) But check the security forums at DSLReports; they seem to like Comodo and Avira.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark, ... e=firewall

[ruckb]

Thanks, for this good link .. If I can not fix ZA I guess I will check out Comodo ..

Hermann