Robert, Don, et al,

I use the freeware version of Zone Alarm (a firewall of sorts)
and the adware version of Go!Zilla (Aureate Media) a download
tool that I like quite well, actually.

First, the Zone Alarm, gives me a list of all the apps on my pc
that could try to make an (unknown to me) connection on the
Internet, and allows me to set permissions. Also, while I'm on
line, ZoneAlarm actively notifies me whenever anything tries to
'connect' and allows me to 'configure' all the settings
(permissions).

Now for the "Advert.dll" which seems to be a part of my
Go!Zilla; I've noticed (thanks to ZoneAlarm) that whenever I
have Go!Zilla open, every 40 - 60 seconds or so ZoneAlarm will
notify me that an IP address has tried to ACCESS MY COMPUTER and
on what port. I have researched the IPs and they are always
Aureate Media. I've written to their 'tech support', but had no
response from them.

My assumption is that this "behind the scene" or 'back channel'
connection is for the purpose of 'refreshing' the ad banner that
appears while Go!Zilla is running. The banner is supposed to
change every so often. I've noticed that if I "Deny" the
'connection' (using ZoneAlarm to set the permission) that the ad
banner never changes, but my Go!Zilla continues to operate and
Aureate DOES NOT CEASE it's attempts to access my computer.

After about a half hour or so of this (I've never really timed
it and I rarely need to keep Go!Zilla open any longer than that,
nor would I), Go!Zilla will always cause a "Fatal Exception
Error" which somehow involves or is attributed to the
"Advert.dll". It's a shame, because one of the wonderful
features of Go!Zilla is that you can schedule downloads for any
time of day you want, BUT I wouldn't dream of leaving this app
open for that purpose because I would have to 'Allow' the 'back
channel' access to my computer (to prevent the crash). And
without knowing what information Aureate is getting from my
computer I'm not prepared to allow the connection.

In defense of Go!Zilla, it IS a marvelous download tool. It's
hard to believe that it's FREE unless the information that
Aureate is gleaning and amassing from people's pc's is v-e-r-y
valuable to some organizations.

I would still highly recommend Go!Zilla for improved
downloading, but I would not recommend using it without
ZoneAlarm v2.0.26 or something like it. Anyone would be
absolutely stunned, the first time you open ZoneAlarm and see
the list of applications on your computer that access the
Internet without your knowledge. It truely is stunning. And
ZoneAlarm allows you to control all these connections, 'deny' or
'allow' them, temporarilly or permanently AND helps you to
identify the owner of the IP attempting access to your computer.
Paranoia asside, this information is fascinating, to say the
least.

BTW, ZoneAlarm will 'back channel' connect to the Internet too,
if you "Allow" it.

     _-= Alan P. Guy =-_
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Do... or do not. There is no 'try'. - Yoda

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