Have you looked at the Alerts and Logs in Zone Alarm? Do you see any Outgoing connections being blocked?
Does McAfee’s firewall have a log also? If so is there anything showing there as being blocked?
For clarity, does your school require you to just run McAfee’s antivirus or both their antivirus and their firewall.
EdP
It’s quite odd that your school would ask you to run a firewall… their servers should all be behind a firewall already.
I just downloaded and installed the beta 5.6. I am also getting the error message server not found. I have tried and/or applied all previous suggestions. Nothing has fixed the problem. There has to be something else causing this problem. I used to use Weather Watcher and never had a problem. Are any of the older versions still available? I would just like to go back to something that doesn’t require a lot of fixes to work. I use Firefox.
Try this:
http://www.singerscreations.com/Forum/t … PIC_ID=662
Weather Watcher uses IE, so the fact that you use Firefox is irrelevant. The current version of Weather Watcher works just fine without any fixes applied. The problems lie in the users’ system settings.
Thanks, Mike. Yes that fixed the problem and it is working fine now. I am just going to have to re-think whether I want it now. I almost never fire up IE for security reasons. That is why I use Firefox in the first place so yes it is very relevant to me. Since Weather Watcher uses IE to retrieve the weather then that brings about a whole new problem. I guess I will just continue to use my radio for weather alerts. Thanks anyway. But no thanks!
dogbows, Weather Watcher uses IE to display the weather forecasts. There are no security issues since the webpages being viewed are locally stored on your PC.
dogbows, I use Netscape as my default browser but IE has to be used for Windows Updates and a couple of other sites I access and I have had no security problems as a result of that usage.
IE’s security isn’t a problem in and of itself only when used to surf the web and access unknown websites. If used judiciously it is safe.
Used intelligently combined with an antivirus that is kept current and a firewall and the 'net is as safe as an expressway. [:)]
Ed
Thank you both very much, but my computer experts say otherwise. IE is not safe in any way form or fashion. Sorry, but you will not convince me on this one. I trust those who know and understand the IE security issues.
quote:
[i]Originally posted by dogbows[/i]
my computer experts say otherwise. IE is not safe in any way form or fashion.
Wow, I guess we now have to define your definition of “computer expert” [:)] If that is what you’ve been told, then you need to look for new experts. That statement is false, and anyone who has a good knowledge of computers will confirm that.
quote:Curse those Linux bigots. [:D][:D][:D][:D][8D]
my computer experts say otherwise.
Ed
Hmmm, anyone viewing this topic may want to go to the US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) website and do a search on their favorite browser name. I did one on simply “firefox” and got 45 hits from Bulletins and from Alerts.
The current US-CERT Cyber Security Bulletin may be found here: http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/bulletins/SB05-068.html. Firefox is listed in it with multiple security issues.
The point is that all software has security issues. I would agree though that since Internet Explorer is by far the most commonly used browser, it is more likely to have people exploit it’s weaknesses and more likely to be in the popular press. Since it has by far the largest user base, it also will have the largest number of people who ignore the rest of their computer’s security.
Any browser that is properly configured can have fewer security issues than it will upon first installing it. Security of a computer is up to the user:
router with a firewall
software firewall
current antivirus
current spyware remover
current Windows Updates
current updates to applications
etc.
WebSideStory has the current chart of browser usage on this page: http://www.websidestory.com/services-solutions/datainsights/spotlight.html
As of 2/18/05, it shows among Windows users, Internet Explorer at 92.2% and FireFox at 5.47%.
– PatrickB
Thanks for the post PatrickB. I’m glad to see some of us base our views on facts.
Mike, I apologize for turning this thread into a debate. It most definitely was not my intention. I had no idea that my statement to not use IE for security reasons would cause such a stir.
First let me tell you I think your Weather Watcher is a great program. I commend you for your efforts in this area. To my knowledge it is the only desktop weather program that is totally free from the spyware, adware, etc. And I appreciate what you are doing with it.
I personally know nothing about computers, so I have to depend on those who do. But I do know that Patrick is right. All of them do have security issues. I believe that will always be the case. But the security issue I referred to in IE is not one of the common issues that are evident on a regular basis with all browsers including IE. Windows updates are just about the only time I use IE. And yes I agree they have to be done.
The computer experts that I depend on are a collection of people from various parts of the world who all have degrees in computer technology of one sort or another. Some have degrees in computer programming, some have degrees in computer science, etc. etc. And yes, Ed, some of them swear by Linux and Safari, some swear by Opera, some Mozilla, but most of them swear by Firefox. I tried Mozilla, Opera, Netscape, and Firefox in that order before settling with Firefox. It is a dream come true for me because I do not accept change easily in my old age. So you see they do not all agree on the same browser. But they do all agree that IE poses potentially and extremely dangerous security threats that are not addressed by windows updates and furthermore cannot be addressed by windows updates.
I personally choose not to use IE, and it is my decision along with a select few that agree it is the thing to do. I do not try to convince others to do the same. That is their decision.
However, Mike, since you do take suggestions for your Weather Watcher, my suggestion would be a Weather Watcher that uses the individual’s default browser to retrieve the weather updates. It just might turn out to be one of the best suggestions you ever receive.
P. S. I have a nephew who is a computer technician, and in the beginning he told me all the same things that have been noted in this thread. But then one of the experts that I referred to agreed to talk to him via email. After the email discussion my nephew had with him, he dropped IE like a hot potato. So now my nephew does take on the mission of trying to convince his customers to not use IE.
dogbows, Weather Watcher does not use IE to download the weather, so I am not sure what you are suggesting I do. Weather Watcher does use an IE component to display the weather forecasts inside of Weather Watcher. The weather is being displayed from webpages that are stored locally on your computer, so you shouldn’t be worried about the security problems you were told about.
I would not disagree with anyone that said IE has more security problems than Firefox. I don’t think all of the hackers out there are going waste time causing havok on 5% of the web browser users when they can cause havok on 95%. Just keep in mind that Firefox is not as good as they say it is… not enough people have tried to find its flaws yet.
As for dropping IE like a hot potato, that is just absurd.
There are many more viruses out there than IE security problems. Doesn’t that make you want to switch to a Mac OS/Linux, since they have less viruses roaming around on their systems? Of course it doesn’t… which is why it doesn’t make sense that you’re going to drop IE [:)] Mac OS/Linux is just as prone to viruses as Windows. There just aren’t enough Mac OS/Linux users out their to make a virus writer’s time worthwhile.
What Mike says is true dogbows. The weather data is downloaded using a Weather Watcher program called DL.EXE and IE is only used to view the Forecast files WW creates on your hard drive. You can see them for yourself by going to the c:\Program Files\Weather Watcher\Skins\Forecasts\Classic folder. They are all .html files. IE is not being used to access the 'net.
There are few absolutes in this world, death and taxes being about the only two. Does IE have problems, sure, so to does Windows and pcs in general and automobiles and airplanes but the way to minimize the risk is to use the items judiciously rather than blindly avoiding them at all costs.
That being said, invoking the client’s/end user’s default browser to display the forecasts isn’t a bad idea. Or even having the browser be a user selectable option. [:)][;)]
Ed
quote:Well, tell Firefox to get working on a VB control. They are obviously not out there fighting security problems, so they have time [:D]
[i]Originally posted by EdP[/i]
That being said, invoking the client's/end user's default browser to display the forecasts isn't a bad idea. Or even having the browser be a user selectable option. [:)][;)]
Thank you, Mike, for explaining away my concerns for using Weather Watcher. I am sorry I mistook your first reply to mean that Weather Watcher uses IE to access and retrieve the weather updates. I will tell anyone that will listen that I am a total ditz where computers are concerned. But I do believe I understand now. And just for the record I do most definitely want to go out and purchase a Mac OS/Linux, I just don’t have the funds to do that yet. [:)]
And thank you also, Ed, for your explanation. The two of you have convinced me my concerns with Weather Watcher are unfounded and I will reinstall. I still have both setups on my computer. So which do the two of you suggest I use? Should it be the 5.6 beta 4 or the 5.5c? And remember I am still stuck with Win 98 SE for the time being if that would make a difference. I have no clue.
As far as blindly avoiding certain things at all costs goes, I have never been on an airplane, and most likely never will. Are there more people being killed in automobile accidents than airplane crashes? Yes indeed there are, but when an airplane crash does occur the odds are much greater that it will be a fatal one. So you can also apply this reason to why I no longer use IE except in rare cases. It may not be a sound one but it is my reason and my choice. And not only that I just happened to fall in love with Firefox almost immediately. It is much faster than IE, and it has tabbed browsing, etc. etc. I have 14 tabs open at one time on a regular basis, and it works great for me. [;)]
Mike the way I understand it, Firefox is open source, so why don’t you give the VB control a try? [:D]
quote:I think I'll leave that job for someone else. I hardly have time to sleep anymore [:D]
[i]Originally posted by dogbows[/i]
Mike the way I understand it, Firefox is open source, so why don't you give the VB control a try? [:D]
You should try the Beta 4. Wait until I release a repacked version of it though. There are some small bugs that are causing major problems for some people. I’ll post a note at SingersCreations.com when it has been repacked.
Can I not go ahead and install the 5.5C then and just upgrade when you have the new release of beta 4?
dogbows I use Netscape and I like it’s tabs also. But I NEVER have as many open as you do. Too confusing. [:D] I’m surprised your Win 98 system doesn’t hang up with that much usage.
There’s a new Mac out, just a basic box with no peripherals like monitor and keyboard and etc for I think $499. So if you have a desire for a Mac and already have the other components its a good way to go.
As for your question of 5.5C and then the beta the answer is yes. But when you go to the beta you will still have to download the full beta install not the beta upgrade file. I suspect it will be tweaked by the weekend if not earlier. [:)]
Ed