How To: Fix Zone Alarm (zclient.exe) High CPU Usage
r3dux | January 7, 2010Think 25% CPU usage is unacceptable for a software firewall? You’d be right.
Steps to fix:
- Ctrl + Shift + Right Click on Zone Alarm icon in the system tray and select Set debug level from the pop-up menu
- Set Debug Level to Off by clicking the appropriate radio button in the Set debug level window
- Click [OK]
- Restart Zone Alarm (i.e. quit then restart it)
Works on:
ZoneAlarm version:9.1.007.002
TrueVector version:9.1.007.002
Feel free to delete the stupendous amount of logging dirge left behind by Zone Alarm’s “writing phase” in C:\Windows\Internet Logs while you’re at it.
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Cos you’d run zoneacrap on a pc because????????
To selectively allow and more importantly disallow access to the net for certain programs on my VirtualBox copy of XP
The best way to fix it is as follows:
Start –> Settings –> Control Panel
Add/Remove Programs
Find ZoneAlarm and press the remove button.
I’ve found this works the best 100% of the time.. HAHAHAHAAHAHA
Hey, thanks for fixing a very irritating problem. Yeah, what r3dux says. For instance, I fire up a cd ripper program and it wants to access the net. Why? I don’t let it. I have a hacked game on my PC. Guess why it wants to access the web? Nada. Not on my PC. Sorry.
The CD ripper probably wants to talk to the CDDB/FreeDB servers to get artist/trackname info, so you could happily allow the ripper access while still blocking access to your hacked PC game, if you wanted.
Glad to be of service
Many thanks for this fix. I’ve been battering my brain with this issue. zlclient.exe was using 25-30 % of cpu. Now it has “calmed down”. Again. Many thanks.
awesome stuff, many thanks, simple fix, that fixed the cpu usage, kind regards
Thanks, works very well
Thanks. Hopefully more will see this fix. Like it or not there are those who can only manage a zone alarm download.
Cheers
Henny Youngman: A man goes to a psychiatrist. “Nobody listens to me!” The doctor says, “Next!”
the debug setting is not in the same place in v 10.1.179.00 of the internet suite. any ideas on how to reduce za consumption of all available cpu?
‘fraid not, sorry – but my recommendation would be to get rid of Zone Alarm and just use Windows firewall.
I used to use Zone Alarm on any Windows machines and virtual machines I used because it allowed me to control not only incoming connections (i.e. lock down all ports until a connection was asked for by an application) but outgoing connections (i.e. I don’t want this specific application to ever be allowed to connect to the net) – but it turns out that the firewall that comes with Windows 7 is actually pretty good, and can be configured to do all of that stuff.
There’s plenty of material on how to configure it online, such as this: http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/windows-7-firewall-outbound-protection/.
Also, once you’re ZA-less you won’t get all that nagging and updating rubbish, and iTunes will work properly (if you use it).
And as a final bonus, your CPU usage will be back to normal