Finally got OpenVPN and Firestarter to play nice

My last post indicated there were web pages out there you could refer to to get Firestarter and OpenVPN to work together.

However the following link provided me with the details for MY situation (your own may obviously be different)

http://ignore-your.tv/2006/08/03/openvpn-and-firestarter/

So, for me I had to update the user-pre file with details of my tap interface. Thus I added the following:-

$IPT -A INPUT -i tap+ -j ACCEPT
$IPT -A OUTPUT -o tap+ -j ACCEPT

To find out if you must add details for a tap or tun interface, run the command 'ifconfig -a' from your command line and look for the 'tap0' or 'tun0' (or similar text). Note, this of course will only show up IF your VPN is already up and running - but not working (due to Firestarter ;-)

Comodo vs ZoneAlarm firewalls

Well I recently patched ZoneAlarm on my Windows PC (running Windows XP Professional). This was as a result of being informed by ZoneAlarm that a patch was available and should be installed. I duly obliged.

Straight away a major problem was uncovered. The machine refused to boot and always reported an error. The error was NO_MORE_IRP_STACK_LOCATIONS reported via the Blue Screen of Death.

To resolve the issue I carried out the following.

1) Booted Windows XP in Safe Mode
2) Uninstalled ZoneAlarm (simple enough - the option is available under the Programs->ZoneAlarm drop down list).
3) Restarted computer.

What I noticed IMMEDIATELY was my machine ran MUCH faster than it has done for a long time. Now, I simply put my machine's poor performance down to an old processor being asked to do too much but it is now very apparent that it was ZoneAlarm that was causing the grind all along.

Of course, not wanting to be without a software firewall I hunted around and installed Comodo. Even with Comodo in place my old PC is now enjoying a new lease of life.

I would recommend that anyone who is having performance issues with a PC running ZoneAlarm, that they uninstall ZoneAlarm and see for themselves the difference it will make....