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HOME TOPICS ABOUT ME One thing BlackICE can't block is a Microsoft upgrade that goes bad. |
technofile Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983 Windows update can mess up BlackICE softwareJan. 2, 2000 By Al Fasoldt Copyright ©2000, Al Fasoldt Copyright ©2000, The Syracuse Newspapers If you installed BlackICE, the Internet firewall software, and updated your Windows operating system afterward, you probably need to update BlackICE. BlackICE is the $40 program I raved about recently after buying a copy from the manufacturer's Web site at http://www.networkice.com. BlackICE protects Windows computers by blocking all unauthorized connections from other computers on the Internet. BlackICE is outstanding. Because keeps track of attempted breakins and can show you a graph of this activity over the last few hours or even over the last 90 days, you'll have instant evidence that someone was trying to sneak into your PC. In my experience, BlackICE has blocked all attempts to break in. But one thing BlackICE can't block is a Microsoft upgrade that goes bad. That happened in December when Microsoft's mindless Windows Update software installed "fixes" on the PCs of everyone who went to the Windows Update Web site and choose to allow the latest updates. (Users normally have no way of knowing if any of the updates will cause problems. I give Microsoft credit for trying to update copies of Windows, although the company scores a zero for failing to update copies of Windows that are in stores.) One of the updates messed up BlackICE quite badly. It stopped working right, and other programs stopped working properly, too. A friend reported that his copy of Quicken ran so slowly after this "fix" from Microsoft that menus took many minutes to open. You'll have to download a revised version of BlackICE to fix the damage to BlackICE. It's not clear yet whether the revisions to BlackICE will make other programs work right again, too. You might have to reinstall them if Microsoft doesn't post a fix for its "fix." The problem with Quicken, many readers told me after this article was published, came not from a Microsoft update but from a conflict with Norton AntiVirus. The solution seems to be to update Norton AntiVirus. To get the update for BlackICE, locate your BlackICE license key -- it was sent to you so you could install BlackICE the first time -- and then go to the NetworkICE site listed at the beginning of this article. Choose the "Donwload/Buy" link near the top of the page. Choose "Product Updates" and then choose "BlackICE Defender." You'll see a description of the update and you'll see "bidef.exe" at the left. Click that filename. You'll be asked to type in your license key -- you can copy and paste it in (using Ctrl-V to paste) if that makes things easier -- and then you'll be able to do a normal download. |