Caution: A server program is a program that is waiting for someone to contact your computer!

Server rights require much more trust than ordinary access rights. Here's why: When a program asks for permission to connect, it is trying to initiate contact to one specific destination on the Internet or the local network. This is similar to driving to the train station to pick up a friend. Only that friend will be allowed into your car.

When a program asks for permission to act as a server, it is trying to listen for any computer on the Internet or the local network that wants to initiate contact with it. This is like being a taxi driver, waiting at the train station for anybody who wants to get in.

There are very few programs that require server rights. Examples include telephony programs, conferencing programs, Web server programs, sharing programs and some types of games. And even these programs don't always require server rights.

If you are a typical Windows user, you are probably not hosting services to the Internet on your computer. And just because a program asks for server permission doesn't necessarily mean it needs it, even if the program has "server" in its name.

If you have any doubts, the safest rule is to simply deny server permission to everything that asks for it. Then if the program doesn't work, you can always go back to the programs panel and give the program server permission later.

If the program is a telephony, conferencing, game, or other program that you think might really need server permission, or if the program doesn't work properly when you deny server permission, you can take the following steps to investigate further:

• Search the Zone Labs Web site for any information about configuring ZoneAlarm for this program.
• Check with the company Web site or Help support for the program.
• Do a web search looking for the name of the program AND the word "server."
• Ask other people who use this program with ZoneAlarm.

If you do provide a service on your own computer that you want other people to be able to access, you can expect to receive a pop-up alert asking for server permission when the service first starts up.

Some examples of services that some users provide on their own computers:

• FTP server - allows other people to upload or download files to or from your computer
• Internet game host - allows other people to play interactive games on your computer.
• Other Servers - programs often have their own logic, and understanding why a program may be listening for a connection in many cases requires some knowledge of networking and of how that particular program works.

There are a few ways you may answer a pop-up:

• Answer, "Yes," to give a program access rights just this one time. The next time the program needs to access the Internet , it will ask again.
• Answer, "No," to deny access rights just this one time. The next time the program needs to access the Internet, it will ask again.
• If you check, "Remember this answer the next time I use this program," before you click "Yes," or "No," the program will NOT ask you again. Your answer will be saved and applied each time the program tries to access the local network or the Internet.

You may change your answer any time in the Programs panel for any program by clicking on the interface.

A red X = deny access, a green checkmark = allow access, a black ? means ask me every time.