I am hoping to get some kind of a confirmation that what I have done below is the right way to go about setting up Apache on Windows XP with Zone Alarm.

Previously, when I was on dialup and using Windows ME, I always switched off my connection to the Net before I started Apache and that seemed like the wisest thing to do at the time (since it cost a lot to be online unnecessarily). Besides, I was always wary of someone getting to my locally developed websites (on my PC) while I was working on them - trust me, they probe port 80 often according to my Zone Alarm logs.

Now that I am on broadband, I prefer to leave my connection to the Net always on but since I am new to Windows XP this is unchartered territory for me.

Here's what I did today:

1. Installed Apache to run in a console window, not as a Service! You can tell that I am a control-freak sometimes
2. Set up the IP address 127.0.0.1, as a trusted zone in Zone Alarm.
3. In the Program Control tab of Zone Alarm, I only allowed regular & server access to Apache.exe from the trusted zone and disallowed access from the Internet zone.

My initial tests show that this works fine for me, I can get to the websites I develop locally on my PC but I don't know if everyone else (Internet) can get to it if they knew my IP number at the time.

I appreciate any suggestions and/or comments.

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J de Silva
Learning Journal | GIDForums™ | GIDNetwork™ | GIDWebhosts™ | GIDSearch™

Do you use a router in between the DSL/Cable modem and your computer?

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If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.

Thank you for the off-forum help you gave me pcxgamer. For anybody curious enough to know if this worked - yes, it did!

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J de Silva
Learning Journal | GIDForums™ | GIDNetwork™ | GIDWebhosts™ | GIDSearch™

Hi,

I was curious if you can shed some light on what you did to get this to work. I also have the same problem with running Apache on XP along with ZoneAlarm. Computers on my internal network can access my site but external users cannot. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

That's the idea... I didn't want anyone to access the sites I was developing on my PC.

If you want to all "external" users access to the site(s) on your PC, just go to Program Control tab in Zone Alarm and check (enable) all the options for Apache.exe!

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J de Silva
Learning Journal | GIDForums™ | GIDNetwork™ | GIDWebhosts™ | GIDSearch™