FAST FORWARD'S HELP FILE Rob Pegoraro

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By Rob Pegoraro

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Q. Ever since I upgraded to Firefox 3.5, downloads from the Web have stopped working for me.

A. This is a problem with the "ForceField" component of Check Point Software Technology's ZoneAlarm security suite.

This feature runs your browser in a virtualized, secure compartment to stop Web threats from harming the rest of your computer. But in the new 3.5 version of Mozilla Firefox, users have reported that Web downloads lose their file names and extensions and become "unknown," unusable files.

Until ForceField gets a bug fix, you can retype the file's original name and extension in ForceField's "save as" dialog, or you can use the "Open Unprotected Browser" command in the ForceField browser toolbar's menu to open a new window outside ForceField's security. Or you can disable ForceField from the main ZoneAlarm window.

Some people have adopted a more drastic remedy, uninstalling the new Firefox to revert to the old 3.0.12 release. I don't recommend that, as 3.5 represents a notable step up in capability.

How do I exclude a site from Web search results?

Type your query, then add "-site:example.com" (replacing example.com with the .com, .org., edu, etc., domain name of the site you want to avoid).

Rob Pegoraro attempts to untangle computing conundrums and errant electronics each week. Send questions to The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or robp@washpost.com. Visit http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward for his Faster Forward blog.