Question:
Recently I attempted to install Zone Alarm's free firewall. This message keeps coming up. C/Doc & Settings/Mimi/Desktop 2/5 setup_61_737_000_en.exe is not a valid Win32 application. Is there any way that I can get past this message and install Zone Alarm? What is Win 32? If I will not be able to install Zone Alarm is there another program of equal quality and for free or minimal cost that I could install? Any help would be appreciated. Thank You!

Answer:
I will touch briefly on this one.

Invalid Win32 applications are programs that do not meet the criteria by Microsoft Windows to be called programs. Boy, that was a mouthful that meant absolutely nothing!

When a program is corrupt, damaged, or otherwise not readable by Windows, chances are you are going to get this message. So, what do you do about it? Replace the program and try again.

I have had this unfortunate event happen to me, especially when I am downloading a HUGE program file from the Internet. As it is in your case, you probably downloaded this program from Zone Alarm's web site. The size of the file does not make it unreadable, but having an interruption in the downloading process does.

If you have a dialup connection this might happen if you did not disable call waiting. Call waiting has a nasty habit of chiming in with a couple of beeps to alert you of an incoming call. However, if the incoming call happens when you are connected to the Internet, the Internet gets interrupted briefly causing the file being downloaded to become damaged.

My suggestion, delete the file in your computer and download it again. If the problem persists, try downloading it at a different time of the day.

An alternate solution is to get a reputable package for your security needs. I use the very effective AVG + Firewall suite. Affordable, I might add, the cost is only $48.95 for a two-year subscription to protect you from the latest virus threats. After your two-year subscription expires, you can buy another two years for only half of the initial cost. Interested? Click here!