What does this Zonealarms alert mean

My normally quiet firewall (Zonearlarm Pro) has suddenly started acting up - someone loaded a dodgy war games type disk (real thing, not a dodgy copy) and the game is now trying to dial a connection to the Internet and then send files - I only noticed because my icon was flickering away when I was reading my mail! My firewall stopped it sending but is there any way (without uninstalling the game and hiding the disk) that I can disable this, I've taken the password off the dial-up so it can't go anywhere. I'm using Win 98.
Thanks
Englishgirl

The game might be an internet accessable game and it is looking for another player to hook up to, was the game running? Do you have the auto update feature on any of your programs that you use? Like live update for Norton Antivirus?

just about all software these days tries to report home. this isn't always a bad thing and as long as you firewall stops it i wouldn't worry about it.

some games have register functions to contact the game`s vendors, others may be lookin for the internet for a multiplayer option, btw counterstrike is the best online game, most games coming out are multiplayeror have an auto update

It would need an opening to do so, since its a new program you would need to set its permission (allow/deny) to the internet, it usually tells you the program and on what port it is trying to access, and the program icon.

Preep
(i usually disbelive a bought game, would have anything nasty in them)

Preep

yeppers, just stop it from connectiong outside and u should be fine. i should put a sign on me computer. "BEWARE SPY WARES! ONCE YOU ARE IN, THERE IS NO WAY OUT! BWAHAHAHAHA!! YELL FOR MOMMY, CALL FOR HOME ALL YOU WANT. THEY WONT HEAR YOU!! MWAHAHAHHA!!!"

Run a PestPatrol it comes with zone alarm. I just bought zone alarm and Pest patrol came with it. I run it and I could not beleive it so many worms and spy wares in my computer that even norton couldn't locate it. It is the best thing ....I guess.

It could quite easily be a piece of spy-ware. Try and get a look at some of the packets going out, or see what IP Address its sending, check the server. This will tell you what kind of information is going out, and to who. That should give you an idea of whether or not to be worried. Also, did you scan for virii lately? It could easily be a trojan worm trying to propogate itself through the internet.

Whatever it is, its a good thing to keep updated on.

Thanks everyone for the advice. It's nice to be around people who don't shout you down for not knowing everything.

BTW s0nIc you should get gargoyles - it's a Windows theme which features evil (and loud) cackles. I installed it on my ex- bosses laptop while he was at lunch and heard him scream from the other end of the building ; )

Have a great weekend everyone

Englishgirl1