website asking me to switch off the firewall

[Emmanuel]

There is this site i am trying to download a file from, when i click the download link it takes me to a page where it says "you are here because, you have enabled your firewall, please switch it off, before clicking yes". I am using zonealarm free, what will happen if i switch it off and proceed to the download, is it advisable........thanks

[ak223350]

Without knowing what site, and what file, it's hard to give a definitive answer. Do you know and trust the site?

However, it sounds suspicious. If you turn off your firewall, then something downloaded could send information from your PC onto the internet, without you knowing.

[shanmuga]

Care to share the link?

A legitimate website providing a legitimate file for download should never ask you to disable the firewall. So it's definitely not advisable to lower your guard, to download a dubious "free" software..... and also get infected with a variety of malware in the process.