ZoneAlarm vs Kerio Personal. What do you think?

[Green Dragon]

Hi guys!

I like this forum. A lot of Knowledgeable and interesting people. As a novice user i have to learn from you.

I use the latest Avast 4.6.603 as av and i have to choose between zonealarm free and Kerio personal firewall 4.1.2 or may be 4.2.0 Beta 2.
What do you think about their effectiveness and the use of system resourses.

Have you suggest any better free product?
I tried install Sygate Personal Firewall but my system crushed. I have no idea what happened. So i except it.

Thanks a lot!

[my2cents]

Zone Alarm is good and make sure the Stealth Mode bars are all the way up. I dont like ZA's interface I think its too messed up so to speak. Also ZA has add-ons which I dont like. A firewall is a firewall, that my point of thinking.

As for Kerio, It managed to crash. It gave me like a buffer or runtime error on boot and then after that I seemed Ok afterwards but I did not trust it.

Stick with Sygate. Or any of the following...... 8Signs, CHX-Packet Filter.

And BTW, the lesser known firewalls are less known to be bypassed. Avoid using the known brands. IMHO, the lesser knowns are a bit better afterall like the ones above.

[hollywoodpc]

Hi guys .
ZA is very good . Especially for a novice . Sygate ? No . It is good for a novice but , it stinks at protection . Kerio is excellent . You can see from the bottom of my post , that I use something different but , that is not the question is it ? Za or Kerio , either one , would be a good choice . If it were me , I would choose Kerio but , ZA is a little easier to use . Good luck

[my2cents]

You must be talking about the free one. The free one really sucks as most of the needed protection options are grayed-out. The Pro is good.

I dont know, ZA is good too, but I hate its interface. (I mean the free one) It just really gets to me... and I can;t beleive ZA users are not complaining about the looks of it.

The ones that I mentioned like CHX, 8signs are very very very hard to configure. Thats there downfall, but there great. If it were easy, I'd stick to them.

"The best firewalls are, if we would just get rid of ALL THE HACKERS in the world that exist" Then we'd have the best....

[hollywoodpc]

I agree my friend . Whole heartedly ! I must say that ZAP is good . I like the bells and whistles . The interface is overly simple . I actually liked it after I changed the color . lol . Anyway . Kerio is awesome . But , ZAP is excellent too . Between the two , I pick Kerio . I feel ZAP will be a bit easier on resources though .

[hollywoodpc]

By the way Green Dragon . I would pay the money for a pro version . They are usually easier to use as they have more " things " to play with . You did not ask but , may I suggest you download Outpost Pro and see what you think . If so , while the install is taking place , it will ask if you would like to have it configure for you . Choose yes . And there is a learning mode . Any questions , you may contact me by private message and I will be happy to help you . As always , Good luck in your quest

[INTOXSICKATED]

just my opinion, but i'd rather be kicked in the nuts than try any new version, 5.0 or higher of zonealarm ever again. if you know what you're doing, or don't mind investing a little time in learning, i would give kerio a try. personally, i use outpost pro 2.5 ;D

[mercurie]

My opinion either of the free ones ZA or Kerio fine based on others for Kerio cause I never used it. I used ZA for years, also used ZAP for a year let the license expire and dumped it for Out Post Pro. IMO you sould not pay $$ for ZAP get the free ZA if you want Zone Alarm. Unlike Hollywood I hated all the other junk not worth the $$. Useless overlapping (with other programs) crap for me. Just me I guess. ;)

Last I heard they finally got it right with the latest version of 5. But INTOXISCATE is correct most of version 5 :-\ ??? >:( :'( . I think 4.5 last version is still around...golden. ;)

[my2cents]

Oupost Pro has good SPI firewalling. But, I just dont like the extra add-ons on that either.

Here is my wish list:

I wish there was a firewall that has SPI inspection and all you had to do is just check on it and your off to go. No installations, no configuring etc.....

kinda like XP's built-in firewall. Were all you have to do is check one lowsy radio button that says ENABLE without installing.

[mercurie]

I understand My2cents, I turned all but two of them off.

[hollywoodpc]

OMG Intox ! Too funny !!! I cannot stop laughing . You are so right ! NUFF SAID !!

[hollywoodpc]

Hi Mercurie .

You are right as well . After the 5.0 release , they turned to crap . Let my license lapse as well . Yuck . And half the time , the web bug feature and the cookie feature , would not work .

[ronjor]

-{ Quote: "check one lowsy radio button that says ENABLE without installing" }-

LooknStop has this feature.

[my2cents]

Can you PLEASE tell me on how to get there in the interface???

So wil lI have to do once I install it? Because I want Stateful Inspection too. So how can achieve this without configuring???? Remember, I have also Stateful Inspection checked marked already. Thats all I did so far. Then what do I have to do next? I only use the PC only for basic Internet surfing and email.

[ronjor]

Screenshot. Under options, advanced options.

[my2cents]

Ok, but do I have to check all those???? I especially want to check the SPI feature.

So which ones do I have to check and uncheck???

And besides that area, what minimal tasks would I have to do?

[ronjor]

Have you done a trial of LooknStop? I'm just starting out with this firewall.

From the help file.

'TCP Stateful Packet Inspection': if the option is selected, Look 'n' Stop watches the TCP connections and verifies that all TCP inbound and outbound packets belong to an active connection. If not, an alert is displayed in the log page. If this option is selected an additional button (Connections) is available in the log patch to see the active TCP connections

[my2cents]

Ok I'll download the manual.

Some say this is FREE. Is this free or not? Because I heard that if this trial version expires, it will automatically turn into a the Lite version (which is free).

If thats the case, than will I have the same options?

[ronjor]

I believe it is a one time fee. Upgrades are free to my knowledge.
The support forum is here. Can't beat that! :)

[bigc73542]

I will just stick with Kerio 2.1.5, it has never let me down. ;)


bigc

[Mr2cents]

-{ Quote: "I will just stick with Kerio 2.1.5, it has never let me down. ;)


bigc" }-
bigc, you must have been reading my mind. My thoughts exactly ;)

[bigc73542]

-{ Quote: "bigc, you must have been reading my mind. My thoughts exactly ;)" }-



;D ;D ;D

[JerryM]

I have used Kerio 2.1.5 since my original Tiny turned to Kerio. I know that is not the right term, but I started with Tiny about 1999, and a year or two later went to Kerio 2. It has never let me down.

If anyone desires a free firewall then Kerio 2.1.5 is the clear choice in my opinion. In fact I have LnS pay on my new computer and Kerio on my old. I may go to Kerio when the LnS subscription expires, although I have absolutely no complaints with LnS.

Jerry

[CrazyM]

-{ Quote: "I use the latest Avast 4.6.603 as av and i have to choose between zonealarm free and Kerio personal firewall 4.1.2 or may be 4.2.0 Beta 2." }-
ZA free is a good firewall. Are you looking for something with rules capability? Any other features?

Regards,

CrazyM

[lotza]

ZA is great on inbound, pretty good on outbound, but cannot be configured to stealth what ports it leaves open! Crappy user interface, and after version 2.xx something became highly exploitable w/some back door issues. Outpost is pretty good but it's just a flat out pain in the butt to configure, LookNStop...don't get me goin. Black Ice....junk it. Sygate should get the gate! And on and on down the list we could go. For the best all around protection, user friendly interface, and effectiveness Kerio 2.1.5 is unrivaled IMHO. Here's the test to take....go to www.grc.com and take the "shields up" test, then take the "leaktest". If your firewall can't stop the leaktest, or at the very least doesn't alert you to outgoing traffic....time to find a new firewall! FAST! Go to www.practicallynetworked.com click on security in the left pane and take their tests too. See how your system stands up. Please keep in mind I tested approx 20 firewalls, ALL FREE VERSIONS, so don't hammer me on the paid versions. I won't pay for it when the free one is awesome. Until something better comes along, I'll be using Kerio 2.1.5 on every computer I touch. Actually both the above websites have test pages from various firewalls if I remember correctly. Read up on the pages as there is an absolute plethera of security information to be digested at both sites.

[Green Dragon]

Hi guys

Thanks all of you for your help.
Last week i use free Kerio 4. I understand that most of you don't like it.
It seems to me a good product and easy for a beginner in its default mode.
What's you don't like about Kerio 4?
Really very helpful for me have your opinion about that.

I tried Jetico for a little but i comfused too mutch and get it out.

I use Avast 4,6 as av and like it. I think it's the av i need.

Sorry for my English.
Have a nice day.

[BlackSwan]

I have Avast 4.6 too, and been using Kerio 4 on all my PCs a while now (the standard version on two desktops and the latest beta on a laptop). I find Kerio very nice - it's quite lightweight as firewalls go, and doesn't cripple other programmes the way I've seen ZoneAlarm do.

I must say I had a very nasty experience with an older version of ZoneAlarm. It doesn't happen to everyone, of course, and I hear many people are happy with this programme. But it looks like I was among the unlucky ones whose PC got completely trashed by ZA, and had to format the HD. :'(

The only problems I ever had with Kerio were a couple crashes and blue screens when I first installed it on my Win 98 SE desktop, but I think that must be Win 98 specific. I had similar problems with other software on that computer (games and image editing programmes), so I can't blame the crashes exclusively on Kerio. They only happened a few times at the beginning, though, and now everything seems to be working fine. On XP I never noticed anything going wrong so far.

Avast and Kerio seem to be co-operating very smoothly, BTW. :)

[escobar]

Personally I use Kerio personal firewall v 4.1.2 and it´s the best firewall I´ve ever used ... I´ve tried several, but I keep returning to good ol´ Kerio.
I do NOT like, Zonealarm or the Zonelabs suite BUT I actually like NORTON Internet security due to some of the advantages that also come with ZA. What I like about Norton IS is the integration between the firewall, the antivirus and the other functions. This gives one major advantage, namely "easy use and understanding". whenever the firewall blocks something, you can get a very user friendly description of the amount of danger or damage, the file can do.

Due to all kind of lame installation probs and runtime errors during system scan(3019,6) I do NOT use norton internet security. One thing though, it may slow performance a bit, but in terms of usability, help and integration the package is GREAT and secure!

I use Avast antivirus 4.6 Home. Which is GREAT, once you´ve removed the ugly and not userfriendly skin. (I use the MacLover skin ... It´s smooooth). Question is: "Has anyone tried Avast AV for Kerio"?? I´ve seen that version on Avast´s homepage. Maybe it offers indept integration with Kerio?

Another thing that benefits Avast compared to AVG is the fact, that Avast offers e-mail support for the free edition!!! Niiiiice...

Check out this article that tests free AV solutions. Both AVG and Avast get very nice reviews.

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,113462,pg,1,00.asp

:-) Great Forum.

[TylerGred]

I'm currently using ZA Free. Is Kerio better on system resources than ZA? Or are they about the same? If it's a noticeable difference, then I will switch to Kerio.

[Diver]

Kerio 2.15 uses a lot less memory than ZA. For Kerio it is 3-6 MB. ZA runs 13-16 MB, usually. Just remember, with Kerio you have to get into rules. It is not impossible, but there is going to be some learning to do if you never used a rulebased firewall before.

[Infinity]

-{ Quote: " it may slow performance a bit, but in terms of usability, help and integration the package is GREAT and secure!" }-

which version of Norton was this? Cause the ones I tried 2003/2004 were terrible... ;)

but it was userfriendly ;D correct bout that... :)

[TylerGred]

-{ Quote: "Kerio 2.15 uses a lot less memory than ZA. For Kerio it is 3-6 MB. ZA runs 13-16 MB, usually. Just remember, with Kerio you have to get into rules. It is not impossible, but there is going to be some learning to do if you never used a rulebased firewall before." }-

I actually just installed the demo of outpost on my laptop. That seems like a good firewall from what I can tell.

I installed Kerio and it didn't even pass the leak test. I played around with the settings for a while, and still couldn't get it to ask if I wanted the program to connect...

Outpost Pro looks like a program I might invest in when my trial period runs out.

[Arup]

For anyone using Avast with Kerio, please make sure to put the relevant ports in your software proxy loopback rules for Avast mail scanner and web shield.

[Kerodo]

-{ Quote: "Kerio 2.15 uses a lot less memory than ZA. For Kerio it is 3-6 MB. ZA runs 13-16 MB, usually. Just remember, with Kerio you have to get into rules. It is not impossible, but there is going to be some learning to do if you never used a rulebased firewall before." }-
If he's talking Kerio 4 then he's better off with ZA. Kerio 4 uses 22-25 of ram. Kerio 4 can also be run without rules if desired though.