ZAFree 3.7.098 has been released

[marti]

Info: http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/free/information/znalm/zaReleaseHistory.html

Direct download link: http://download.com.com/3000-2092-10039884.html?part=zonealarm&subj=dlpage&tag=button

Uninstall/reinstall info: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/support/znalmInstallFAQ.jsp#1install

[marti]

Auto/manual update problem with new 3.7.098 version

For those of you with the grayed out manual update option, please try the following procedure. Note that all custom settings will be removed and will have to be re-entered.

Boot into Safe Mode, and clear the Internet Logs folder, empty the Recycle Bin, and reboot normally. Please report back to this thread.

Edit: This procedure doesn't seem to help. Now Zone Labs is asking for your OS. If XP, please verify that you were using the Admin account.

[marti]

The grayed out area in check for updates is by design. Here's what I was told by Zone Labs:

I just heard back from Product Managers.

The ability to turn off the automatic Check For Updates is now only available to paid users (ZA Plus and ZA Pro). ZA users will continue to get updates via the automatic Check For Update feature.

[CrazyM]

Hi Marti

Thanks for looking into it and posting the results. Although I doubt it was what most users of the free version were wanting to hear. Looks like with each new release of the free version something disappears and the marketing push is on for the Plus and Pro versions.

Regards,

CrazyM

[SpaceCowboy]

i think this move will backfire on ZA and just make the user annoyed. then they will move on to another firewall.

[Phil]

Here is the text from a Zone Labs note. How STUPID can a firewall company be! >:(

<quote>
With release 3.7 of the free, basic security product ZoneAlarm, Zone
Labs made a change in the Check for Update feature. With this new
version, Check for Update is no longer adjustable. We did not remove
the interface elements from the product, however--they are simply
"grayed-out". This has caused some confusion, and some of you have been
led to think that your copy of ZoneAlarm is malfunctioning. We want to
reassure you that your software is working correctly, and that we
apologize for any confusion we may have caused.

The Check for Update functionality exists to let users know when Zone
Labs releases improvements to our software. We do this whenever we have
an update to any of our products, whether for our basic security
product, ZoneAlarm, or its more advanced siblings, ZoneAlarm Plus and
ZoneAlarm Pro. We believe that it's especially important to let
ZoneAlarm users know when we have newer, stronger versions of our
advanced products, as these products provide even more security than
ZoneAlarm.

And, yes, we let our ZoneAlarm users know about new versions of
ZoneAlarm Plus and ZoneAlarm Pro because we are in business and part of
our job involves growing our business. We respect that some people
would rather not be told that a pay upgrade is available. However,
please realize that ZoneLabs pay products are what keep the business in
operation, and allow us to act upon one of our core beliefs: that basic
Internet security is a right for every Internet user. It's that belief
that motivates us to develop a product--ZoneAlarm--that we give away to
the world for free.

If you are frustrated with the tradeoff of free security software in
exchange for occasional upgrade notices, we truly hope you will
reconsider. With your continued support, we'll be able to continue
making ZoneAlarm available free for personal and non-profit use for
years to come.
</quote>

As a long time user (since before it was a fw) and loyal supporter of Zone
Alarm, I simply went "quiet" about the product when I could no longer use
it. An early ver 3 beta crashed my then new XP box so hard the dust is
still flying. I simply quit commenting about ZA and have not reinstalled. I
strongly supported ZA through all the "spyware" accusations and other
paranoid blather that was rampant for a period of time because it simply
was not true. This little "phone home" behavior is, however, the ULTIMATE
in stupidity. A personal firewall is designed to *stop* that very thing and
is the REAL value in having a fw installed, not stopping inbound packets.
Since Zone Labs has decided to participate in the *very* behavior I believe
is MOST important for a firewall to control, I will now recommend to any
and everybody I come in contact with to not use ANY version of Zone Alarm,
free or "Pro" -- period, end of story. I *do* understand marketing
decisions but I can not condone utter stupidity.

Phil

[sig]

So ZAF is now in a way a form of adware via the update mechanism. As with a lot of advertising, I don't see how this will lead to people buying a product they really don't want to purchase.

Those who don't care will live with it; those who object to the concept or just get annoyed will simply find another free firewall. There are a number of alternatives out there so I'm not sure how this move will really result in added revenue to ZL.

The really boneheaded move, IMO, as pointed out elsewhere, was that ZL didn't mention the change upfront in the release info. It's something that people would notice. And when they noticed after the install, it evidently resulted in a number of people thinking they had a bad install and wasted their time trying to figure out something that turned out not to be a bug, but a (cough) "feature."

Hardly a PR coup for a security product, it seems to me.

[LowWaterMark]

I completely agree with you Sig, especially about people thinking it's a bug that they now can't change that setting. Certainly they will notice. Heck, members of TeamZ were surprised and started to gather data of people's configs and method of upgrade so they could help "fix" the problem...

The only thing that we don't know yet is how frequently ZAF will now pop-up alerts related to the available updates. This frequency will be a big factor in the downside you mention (i.e. people getting annoyed and going after a different product). If it's only once a month, and when alerted the person hits some option say "No Thanks" and doesn't hear again for another month - that's one thing. But, if it's every day or every couple days. That would be very, very bad!