Possibly ZoneAlarm is not *so* bad?

Hey folks... I am new to the Forums. I was taking a look at some of the posts about firewalls such as ZoneAlarm and Outpost. I noticed quite a few negative reviews about ZoneAlarm and I thought to see what feedback I'd get on this paragraph taken out of this article. I've used ZoneAlarm with absolutely no problem in the past, but I am wondering if considering what this paragraph says... if possibly, it makes ZoneAlarm "bulletproof" for a software firewall......

The source (or link): http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5301625.html

The Paragraph: Felman described Total Lockdown as a technology that prevents programmatic disabling of Zone Labs' firewall. "You can use commands at the Windows command prompt, such as NET STOP, to shut down our user interface," said Felman. "But, if the UI is disabled, our driver goes into a lockup mode, which makes it impossible for the rules that were set while the UI was active to be changed. Any in- or outbound network activity that isn't explicitly allowed by the pre-existing rules is blocked. Basically, there's no way to disable it unless you reboot the machine and uninstall the software."

By reading that, it sounds to me like ZA is better than what most rate it. But, I'd like to see what others have to say because I want to have a good firewall but kinda don't like Outpost or Sygate because I found them a little bit hard to use.

 

I have used several versions of ZA and I didn't have any problems with them. They seemed to work just fine.

 

I have used many versions of ZA and ZA Pro since 3.7 thru current. I am running it right now. I find it works fine for me. Good solid firewall. After playing with dozens of others and getting tired of what you have to go thru to configure some of them, I find the ease of use of ZA to be very nice for a change. That's probably why it's so popular. I've never had any problems with it either, in any versions, and I trust it to get the job done well.

 

Agreed, just because it's popular doesn't mean it's bad; ZA [and ZA Pro} is a solid firewall which will stealth and protect your box!

 

Hi everyone.. thank you for your replies! I do appreciate the quick replies and I wish I could of replied sooner but I have it checked to send me an email when someone replies to a thread. Guess it didn't work. Oh well - but anyways, Ok then... I'll try and use ZoneAlarm. Again.. I just want a good solution.. although, it just seems to me its worthless sometimes having a software firewall if hackers can get into phone companys. I heard about something happening like that with T-Mobile I believe it was in the past or somebody.

Thanks guys!!!

 

Oh, and just curious... I almost forgot to mention, Could any of you provide a link how to properly configure the settings or maybe a basic guide on how to configure good settings for ZoneAlarm if any are known?

Thank you so much!

 

I never liked Zone Alarm. I'm not saying it's bad though. I installed several versions within the past 3 years.

For apparent reasons (apparent for those who choose Outpost), i'm stuck on Outpost Pro. I password protect my settings in Outpost and process guard to protect it.

 

I have the same opinion, and ZoneAlarm didn't give to us the information that Outpost and some others firewall can give to us... I don't like their GUI...

 

Ah ok. Well thanks anyway everyone again for your replies.

 

A good site for ZoneAlarm is Don Hoover's site at http://www.donhoover.net/. Don also provides support in the forums at ZoneLabs site (as Hoov) as well as other forums on the Web.

There is another ZoneAlarm Web site that I know of: The Unofficial ZoneAlarm Pro Web Site at http://www.geocities.com/zonealarmprov4/index.htm but I do not know much about it. The entire site is provided as a download, though, so it may be worth a visit.

HTH

patermann

 

Personally I like ZoneAlarm Pro better then Outpost. Outpost caused me a huge amount of problems everytime I tried it. The component and hidden process control is annoying as well...
If you use ZoneAlarm pro, turn off all the webfiltering ****, but turn on "Advanced Program Control" this will stop the leakstest

 

OK.. I will, thank you

 

ZA is definitely a lot easier to use than Outpost, at least for the average user who is not interested in using advanced rules. I would try ZA free and see if it gets the job done before spending money on ZA pro. For that matter, there are so many good free firewalls around that it is hardly worth spending money on any of them, unless you just have fallen in love with one, and like to spend your evenings tinkering with firewall rules instead of doing something else with your time.

My vote is to leave advanced program control off, unless you want to spend a lot of time responding to it every time you click on a link in a help file.

 

Hi Diver . Thanks for your reply to my question about ZoneAlarm. I will keep that in mind.

 

Diver,

I agree that advanced program control in ZAP is a pain but having said that, would rather use it than aux programs like SSM, PG, Winsonar etc. The program control in ZAP is quite good once it has been through learning mode.

 

I have always had the idea that the program control should settle down and be less annoying once ZA "learns" which components are ok and so on. I'm running it now, so I'll see if this holds true...

 

for me, zonealarm was a functional firewall and it performed its job well. however i never tested it or compared it to other firewalls when i did use it because i knew close to nothing about computer security software other than norton, mcafee, and zonealarm. ive used ZAP v4.5 to 5.1. after a while (when i was smarter) i switched to sygate and later to outpost.

 

Arup-

I see where you are comming from. Kind of the lesser of two evils. As you know, I don't have a lot of faith in the whole leak test thing. Anyway, the more you can do with one product the better, as it avoids conflicts.

 

Leaving 2 stable products (ZA & Sygate) for an unstable one (Outpost) is smarter?

 

Maybe ZoneAlarm and Sygate are more stable than Outpost, but I've used Outpost about 2 years without problems...

Sygate seems a complete firewall with great protection and good information, but it's always consuming CPU time, and I didn't like that...

ZoneAlarm doesn't have a nice GUI and configuration... And where is the information about what is happen at that moment? To bad for me...

 

ZA has free Visual Log Analyzer, truly the best log analyzer out there, for reducing Sygate's CPU load, try limit the logging and you will see the CPU load go down considerably, Sygate's best feature is its detailed logging like no other but then it comes at a cost.

 

To see the log, that is a nice application, but to see in realtime what it's happen...

I will try this
Some suggestion for the limit?

 

Start with 64Kb limit and turn off packet filter log. ZA doesnt' have Kerio 2.15's status window nor NetVeda's app and internet windows, all it shows is who is accesing the net, thats all.

 

Creature GuidingLight,
I have used ZoneAlarm both free and pay. It was my first firewall. It is o. k. I have more of an issue with the owners and the mismanagement of the product more then anything. Poor service. I think the core product will get the job done it is the folks working on it especially since CheckPoint took it over.

I unloaded NetVeda and put my old 5.1.033 (I think that was the number version) Pro back on my family PC. NetVeda was o. k. to it just seem to require to much interaction. I knew the kids would not get along with it,....Daddy.... the computer says so and so what do I do.... I also had something that seem to be unique to me. Excessive ram useage. Not that Zone Zlarm is light either. My Zone Alarm key expired back in Oct. 2004. I do not intend to renew until I see a significate change in the program Paying for updates to firewalls... I wonder if it is really necessary at least regular pay updates are not imho.

Anyway my Zone Alarm Pro is orking just fine ony the Family machine. On my older pc I have OutPost and it work s fine to but it is certainly a little harder to use but not much.

Two final points when Zone Labs have updates hang back to make sure they work good before making a change or you could have problems like due to the issues I listed above. When the newer version seems to work good. Feel free to make change as you see fit. Finally there is no shame in using Zone Alarm.

 

This thread may help with your lack of email notification....especially post 5.Worked for me anyhow.
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=77444
ellison