ZASS: A Perfect Spy?

I can agree with Natas 100%. (And I was wondering how Unhappy could spend, what, 25 hours a day on so many different forums!!)

I did request specifics as to what data items ZA was harvesting from my machine, and basically got nowhere at all.

However, Infoworld has in fact found at least one item which may be of interest at the following link: http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1599791471;fp;2;fpid;36
in which the text of interest is quoted by me as follows:

"Check Point's Program Advisor includes white list and black list information that has been gathered from Zone Alarm clients running on consumer desktops. Check Point states that Program Advisor has rules for more than 100,000 apps. Additionally, if Integrity Client detects malicious software, it takes control and automatically shuts down the offending application."

So at least we know SOME of what info ZA harvests from your system...and if this is, in fact, common public knowledge, why does ZA persist in maintaining an attitude of cold silence 100% of the time (being of suspicious nature, I'm convinced it's because they believe that if knowledge of what all they collect got out, their stock would fall faster than a dead bird!).

 

Lol @ ned kelly

I don´t like being spyed on and I would definitely not like it if they monitored every website that I´m visiting, that´s why I´m also not a fan of anti phishing toolbars. But if they use it to get an overview of how someone uses their product than this is not a real issue for me.

 

I dont use the MA bell phone system,as I am paranoid in all those fashions anyhow.

 

Rasheed -

- If, in fact, ZL is only monitoring how people use or configure their software, I cannot believe they would need to be so secretive about it. What's the mystery? Spell out - in your license agreement - what you are taking and how you are using it; if the user does not like it, they don't have to install the software.

- I could speculate that perhaps they don't want to reveal exactly how much info they are taking? Or perhaps they want to retain the flexibility to change what data items they harvest at any time without issues regarding breach of contract...?

- The fact is, since they maintain total silence, we have no way of knowing how much is too much; in fact, the knowledge necessary to make that decision is being deliberately withheld from ZL's paying customers. And the data stream itself is being concealed thru encryption, so even if they told you what was in it, you could never verify it.

- And, IMHO, monitoring how someone uses software on their own personal machine without the knowledge or consent of that user is, bluntly, what Spyware does....

 

Interesting and then again not so at all. (Yawn)

What i read in this topic plus all the complaints is absolutely nothing new and is been going on as long as i can remember. So what's all the fuss about? I suppose it does carry a lot weight where suspicions are concerned since Zone Labs is now owned by a relative noobie in the internet safety world of products.

That notoriously lousy True Vector service from what little time i briefly check those forums, continues to be an issue that's never fully been resolved.
Long ago on my PC when i depended on ZA it got to the point of too many frequent internet interruptions so often that i finally HAD to dump it entirely. I fought, fussed, and worked with them constantly by installing one (fix) build after another and each time another issue would crop up or else the same old (true vector) matter again. Not worth the trouble when there are plenty others to turn to.

I went Kerio and that ended that nonsense PERMANANTLY!

 

I use mostly Kerio but will occasionally remove it and put ZA Pro on for a while, just for a change. It's never bothered me that ZA collects info. My theory is that this information is probably used to improve their product. If it's for some other reason, they'll get awfully bored seeing where I go online.

I've never had a problem with True Vector. Might be because I've never kept ZA on my computer long enough for problems to start. I might try running ZA for a few months some time just to see.

 

I personally don't care what info ZA gathers (if any) from me when I do use it either. It's all really pretty simple. If you don't trust ZA, don't use it. Problem solved.

 

Strange how different firewalls effect different computers, Kerio gave me so much trouble that i thought i was in a nightmare! Now i use ZA my computer has never run so good.. I also found Outpost to be a heap of trash, and by reading whats going on in the outpost forum , things have gone from bad to worse... I suppose the one thing we can all learn from this is that a firewall that is good for one persons setup , isnt necessairly good for another persons setup..

 

Truer words have never been spoken...

 

I put ZA back on my computer after reading this thread and will try to keep it for a few months rather than a couple of weeks, just to see what the fuss was about and if it affects my computer.

I'm curious whether commercial made computers, such as HP, Dell, etc might be the cause of some problems with certain software. Mine is home built (with help from someone who knows what he's doing) a couple of yrs ago, and I seldom have trouble with any software. A previous Compaq (years ago) was a pain in the behind and very fussy about software.

Anyway, both ZA and Kerio work nicely on this computer, as does Sygate, Outpost, and Visnetic.

 

Agreed. Never said ZA wans't a good and effective firewall, when it was on my machine it done very well as it was designed. Like i mentioned though it frequently dropped internet connection, not always, but often enough it had became a handicap and issue, especially when i would be working a users HijackThis Log online. Got to the point that it became an annoyance.
Tried several times all the workarounds and suggestions via Zone Labs Forum with no conclusive solution, so a choice had to be made.

Kerio was suggested to me as an alternative on high recommendation by a respected member of this security community and frequent poster at many forums. There were of course all the regular different firewall users who rang in with their satisfactions too.

Believe me, i was quite satisfied with Zone Alarm as a firewall and it took awhile to convince me. I even returned to it again after a few new builds had passed but eventually encountered issues again.

 

I have to say that normally I would have dumped an app accused of this in a second, but ZA is my favorite firewall and the HIPS is not bad either. I know that back in the days ZA was also accused of spying on people (collecting data) with the True Vector monitor but I still continued using it, I´m a bit indecisive about this all.

 

ZAP works fine here but I tried everything to stop it connecting.

ZLclient is blocked and all settings that require to connect are shutdown.

Downloaded and ran RegisterPluginCam.exe.

Added these entries to my hosts file:
127.0.0.1 cm2.zonelabs.com
127.0.0.1 hs2.zonelabs.com
127.0.0.1 ls2.zonelabs.com
127.0.0.1 pa2.zonelabs.com
127.0.0.1 zonelabs.com

Yet if I open a cmd box and enter "netstat -a" it shows two tcp connections that are established to zonelabs.com.

Shutdown ZAP and they're still there.Reboot with ZAP set not to auto start and the zonealarm.com connections are still there after opening a web page.

If I am reading this wrongly can someone enlighten me.

 

I don't mean to be argumentative here, but I really don't see why people get so obsessed with whether ZA(P) is connecting to ZoneLabs or not. It seems really simple to me. If you think ZAP is connecting to ZoneLabs site(s) and you can't stop it, then IF it worries you, why not find another firewall? Seems to me that you either trust your software or you don't. And if you don't trust it, then remove it and find another one. If I don't like something that my software is doing, I don't use it. My own opinion on the ZAP connections thing is that I don't care what it does, connect to ZoneLabs or not, who cares? But I suggest that if it does and it bothers you, then remove ZAP and try another one. Why spent hours and days trying to stop something like that? And more to the point, why use software that you don't trust?

 

QFT.......the second I quit trusting any software (for whatever reason, rational or not), it gets removed....

 

I'm sure many people do trust ZA but you might not care about ZA connecting but other people are different.

I think it's more of a thing about user control.Sure let it connect if you want to update but connecting without user input is a no no in my book.

The prob of ZA showing two connections was my own fault with my hosts file
being messed up.

 

Ok, I understand, but to that I would have to say that if it's a no no for you, then remove it and don't use it.

 

I don't like hangovers either,but I still get them a coupla times a week!!!