Zonealarm firewall; different versions question

Unfortunately Zonealarm doesn't sell it's 'full' firewall without antivirus or other extras.

They still offer a free firewall, but judging by the comparison on their website, that one lacks the 'advanced rules'.

Does anyone know anything about it ? What's the difference ? Is it outdated ? Does it filter wireless connections ? Good inbound protection? Good SPI or anything similar ?

 

Zone Alarm Pro has no antivirus etc but has all the advanced firewall rules.
not sure what stuff you mean??

 

Going to their website and comparing the different products, Zonealarm Pro includes antispyware (which I don't need), and it's rather expensive.

Maybe you intended to refer to something different ?

 

Hi Fly

I'm no Firewall expert ... So please check it out for yourself first!

But what about : PC Tools Firewall Plus

Here is the PC Tools Website : http://www.pctools.com/

That's what I'm using!
Along with AVG 8 Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware

PC Tools Firewall Plus : http://www.pctools.com/firewall/
It's Free and it's just a Firewall
It has Inbound & Outbound protection.
On installation ... You will be asked if you also want to install PC Tools -Threatfire
Threatfire is Free too!
You just make sure the box is Un-Ticked if you don't want Threatfire.


I was originally going to install....
AVG - Anti-Virus
PC Tools Firewall Plus - Firewall
Webroot Spysweeper - Anti-Spyware

But a bit like you...
I found AVG 8 now comes with Anti-Spyware
So I couldn't have Webroot Spysweeper

 

I don't particularly like the free ZA, as I recall it does not have the program rules the paid versions have.

There is a Product Comparison page.

The OS you are running also makes a difference. The Vista versions omit many of the features present in the XP versions (still).

On Vista I run ZoneAlarm AntiVirus (plus firewall). On XP I used to run the Suite, but if I were to go back to XP I would now run ZoneAlarm AntiVirus (plus firewall) on XP, too, instead of the Suite or Pro.

 

my apologies yes I see what you mean.
I am still living in the past with ZAPro as anything after 5.5 gives my machines terminal illnesses!

 

This is a link to a comparison chart of the various features of ZoneAlarm products. http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/znalm/comparison.jsp

 

So Zonealarm Anti-spyware is not Vista ready?

 

Nope, it will be after they release version 7.3 (currently in beta)
No ETA yet.

Cheers,
Fax

 

so the za antispyware beta is out now? is it stable? Where do I sign up at?

 

Nope, only ZASS 7.3 is in beta.... but missing antispyware elements have been included in the ZASS, so that soon, after the beta, they should be integrated into ZAAS.

ZASS 7.3.0.13 beta is not stable for me.... but may be is just me!
In any case better to have a full backup of the system before trying it

You find it here:
www.zonealarm.com/beta

Cheers,
Fax

 

I've had some very bad experiences with Pctools.

Nevertheless, since the firewall is 'free', I decided to take a look at their forum, firewall section.

It didn't look good. Many people have had a number of issues, including not being able to connect to the internet !

So I'll keep looking. I just wish there were more tests regarding inbound protection and handling of wireless connections. And the very complicated/technical firewalls with IP-tables are out of my league.

 

Well what are you actually looking for in a firewall?

 

Good or perfect inbound protection (full SPI or something similar), resistant to inbound attacks, must be able to handle wireless connections well, not a real resource hog, not very complicated to properly set up (so no snort rules or advanced HIPS), it should be stable, basic outbound protection, and free or not expensive.

(And the Zonealarm Pro firewall comes with the Kaspersky antivirus engine, which probably would not work well with Counterspy. And I don't need the Zonealarm antispyware stuff either, I have the Spy Sweeper and Counterspy. It's also expensive.)

 

How about this one? Free, has inbound and outbound, not a resource hog, handles wireless and is stable. http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6098592.html

 

Nope, only ZAAV and ZASS comes with Kaspersky engine.

Fax

 

I don't have Vista !

(Windows XP service pack 2)

 

I suppose this is a misunderstanding:

The FULL Zonealarm Pro version comes with either antvirus, antispyware, or both. (see their website)

Of course it may be possible not to install the antivirus or antispyware part, but I still need an antivirus. I don't need their antispyware, I suppose it would be overkill since I already use Counterspy and the Spy Sweeper. And I suspect Kaspersky won't play along with Counterspy.

Or do I perhaps misunderstand you, and does a particular version of Zonealarm Pro come with a different antivirus engine ? If so, which one, and where can that information be found ?

Just buying the full package just for the firewall is expensive ! (Although that may depend on where you live, IP check etc.)

 

Hi!
There are essentially (and simplifying) 4 retail XP installations possible:

ZA PRO: Firewall + ZA antispyware + Privacy features
ZA AV: Firewall + KAV virus/spyware protection
ZA AS: Firewall + ZA antispyware
ZA SS: Firewall + ZA antispyware + KAV virus/spyware protection + Privacy + parental + etc...

http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/znalm/comparison.jsp

The interpretation is simple: wherever antivirus in mentioned it comes from Kaspersky wherever antispyware is mentioned it comes from ZA own antispyware. ZASS has both...

There is no FULL ZAPRO, and ZAPRO has no antivirus...

Cheers,
Fax

 

Thank you.

Well, I've seen the FULL price in euros, and that makes the firewall expensive !

 

Never buy in € but only in $$$
They have a very weird 1:1 exchange rate!

Cheers,
Fax

 

Often these companies have a 2:1 exchange rate plus VAT, or worse ..

It is not always possible to buy in USD, unless you use a proxy or anonymizer service.

 

Proxy? Anonymizer? Not as complicated as you can expect
Yes, you can buy in USD... yes you have to pay VAT.

Cheers,
Fax

 

Not always

 

Depends where you are...
VAT, for example, applies to EU countries.

Fax