Users of old ZA versions

Discussion in 'other firewalls' started by snowbound, Nov 29, 2008.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. snowbound

    snowbound Retired Moderator

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2003
    Posts:
    8,723
    Location:
    The Big Smoke
    Hello,

    i'm curious how many folks are still using ancient versions of ZA. I've been running ZA+ 4.5.538.1 for about 4 or 5 years now and though severely outdated, have had no cause to change as it just keeps chugging along doing it's job. There is some bloat to it but the options it does have suits me well still to this day.

    I wouldn't be surprised to see members still using even older versions.



    snowbound
     
  2. ThunderZ

    ThunderZ Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2006
    Posts:
    2,459
    Location:
    North central Ohio, U.S.A.
    Just recently switched to another FW after using 5.X for a very long time.

    A little OT. What OS are you running? I would have preferred to run a 4.X vers. I believe it was one of the last FW only vers. For some reason though any vers. prior to 5.X would crash my XP Pro system.

    Do not remember the exact vers. I tried to and then did run as I have several old vers. installers stashed away.
     
  3. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2008
    Posts:
    97,410
    Location:
    U.S.A.
    snowbound, I'm still running 5.5.094.000, on a Win XP SP2, without any problems whatsoever. The Antivirus Monitoring expired after one year and the Email Protection is off since I use AVG 8.0. I believe 6.5.737 was the last version before bloating really set in.

    ThunderZ, best source for ZA older versions is FileHippo and while the ZoneAlarm® Release History page still has links to old downloads, some are corrupted according to their forums, so readers of this thread beware.
     
  4. snowbound

    snowbound Retired Moderator

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2003
    Posts:
    8,723
    Location:
    The Big Smoke
    xp home sp2. I got hooked on ZA back then after one of the admins here used to post tutorials on it, setting rules, uninstallation issues and so forth. There were a lot of members in those days here using ZA.

    I've come close a few times to changing over the years but thought, what for? It's still doing what i expect it to do so why bother. I know most folks would not dare run an outdated firewall but i'm comfortable with it as it is.

    It's rare but i still get a chuckle now and then when a popup appears saying there is an update for the firewall. :D

    Thanks for the replies.



    snowbound
     
  5. ThunderZ

    ThunderZ Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2006
    Posts:
    2,459
    Location:
    North central Ohio, U.S.A.
    Just goes to prove that the latest and greatest is not always. ;)
     
  6. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2008
    Posts:
    97,410
    Location:
    U.S.A.
    I couldn't agree with you more! :thumb:
     
  7. Firebytes

    Firebytes Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2007
    Posts:
    917
    Still using an older version of ZA on both my systems behind a hardware firewall.
     
  8. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Posts:
    2,098
    Location:
    USA
    I'm thinking the 6.5 series was the first of the more bloated versions. For a long time (over 2 years), I ran 6.1.744.001. I've now moved to Comodo. (FWIW, ZAF 6.1.744.001 ran fine. I just wanted to add the HIPS that Comodo provides...)
     
  9. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2008
    Posts:
    97,410
    Location:
    U.S.A.
    HAN,
    Actually, the 7 series was the one that introduced the bloat. Here are the last of the version series file sizes from FileHippo:

    v5.5.094 - 6.65 MB | v6.0.667 - 8.91 MB | v6.1.744.1 - 10.04 MB | v6.5.737 - 13.08 MB

    In comparison, the first v7.0.302 - 38.14 MB, the last v7.0.483.0 - 44.66 MB and now v8.0.020.0 - 26.05 MB.
     
  10. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Posts:
    2,098
    Location:
    USA
    Yeah, that's pretty obvious when you see the installer sizes. Thanks! :D
     
  11. QBgreen

    QBgreen Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2005
    Posts:
    627
    Location:
    Queens County, NY
    If you consider that the 7.x series contained ZASS and the 8.xx series contains ZAP, the active files working aren't that much different from previous versions.
     
  12. ThunderZ

    ThunderZ Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2006
    Posts:
    2,459
    Location:
    North central Ohio, U.S.A.
    All this talk of FW caused me to revert back to my old stand-bye ZA. Currently running 5.1. Installer size 5.5 MB.
    Tried 4.5 but suffered a BSOD on vsmon start-up with XP SP 3. Did not bother trying to track down the trouble code as 5.1 runs just fine. Both tasks using under 16 MB combined.
     
  13. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2008
    Posts:
    97,410
    Location:
    U.S.A.
    Well, ZA Pro was always part of the software, at least dating back to the first version I used, which was 2.6 in 2001, and came with a 15 day trial period, if I recall correctly.

    ZA's problems began in earnest with version 6 (New OSFirewall Thwarts Cybercriminals with Behavior-Based PC Protection) when they started tinkering with the kernel and IMO ZA hasn't been right since then. Adding ZASS to the free version 7 and not telling users that it was there, compounded the problem. That's why the older ZA versions, where the firewall was just a firewall, works even today, as evident by ThunderZ's return to the past and my own use of the last 5.5 version.
     
  14. pugmug

    pugmug Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2006
    Posts:
    413
    I run Z/A Pro ver. 6.1.744.001 and have it set up to where it does not let any bad crap on my computer.I have used it for years and it is great.You can get it here http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=zalarm and if you want,I will give you a life time key.I will also help you set it up to stop all bad crap,just pm me if you want.
     
  15. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2008
    Posts:
    97,410
    Location:
    U.S.A.
    pugmug, thanks for the link to oldversion.com! :) I lost that bookmark awhile back and I'm glad that you posted it. :thumb:
     
  16. pugmug

    pugmug Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2006
    Posts:
    413
    You are very welcome,hope it helps you.
     
  17. 12fw

    12fw Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2006
    Posts:
    111
    Location:
    Canada
    Pro 5.5 is the version for me.
    Works great, light and fast.
     
  18. virtumonde

    virtumonde Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2008
    Posts:
    504
  19. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2008
    Posts:
    97,410
    Location:
    U.S.A.
    virtumonde, you're welcome. Let us know which versions you try out and also your opinion about them.
     
  20. virtumonde

    virtumonde Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2008
    Posts:
    504
    On a clean xp pro sp3 image I tried for an entire day ZoneAlarm Pro version:5.5.094.000 ,with avira free & sandboxie installed after as other security applications.
    I find it great.First thing no more slow boot time.I have no more problems with quick connect/reconnect procedures as with Version 8.I need this procedure for HTTP downloads for changing IP.
    All ZA versions that i've tried work well with high speeds utorrent ,strong DC on my pc this one is no exception.I have disabled adblocking and cookie control.
    This version doesn't have a "Game Mode" but I played a couple of hours of WOW uninterrupted after i put the Alert Advisor on Auto.Previous to this i've installed wow which is quite a big game with 2pop ups from the firewall.
    But the problem is that it doesn't seem to recognize the giveaway licence.It says licence key succesfully installed ,and then nothing even after reboot it pop's up as i need to buy it.
    I'm surprised i didn't try this one before cos it's more new than my oldies favourites Sygate &Kerio .I'll report back if i find a solution with the licence.
     
  21. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2008
    Posts:
    97,410
    Location:
    U.S.A.
    virtumonde, check the Overview > Product Info tab > Licensing Information to see if the license number is correct. If I recall (my 5.5.094 version was installed in 2005), like you, I installed the Pro version on a 30 day trial, then it reverted to a Free version after that time but I kept getting pop-ups until I went to the Preferences tab and switched the Check for product updates to Manually. See if that cures the issue.
     
  22. virtumonde

    virtumonde Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2008
    Posts:
    504
    The buttons are grayed out.

    I can't select anything.I reinstalled again,and it's same thing.I don't think i'll wait 15 days to see what happens after the trial :).
    I will revert to my main image for now.Don't have the mood to register at their forums.This doesn't change that the product was problem free &light on my pc.
    Thanks for the assistance.Will try version 4 also when i have time.
     

    Attached Files:

  23. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2008
    Posts:
    97,410
    Location:
    U.S.A.
    virtumonde, if you look at this old tutorial Firewalls and ZoneAlarm Guide and Tips, the 6th step down (License Wizard) gives you the option NOT to choose the Pro version and if you did that, you could start using ZA right now. Just a thought.
     
  24. snowbound

    snowbound Retired Moderator

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2003
    Posts:
    8,723
    Location:
    The Big Smoke
    What's old is new once again. :D

    The only standing issue i have had wth ZA+ is an occasional crash of vsmon. There is a conflict there somewhere but i've never been able to figure it out. It doesn't happen very often so it's not a big bother.

    Good luck going retro. :cool:



    snowbound
     
  25. ThunderZ

    ThunderZ Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2006
    Posts:
    2,459
    Location:
    North central Ohio, U.S.A.

    Who said you can never go home? :)

    One of these days I will reiinstall 4.x. Let my PC BSOD and try to track down the error code. Am pretty sure it is vsmon as well since it is the last thing to load\start on install. Thought perhaps it was something in SP3 but with you running SP2 I am sort of scratching my head. o_O
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.