Long time not seen here ZoneAlarm releases announcements, so here you have : Whats new: 4.3.260 Updated Security Engines Update Firewall Driver UI enhancements Added new feature Safe Search Security fix and stability fixes Enhanced support for migration from ZoneAlarm Legacy ZoneAlarm release history and version information
Nice, I wonder if they will be switching to sophos malware engine since kaspersky is no more. Checkpoints harmony uses sophos.
Indeed Sophos although nowadays it plays a secondary role compared to the other checkpoint proprietary engines.
Holy crap Fax, I didn't know you were still active on this forum, long time no see. And yesterday I watched a malware testing video on YouTube, and ZA failed to block certain ransomware samples, quite disappointing.
Indeed here I am . Nice to see you here too! I am not sure which version was tested in this YouTube video but the latest ZA extreme NG is really a champion. Impressive... Cheers, Fax
I haven't seen you on WSF for years? And I watched the video again, it was ZoneAlarm Free AV that was being tested, and I'm not sure if Win Defender somehow interfered with it causing it to miss certain ransomware samples. I would probably use ZA Free because Win Defender is getting on my nerves, I hate the GUI and it somehow caused a slowdown of webpage loading. But ZA will probably also use more RAM and I don't really need the firewall part. The last time I used ZA Firewall was back in 2010, I think.
I was waiting for ZA to rise back from the ashes. ... and it is back, alive and kicking. It took time but it was worth the wait. For the moment I would personally avoid the free version. Too many shields disabled. Yes, it can be a RAM hungry tool (between 300 to 600MB) on the Extreme version. This is by design and tends to maximise its use, if you have less RAM it will use less and viceversa. Some RAM optimisation are undergoing and we will probably see them in next version(s). But there will be no miracles, its a sophisticated tool under the skin and needs RAM. CPU usage is normally low, so you don't feel it heavy on the system. Very little, if any, settings to play with. So, if you like to have hundred options in AV you will not like it or you need to move to its big brother (Checkpoint Harmony Endpoint). Cheers, Fax
I'm considering it. You can see Shadowra's recent test here if interested : https://odysee.com/@Shadowra:f/ZoneAlarm-NextGen-Extreme-Security-2024:4
The free version doesn't look bad, but it's simply an AV + firewall without the behavior blocking stuff, so I understand what you mean. And RAM usage is a big deal for me on my 8GB laptop, so that's why I stuck with Win Defender.
The problem is that Windows 10 and Vivaldi use quite a lot of RAM too. Windows 8.1 was much better when it comes to this.
ZoneAlarm NextGen updated from 4.3.260.19961 to 4.3.283.19962 No release notes yet. Probably minor bug fixes.
FYI. Computer Worms an Uncomfortable Truth by cruelsister: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKinOXNOqLQ
Well, as usual, you get reviews of all kinds. Previous linked review was good, last ZA partially missed one sample. I would not judge a product based such limited and targeted approaches. If ever ZA decides to get tested by reputable organisations with larger samples and for a number of months then we will have a more solid assessment. Meanwhile these youtube tests should be read with a grain of salt. I am afraid there is no perfect security solution as everyone here knows by now, its only about users feeling secure...most reputable security tools do a decent job
