ZoneAlarm - which version?

Hi all,

I am putting a new firewall on my laptop and have tried several and have decided to stick with what I am most familiar with - ZoneAlarm. However, the new free ZA forces you to download this huge suite as a trial or whatever. Is there a version preference for some of you? Maybe one that's lighter than the others and doesn't include the other stuff? Could I then upgrade to the latest updates from that version without installing the bloat?

Thanks so much!

 

You can't have the latest version without the bloat unfortunately. Why not use Comodo installed in basic mode? That shouldn't hassle you and should give equivalent protection to ZA free.

 

I tend to agree. However, ZA is an excellent product and even if the resource consunption will be above average, it may not produce the overall bloat (as in performance lag) on your system. You have to try it yourself - but then again, the OP may already know this, since he/she is/was a ZA user.

If a firewall is needed and it has to be a ZA then I would use nothing but the Pro version. It is a closest thing to a firewall, other variants are focusing on AV or AS part.

(Is this going to be another Comodo-fanboy-praising hijacked thread?)
For simple browsing/downloading, I tend to agree with this suggestion as well. But if you are a P2P user on a fast connection by any chance, steer clear of Comodo!

Cheers,

 

When you say "Pro" - do you mean "Free" and not the "PLUS"?

Thanks for the replies! Bring 'em on.

 

This one. It is a payware.

 

Seer, You wrote that only PRO offers the true firewall and the others focus on AV/AS. Are you sure about that? I am using Zonealarm FREE, which offers ZERO AV/AS - it's nothing but a firewall. Look at the comparison between PRO and FREE here - http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/znalm/comparison.jsp

I'm not so much trying to figure out which product of theirs to use - just which version as I understand the latest version downloads are very bloaty. You can download versions years old at the ZA site.

 

Is it hard drive space you're concerned about? ZA incorporates the free version in the larger multi-version installer, but once installed the free version shouldn't use more resources AFAIK. Can anyone else confirm? By the way, have you tried OA Free? I'm an old ZA Free user and the OA GUI made sense to me right away.

 

I would recommend ZoneAlarm Pro it works fine & although it boots a little slower it is not all that bad. It has a typeof hips sufficient for most users & offers great protection. The antispyware module works pretty nice also although it is not as good as the very best it still offers enough protection & is getting better with each release. Comodo is just too much for most users I don't have time to babysit a firewall & if you answer wrong to the hips module then who knows what might happen. My internet access disappeared until I got rid of the thing. The very latest version of ZoneAlarm Pro seems to me to be a very decent product.

 

The Pro version will allow more control ("Advanced controls" in the comparison) over firewall. So a tighter protection can be achieved. afaik a free version has a basic allow/deny firewall only.

 

It also depends on the OS of your PC.

The ZoneAlarm Suite under XP has some features that are not implemented under the Vista version.

I run Vista, and found that the ZoneAlarm Antivirus product had the best feature set. I like the Program Control, which is not available under the free ZoneAlarm product.

 

I don't need all the advanced firewall stuff. The basic firewall is fine for me. Does anybody know if you can install the earlier versions that weren't so bloated and then just install the security patches, etc?

 

My favorite ZA free was version 4.5.594.0 which I used on my desktop computer until about eight months ago. After I got my laptop and discovered that the 4.5 version wouldn't run on it (I assume it did not support SATA drives?) I moved up to ZA free version 6.1.744.001 on both computers. From what I have read versions past it had alot more problems with bugs. It seems to run well and I think it is about 5mb smaller than the 7.x versions. Also, as far as I know it isn't possible to only install security patches and stay with an older version. When you update you get the new version.

I will probably never move past the version of ZA free I use now. If I decide I ever need to ditch this version for any reason I will most likely move to another firewall (Online Armor looks like my 1st choice right now).

Anyway as far as ZA goes I would recommend version 6.1.744.001. Hope this helps.

 

You can go to this site to download the older free versions of ZA : http://www.oldversion.com/

You can't download a patch to plug the security holes in the earlier versions of ZA.

 

There are enough good free firewalls around to make spending money on a pay version look like a waste IMO. Use Comodo 3 with D+ off. It works like a charm around here.

 

You can also download many (though not all) of the older versions at ZoneAlarm's site. ZoneAlarm Versions

 

Why exactly the av version over pro for Vista?

 

Firewall developers do not provide "patches" unlike AV or AS programs. If there is a flaw or "hole" in the firewall code, the developer usually issues another program version. Firewall programs do not use files such as the familiar DAT files for AV programs which are constantly updated. There is no "blacklist" or "whitelist" for firewall programs so anything relating to updating lists does not apply. The patches that you often get for the OS updates and other programs are most likely provided to allow you to update something without having to reinstall or replace the entire product. Imagine forcing every Windows global user to reinstall Windows with a new program version every week (or even day).

 

According to this, on Vista, ZAPro has no AntiVirus but has AntiSpyware removal, but not AntiSpyware blocking; ZAAV has AntiVirus but not AntiSpyware, although the extended database seems to include some AntiSpyware.

 

Pro has the privacy and identity features that the av does not. Just wondering what your reasons were. Thanks!!

 

Again, not completely on Vista.

 

However, I ran ZoneAlarmInternetSecuritySuite (ZAISS) when I ran XP.

 

be aware of one small detail: ZLS Setup_45_xx.exe refers to the firewall only; ZAP Setup_55_xx.exe refers to zone alarm pro software. I have a firewall only free that is about 4.5mb and zone pro only (no av) that grows from 8 mb to 15mb (per version).

 

Hello,
I have recently installed ZA Free in a test setup - only firewall, no bloat.
What version are you talking about, Gerard?
Mrk

P.S. I'd go for Sygate or Kerio 2.1.5.

 

I check out the users' reviews on download.com- I am not sure about the version/product, but in one recent review someone stated that ZoneAlarm would not allow you to change the HOSTS file.

Can anyone confirm or deny this ?

 

Nope, can't confirm this here... (= deny)

Fax