Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Must Have!!
I never thought about a firewall until I got a cable modem connection for the Internet. (Forgive me if I worded this wrong as I'm not a computer tech kind of person.) After reading an article in a PC magazine about keeping hackers out of your computer, I decided it was past time for a firewall. ZoneAlarm Pro 3 was recommended in the same PC magazine so I bought it. (I didn't download it from the Internet, I bought the boxed version.) I did worry if it would get along with my Norton Antivirus software and Norton Utilities that were already installed on my computer. No problem! They don't interfere with each other at all.I love this software! It is easy to install and easy to understand for us novices. It also works - very well. I can't begin to count the number of times I have been "pinged" every time I go online. It blocks all attempts and tells me, in a pop-up window, the type of access attempt and the originating IP. It tells me when a program on my computer is trying to access the Internet. It has pop-up ad blocking, cookie control, hacker tracing, zone-based blocking and more. Without a firewall, you might be amazed at all the info the outside world can get to on your computer. Install ZoneAlarm Pro 3, and notice the difference in the test. With ZoneAlarm Pro 3 I passed these tests with flying colors! Other reviews of this software listed here are less than complimentary and I don't understand why. I have never had any problems with ZoneAlarm Pro 3. Keep in mind, however, that I bought the boxed version, not the downloadable version; that may be the difference. This software comes with 1-year free online support. After that you have to pay for each additional year but you will need to do this in order to get the updates. Again, I recommend ZoneAlarm Pro 3 and please note that it is Windows XP compatible.
Rating:  - Beware of potential problems
I have been using Norton Personal Firewall 2001 since late 2000, and am generally happy with it. But since ZoneAlarm has been getting lots and lots of positive press coverage, I thought I should give it a try, esp. after my Norton LiveUpdate subscription expired.I downloaded the free version of ZoneAlarm from Download.com. The same site also offers the full version for a limited-time trial. When you are at download.com, you'll notice that the full release (Pro 3) is recommended by only 1/3 of the user-reviewers. The free release (2.x) has a much higher approval rating. Anyway, the installation of the free version (2.x) went well on my computer, and it didn't require a reboot of my Win2k system. I disabled Norton Personal Firewall 2001 to avoid any potential conflicts. The first 15 minutes of life with ZoneAlarm 2.x was good, as the program is very easy to configure and the interface is visually pleasing if a little bit confusing to computer newbies. (I consider myself a PC expert.) However, when I came back from a 2-hour lunch break, I found my Internet connection (over cable modem) no longer alive. I had to reboot the computer to regain the connection. At first I thought it was just a fluke with my cable modem. But soon this happened again, in the middle of surfing the Web. And again. I disabled CookieCop 2 (a free privacy guarding utility from pcmag.com), but to no avail. I was baffled. Recalling some of the negative comments regarding ZoneAlarm Pro 3 at download.com, I suspected ZoneAlarm 2.x was at fault. I exited the program, and sure enough, my Internet connection did not break... until the following day. Eventually, I discovered that even when you exit ZoneAlarm, it still keeps a small monitoring program in the background, and only when you uninstall ZoneAlarm completely does that program get stopped. I did that, and my Internet connection has been trouble-free ever since. I'm sure ZoneAlarm can be a good product. But after this rather unpleasant experience, I decided to stick with Norton's product and plan to upgrade later this year to the 2003 version. I'm glad I read the user reviews on download.com, or it would have taken longer to pinpoint what killed my Internet access. So, before you purchase this product, try out the free version as well as the limited-time trial of the Pro version. Run it for at least two weeks before considering buying it.
Rating:  - Firewalls 101: ZoneAlarm Pro lives up to the hype.
After reading the negative reviews regarding ZoneAlarm Pro 3, I must conclude that the majority of the individuals responsible for them either lack a basic understanding of firewalls, didn't know what they were doing, or experienced software conflicts resulting from multiple programs trying to do the same task at the same time!It is important to realize that, by their very nature, every firewall is likely to block access to a legitimate website or program. This is not a bug, but rather the firewall doing its job - and doing it well. If all you need is a basic yet powerful firewall, then by all means download the free ZoneAlarm from the Zone Labs website. You will not find a better deal anywhere. For more comprehensive protection, consider upgrading to another ZoneAlarm product, or buying one of the firewalls offered by Norton or McAfee, for example. In the case of ZoneAlarm, there are two "premium" versions available: ZoneAlarm Plus and ZoneAlarm Pro. Both offer enhanced protection against e-mail malware such as trojans, the ability to trace the origin of a hacker attack, and access to technical support via e-mail. The Pro version also offers Privacy Controls. Frankly, there's no good reason to spend $39.99 on ZoneAlarm Plus when you can own the Pro version for less money. Those users running Norton Antivirus won't need the added e-mail protection offered by ZoneAlarm Pro. And discovering that someone in South Korea, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil or California is trying to access your computer is amusing, but the novelty of this feature wears off rather quickly. So the question becomes: Are the Privacy Control features worth the money? Maybe. ZoneAlarm Pro does a great job blocking annoying pop-up ads, but there are other programs that accomplish this as well. Yet, having a single program handling both firewall and privacy duties is desirable, as you avoid possible conflicts which might arise from multiple programs. By the way, having a pop-up killer running simultaneously with ZoneAlarm Pro's Privacy Controls is asking for trouble. Setup for all versions of ZoneAlarm is painless and takes less than five minutes. If you opt for the Pro version, I suggest you turn the Privacy Controls off during the initial setup. This will enable you to identify any issues which might result from the firewall itself. Also, if you are running Windows XP, it might be a good idea to disable the operating system's native Internet Connection Firewall. (You can run ZoneAlarm along with a hardware firewall without problems, though). After you've had a chance to get familiar with the firewall and its features, set the Privacy Control settings to Medium, and see how things go. With the Privacy Controls on, some websites might not display properly (e.g., animated e-greetings might not do anything!), or access is denied. You can easily customize a given website's privacy settings from the firewall's main control panel, though, so that only those sites you trust are allowed to place cookies on your PC or display pop-up and banner ads. Overall, ZoneAlarm Pro's Privacy Controls are useful and work as expected. Support for ZoneAlarm Pro could be better, and this is the reason I am not awarding it five stars. In my experience, issues involving the firewall itself are addressed promptly and in a satisfactory manner. The same cannot be said about issues involving the Privacy Control functions. Thus, it is imperative that you take the time to learn how to customize settings for individual websites. Doing so will allow you to take care of most of the problems you might encounter in this area. Zone Labs knowledge base is helpful, but far from comprehensive. The help files are quite good, and you can also download a more detailed User's Manual from the Zone Labs website. Regardless of the firewall you install, make sure to test it by visiting the Gibson Research Corporation's Shields Up!
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