JoDaddy Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 I bought ZoneAlarm firewall last year, and when my subscription expired, I decided to buy the new version with antivirus protection built in. It was only $20, and for both an antivirus and firewall I thought it was quite a steal. This is straight from ZoneAlarm, and just gives you a short overview of what it does * Easy-to-use firewall blocks hackers and other unknown threats. - Intrusion Blocking systematically identifies hackers and blocks access attempts. - Stealth Mode automatically makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Internet. - Automatic Program Configuration provides safety and simplicity by automatically configuring programs. Automatically decides whether to allow or deny Internet access to individual programs. - Expert Controls give savvy users precise control over security settings. * Stops viruses and worms, and protects against emerging viruses before they attack. - "Set and Forget" antivirus protection automatically scans emails and files for viruses and removes them for you. - Automatic updates protect you from the latest known security threats without you needing to remember to update your antivirus solution. - Award-winning antivirus technology secures your PC against known viruses, worm, Trojans and identity-theft tools such as keystroke logging programs. - Sophisticated logic detects unknown, emerging viruses even before they've been defined?so you're protected at the very beginning of a new virus outbreak. You must uninstall any antivirus programs before using the antivirus feature, or you have to switch it off. If you choose to continue using your antivirus ZoneAlarm will monitor them to make sure they are updated. Installation was very straightforward. If you choose to use the antivirus, you must restart the computer. After restarting a short tutorial appears that steps you through the program. Here are a few screen shots of mine. ZoneAlarm has really improved their methods of blocking programs. They have compiled a list of programs that are safe to use, and if you put it in Auto mode, it will use this list to decide whether or not to allow programs to have access to the internet. I prefer to use the manual method. The alerts have become more user friendly, and include ZoneAlarm's recomendation. The main overview page provides you with basic information on the status of your computer. The Pro version also allows you to change the colors. There are 10 different color schemes, some nice, others only OK. The firewall page allows you to fine tune the firewall to your settings. Each "Zone" you connect to can be configured separately, allowing you to set how you connect to it. If you have specific settings you would like to implement, you can put them in the Expert Zone. In the Programs tab you can control what mode the firewall takes in allowing Programs access to the internet. You have a wide range of program control, even to specifying which component of each program may access the internet. You can also set how the firewall reacts when a program tries to access the internet. You can also set an automatic lock for the firewall. Each program can be separately configured, allowing you to change the settings later on. Under the components tab you can set the options for how each component has access. The antivirus is very easy to keep updated. The scan runs in the background, and I did not notice any sluggishness in my system, something that I cannot say about Norton's. ZoneAlarm also offers email protection (even without the antivirus) These change how often ZoneAlarm notifies you about different events. A log is kept letting you see the past events. I've been really impressed with ZoneAlarm in the past, but had a few problems with accessing shared computers. I have had no problems so far with this one, however. I recommend this product to everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mipra Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 thanks a lot for the review. Now...all I need is the comparison between this anti-virus to another one. Or maybe, try to put it head to head with another antivirus such as Panda (no...not NAV :) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoDaddy Posted June 1, 2004 Author Share Posted June 1, 2004 Being more of an ametuer when it comes to testing AV, I'll leave that to someone else. Glad you liked it, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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