ZoneAlarm Security Suite

[kbcs6dpm]

I'm thinking of getting ZoneAlarm Security Suite. Anyone tried it, or heard anything about it, good or bad?

[Chris W]

bleugh.

if you want free firewall software try kerio or sygate... much better than Zone Alarm IMO

[Paul]

Zone Alarm can suffer as badly as Nortons in the way that occasionally it can screw up and lock your system up to the point that you either cannot accesss the internet or you start getting weird errors. Personnally I would keep to seperate tools for each job you need doing as if one goes wrong you only have to deal with one problem and not a dozen knock on effects.

[homealone]

Originally Posted by monkeybreath

bleugh.

if you want free firewall software try kerio or sygate... much better than Zone Alarm IMO

you only get 'security suite' as a paid download. It is a combination of ZoneAlarm Pro and the Computer Associates 'etrust' antivirus prog.

I use it, i have had no problems - antivirus updates are usually daily.

I do know some people have problems with ZoneAlarm, so my advice would be to download the trial version & see how it works for you.

[Rob M]

If you're looking for an "all in one" program then I would strongly recommend BitDefender Pro.

[Mal]

Originally Posted by Paul

Zone Alarm can suffer as badly as Nortons in the way that occasionally it can screw up and lock your system up to the point that you either cannot accesss the internet or you start getting weird errors. Personnally I would keep to seperate tools for each job you need doing as if one goes wrong you only have to deal with one problem and not a dozen knock on effects.

I'd have to agree about getting separate tools, after what I experienced with Norton Internet Security.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by homealone

you only get 'security suite' as a paid download. It is a combination of ZoneAlarm Pro and the Computer Associates 'etrust' antivirus prog.

I use it, i have had no problems - antivirus updates are usually daily.

I do know some people have problems with ZoneAlarm, so my advice would be to download the trial version & see how it works for you.

E-trust is a very reliable AV tool, I used to run the free-version they produced before they went paid subscription ZA can be a very good firewall if used correctly but as Homer says people can get into difficulty with it. Sometimes the rules tables it uses corrupt and ZA will lock you up and it takes a bit of work to undo, these instances are rare though I'm happy to say.
Firewalls and AV tools are like many things in life, you have to try things before you make choices. See which tools suit your needs and you find reliable and easy to use. Everyone has their own views and experiences of software, we can only advise you of ours and hope that our "experiences" help you reach a good choice for you.

[homealone]

Originally Posted by Paul

E-trust is a very reliable AV tool, I used to run the free-version they produced before they went paid subscription ZA can be a very good firewall if used correctly but as Homer says people can get into difficulty with it. Sometimes the rules tables it uses corrupt and ZA will lock you up and it takes a bit of work to undo, these instances are rare though I'm happy to say.
Firewalls and AV tools are like many things in life, you have to try things before you make choices. See which tools suit your needs and you find reliable and easy to use. Everyone has their own views and experiences of software, we can only advise you of ours and hope that our "experiences" help you reach a good choice for you.

E-trust was, also, the 'trial' on the Microsoft security cd

[bopdude]

Originally Posted by Mal

I'd have to agree about getting separate tools, after what I experienced with Norton Internet Security.

Now thats the thing, I know NIS is a bit of a resource hog, but I don't recall having any major problems with it, what are all these problems people go on about ???

[purenuman]

Originally Posted by bopdude

Now thats the thing, I know NIS is a bit of a resource hog, but I don't recall having any major problems with it, what are all these problems people go on about ???

The main problem with Norton is that it is so entwined with everything that when it goes wrong it takes other software or Windows with it.....

[LSainsbury]

Originally Posted by bopdude

Now thats the thing, I know NIS is a bit of a resource hog, but I don't recall having any major problems with it, what are all these problems people go on about ???

Exactly! I've had most versions now - and never had any problems with it...

Lee

[Mal]

Originally Posted by bopdude

Now thats the thing, I know NIS is a bit of a resource hog, but I don't recall having any major problems with it, what are all these problems people go on about ???

I have had to uninstall it about 30-40 times because it developed some sort of error. This included the outbound detection just letting everything through, letting several viruses through (which was the last straw for me).

I've had to do several system restores and twice had to reinstall windows because of it.

[pop80_uk]

Ive used Zonealarms with Antivirus for over a year now and im very happy with it. It works well and has so far kept my PC clean and hacker free. Personally Id recommend.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Mal

I have had to uninstall it about 30-40 times because it developed some sort of error. This included the outbound detection just letting everything through, letting several viruses through (which was the last straw for me).

I've had to do several system restores and twice had to reinstall windows because of it.

Originally Posted by pop80_uk

Ive used Zonealarms with Antivirus for over a year now and im very happy with it. It works well and has so far kept my PC clean and hacker free. Personally Id recommend.

And those two posts sum up the situation with AV and firewall software, no two PCs are ever identical once they are used and because of this there will always be some PCs that suffer dificulties with software that other computers run without hitch. Personally I've used ZA, NIS, Kerio and E-trust software and I've found that they all have pros and cons, I've had to resolve ZA rules tables corruptions, NIS lockups, Kerio throwing occasional tantrums and E-trust false negative reports (waaaay in the past admittedly). This is the reason why I always say "horses for courses" and that it all comes down to what each individual user is comfortable with and finds easy to use.

[Downloads]

I use the Zone Alarm Suite and it works perfect for me. Doesn't slow your system down, have had no problems whatsoever, daily virus updates and has caught any viruses or spyware from webpages and emails etc before they have got to my system. Perfect.