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Trying out ZoneAlarm Free

On the recommendation of PC Magazine’s reviews, which make the assertion that the built-in Windows Firewall really isn’t adequate protection, I decided to investigate a free firewall solution.

I have to admit, I’m not terribly keen on the idea of adding more software to the arsenal, since I already run four solid pieces of defense software and a fifth for cleanup of what gets by. System slowdown and popup annoyance are already at the tipping point with these, but on the other hand, the more I see about security out there, the more vulnerable I feel and you really do need to protect against each various kind of attack. I just figured Windows Firewall already had that covered, but as usual, their products are pretty good and oriented toward staying out of the way, while other free tools tend to be as good or better and more intrusive, but manageable. That is, as long as you check their reviews and configure them properly.

After I researched Comodo, Online Armor and ZoneAlarm, I liked PC Magazine’s hands-on description of ZoneAlarm best, especially after trying Comodo and just feeling it was asking me too much too often, and not related to firewalling but actual running of programs. I have PC Tools ThreatFire for behavioral defense already and I don’t need another tool there.

I installed ZoneAlarm and it’s pretty much how I remembered from the old days when it first came out. I had to use the custom install process to tell it not to install browser toolbars or mess with my search settings. I also got a lot of prompting until I figured out that I should have gone with the automatic settings for the security advisor in the setup. If you go manual, it’ll tell you about every program and give you advice on whether to let it through, while the automatic setting goes with the recommendations without prompting you every time. This is a good setting.

ZoneAlarm by Check Point – Award winning PC Protection, Antivirus, Firewall, Anti-Spyware, Identity Protection, and much more.

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