Average Rating: 
Rating:  - zone alarm pro 3. great program.
I bought the retail box, version 2, which included a free upgrade to version 3. Also, 12 months of free updates.Within 15 minutes of installing it, I was being probed by
someone on the other side of the world.
Using the reverse lookup, I found out the location of the prober. A little more research shows the people probing my pc were known
spamming websites/ISPs. Another great feature was the outbound port blocking.
I found various programs that wanted to go out to the web and connect to websites, all on their own.
These were not simply programs with auto-update features.
(Who knows how much of my personal information was disclosed via spyware or theftware, prior to installing zone alarm pro). So far, it's a great program.
Rating: - You're not really secure online without this!
The mediocre ratings that I see about this product really has me scratching my head, since I have found Zone Alarm Pro to be nothing less than an invaluable firewall that performs as advertised. When I first found out about Zone Alarm (about a year and1/2 ago), I was using a popular competitors version (think anti-virus software maker) for my Internet security needs. After hearing the buzz about the superior protection that I was supposedly missing out on, I decided to download the trial version and test it out at the various security web sites that are scattered across the Internet.What I found out really surprised me. As it turned out, my current firewall software wasn't offering me the protection that I had hoped for. It did a pretty good job for the most part, but it came up short in a few key areas, such as the ability to "stealth my computer's ports (In plain talk, this simply means that my computer can "hide from those who mean to do it harm" so to speak, while online). Zone Alarm, on the other hand passed with flying colors. My ports were now hidden from prying eyes. Needless to say, my old firewall was shown the door. Since this time my computer has been as dependable as it ever was (show me an operating system that doesn't act up from time to time), and I can honestly say that I'm quite pleased with the peace of mind that Zone Alarm has given me. No software is "foolproof", but this one sure comes pretty close. I give it my highest recommendation, and I feel no computer should be without it.
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.
|
