Firewalls -- is Zone Alarm still pretty good?

[circusboy01]

Years ago. On my first computer. I was told that the best Firewall I could have was Zone Alarm. Are they still ranked pretty high? Are they considered better than what I'm using now. Windows Firewall. Is there a free version. Thanks CB

 

[DelJo63]

Qualitative rankings change just about as fast as they can be published - -
and then there's the issue of what criteria is being used?

First, the OS/Edition of your system matters. Win/7 FW is quite reasonable.

Personally, my XP/Pro is running with Sunbelt Personal FW and behaves very much
like Windows 7; when something wants to launch a privileged program or to update a program, it barks and I get to say yea/nea. The downside here is Sunbelt as been bought out so what's available from them may be a moving target.

Comodo is a good FW too

and I believe that Zone Alarm was the foundation to one of these

you will get several replies on this topic

 

[learninmypc]

Years ago. On my first computer. I was told that the best Firewall I could have was Zone Alarm. Are they still ranked pretty high? Are they considered better than what I'm using now. Windows Firewall. Is there a free version. Thanks CB

My first firewall was Zone Alarm till a techie told me it was too bloated & I should go to http://www.pctools.com/firewall/ I've been using it for several months or more & no problems. It has pop ups asking you to ok or not the program you're installing..
As the other poster said, you'll get other responses.
I've been told the Win 7 firewall is pretty good.

 

[circusboy01]

Qualitative rankings change just about as fast as they can be published - -
and then there's the issue of what criteria is being used?

First, the OS/Edition of your system matters. Win/7 FW is quite reasonable.

Personally, my XP/Pro is running with Sunbelt Personal FW and behaves very much
like Windows 7; when something wants to launch a privileged program or to update a program, it barks and I get to say yea/nea. The downside here is Sunbelt as been bought out so what's available from them may be a moving target.

Comodo is a good FW too

and I believe that Zone Alarm was the foundation to one of these

you will get several replies on this topic

I'm running Windows 7 So, I guess I'm good with what I got CB

 

[circusboy01]

My first firewall was Zone Alarm till a techie told me it was too bloated & I should go to http://www.pctools.com/firewall/ I've been using it for several months or more & no problems. It has pop ups asking you to ok or not the program you're installing..
As the other poster said, you'll get other responses.
I've been told the Win 7 firewall is pretty good.

I forgot all about having PC tools on the computer I had right before this one. Or, else I probably would have had it on this one. No matter 2 votes, so far, for windows 7 FW. So I'll probably stick with it.

 

[mike1959]

Since I had Windows 7, (the first week it was released), I have only used Windows Firewall, and Microsoft Security Essentials A/V. No trouble so far, seems good enough for a free program.
If you want an "in depth" test of A/V programs, you might have a look at a website that just tests A/V programs. The reports they give are in .pdf format, just click on the orange 'report English' link, on the line 'Whole product dynamic test'.
The website URL is; http://www.av-comparatives.org/en/comparativesreviews/dynamic-tests
* Be sure to have only one Anti-virus program active at any time.
** I also use 'Threatfire' (by PC tools) as an extra layer of security.

 

[circusboy01]

Since I had Windows 7, (the first week it was released), I have only used Windows Firewall, and Microsoft Security Essentials A/V. No trouble so far, seems good enough for a free program.
If you want an "in depth" test of A/V programs, you might have a look at a website that just tests A/V programs. The reports they give are in .pdf format, just click on the orange 'report English' link, on the line 'Whole product dynamic test'.
The website URL is; http://www.av-comparatives.org/en/comparativesreviews/dynamic-tests
* Be sure to have only one Anti-virus program active at any time.
** I also use 'Threatfire' (by PC tools) as an extra layer of security.

Thanks. Another good reason to stick with the Windows Firewall
I'll check out that link. CB

 

[DelJo63]

just keep your focus:

A firewall is not an antivirus application; they perform different services altogether.​

Yes, there are application suits that package both of them together,
but for my money, I like them seperated - - I can pick and choose as I please.

 

[circusboy01]

just keep your focus:

A firewall is not an antivirus application; they perform different services altogether.​

Yes, there are application suits that package both of them together,
but for my money, I like them seperated - - I can pick and choose as I please.

L don't have a combo Firewall/Antivirus, and I'm not planning to get one.
Ive got Windows Firewall,Avast Ccleaner, Malwarebytes, Superantispyware, Spybot S&D, and Spywareblaster. But, thanks for your concern CB

 

[bzbrant]

Zonealarm BSOD with VSDATANT.SYS

had to remove Zonealarm Extreme Security on Windows 7 64 bit after many Blue Screen of Death crashes and finally installed McAfee, now have no problems and all is running well... ZA support was not helpful at all, and they were not willing to refund the subscription... I would not recommend ZA... they did not know about the VSDATANT.SYS problem and were not able to provide any assistance

 

[learninmypc]

had to remove Zonealarm Extreme Security on Windows 7 64 bit after many Blue Screen of Death crashes and finally installed McAfee, now have no problems and all is running well... ZA support was not helpful at all, and they were not willing to refund the subscription... I would not recommend ZA... they did not know about the VSDATANT.SYS problem and were not able to provide any assistance

I've been told the W 7 firewall its self is pretty good, . I had ZA on my XP a long time ago but dumped it in favor of PC Tools firewall +.

 

[Tedster]

I haven;t used a 3rd party firewall in YEARS. I use windows firewall with M$ security essentials. I really can't even remember the last time my system got viri. It's been a long time.

 

[WinXPert]

I am using Windows Firewall on 15 PCs (Win XP) without problems, no plan of using a third party software.

 

[circusboy01]

had to remove Zonealarm Extreme Security on Windows 7 64 bit after many Blue Screen of Death crashes and finally installed McAfee, now have no problems and all is running well... ZA support was not helpful at all, and they were not willing to refund the subscription... I would not recommend ZA... they did not know about the VSDATANT.SYS problem and were not able to provide any assistance

L had it on my XP a few years back. Had no problems with it. L now have Windows 7 64 bit. So thanks for the warning Ray

 

[Route44]

ZA support was not helpful at all, and they were not willing to refund the subscription... I would not recommend ZA... they did not know about the VSDATANT.SYS problem and were not able to provide any assistance

Wow! I have lost count how many times in our BSOD forum vsdatant.sys has come up as the primary reason for many people's system crashes.

 

[matrix86]

had to remove Zonealarm Extreme Security on Windows 7 64 bit after many Blue Screen of Death crashes and finally installed McAfee...

Oh dear. What on Earth possessed you to go with McAfee? Even my dad's company dropped them, lol. Not to mention it's a pain in the butt to complete get rid of the program should you decide to uninstall it and get something else. And the one time I got a virus, McAfee was useless. It old me it caught the virus, and when I went to open McAfee, the virus prevented it from opening, and then my OS starting screwing up. Great job McAfee. /sarcasm

 

[SKYSTAR]

no i dont think