Zone Alarm... ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!

[autopilot]

OMFG, i have had so much grief caused by ZoneAlarm Pro lately. I have no alternative but to ditch it, it just would not do what it was told to do. It's like a naughty child. Kept blocking ICS, connections from my Squeezebox3, PDA, messing with my Wifi network, etc, even though as far as i could tell it was all configured properly. Sometime ok, sometimes not, seemed to depend on what direction the wind was blowing. Even got to the point where i nearly RMA'd my Squeezebox due to my network set up being fine yet not being able connect.

So, has anyone else battled with ZA in this way?

Simply disabling and shutting down ZA did not help, stuff was still blocked that should not have been even after a reboot after removing it from my start up. To solve the problems, i have to completely uninstall ZA and restart. Can anyone explain why this is?

Anyway, what are decent alternatives then? Is there anything free worth bothing with? What is currently considered the gold standard for personal firewalls?

[aidanjt]

dialup

Anway.. just use the WinXP SP2 firewall, does the job.

[Lakeuk]

Was going to say buy a broadband router with built in harware firewall you'll never look back, pity you're on dial-up

[fuddam]

have used free version without much mishap for years and years.......

need a firewall to stop stuff going out far more than stuff coming in. It's when it goes out that the real damage is done

[iranu]

ZoneAlarm is on my list of software never to touch again. A router and BB would sort you but otherwise the only other option I can see is Kerio firewall - it takes a while for you to get it configured (it pops up a window every 5 mins for 2 weeks until it knows what to block and allow) it is free. I don't use it but my brother and a friend of his have had success.

[Elessar_VPR]

If you don't fancy Kerio, you can still find the old free version of Sygate floating around the web, been using it for a couple of years now and it's great (simple enough to just let it do its thing (with occasional user interaction) and enough options for the more sophisticated user. Just make sure you don't the new Symantec version.

[Paranoid2000]

Free firewalls to consider include Commodo, Jetico or NetVeda. Commercial firewalls include Kerio, Look'N'Stop, Outpost or Tiny (this is for experts only though). Comparisons and opinions on all these can be found at the Wilders' Other Firewalls forum - just make sure that you uninstall ZoneAlarm fully before trying anything else.

Another option is AppDefend (currently in beta) which has a simple "network access" control which, if coupled with a hardware firewall to block incoming traffic, would provide sufficient protection for most.

[Koolpc]

Mcfee has been recommended to me. I use Zonealarm but not 100% happy with it.

What router is the best to get with a firewall built in? Any links to brand etc?

[Paranoid2000]

Mcfee has been recommended to me. I use Zonealarm but not 100% happy with it.

McAfee do produce top-ranking anti-virus scanner but their firewall looked unimpressive when I last saw it (providing next to no information on current network activity). The best advice though is to try it for yourself - any half-decent product will allow you a trial period prior to purchase.

[Koolpc]

So, at the moment, Zonealarm is the best around?

[Paranoid2000]

So, at the moment, Zonealarm is the best around?

If your overriding criterion is simplicity, then ZoneAlarm is hard to beat. However there are plenty of other firewalls that offer more advanced features or present them better - and does ZA still have that phone home behaviour?

[baronvongogo]

Personally I love zonealarm never gave me any trouble so why change. Iv already read many reports on windows firewall having too many holes its not worth using.

Id recommend these both free:

Comodo:http://www.personalfirewall.trustix.com/

Jeitico is meant to be one of the most solid firewalls but extremely sensitive needs lots of configuring and not for the computer illiterate.

Jetico:http://www.jetico.com/

[ultim8um]

I have used Filesclab before and that works fine... Kinda reminds me of Sygate actually...
http://www.filseclab.com/eng/products/firewall.htm

[chrisg22]

So, has anyone else battled with ZA in this way?

Simply disabling and shutting down ZA did not help, stuff was still blocked that should not have been even after a reboot after removing it from my start up. To solve the problems, i have to completely uninstall ZA and restart. Can anyone explain why this is?

Probably THE best thing you can do, Zonealarm is, in my opinion, total rubbish.

A nice hardware firewall in your router + Windows Firewall will do ya, and is the best combination I have found anyway.

ChrisG

[Paranoid2000]

A nice hardware firewall in your router + Windows Firewall will do ya, and is the best combination I have found anyway.

A hardware firewall can provide good protection from incoming probes but neither it, nor Windows Firewall, can do a proper job in identifying, or blocking, any malware trying to connect out. A third party software firewall with good leaktest performance (see FirewallLeaktester) is needed to fill this gap.

[Kumagoro]

I found that zonealarm would sometimes just stop my internet connection from working
I have switched over to kerio now.

I dont like kerio much in simple mode it doesnt ask you anything which makes me wonder
how does it know what to block (as everything seems to work) in advanced mode it asks
you about everything especially about programs running programs. At first its ok but it
gets on your tits after a while, then again it shows you want your progs are doing and you
see the amount of times you deny it access to the net and it still works fine. Of course
you can turn that off so its not that big a deal. Havent bothered to try anything else.