Questions about Zone Alarm Pro

Gigi · 07-12-03, 11:43 AM

One of the stores here (Futureshop) is offering Zone Alarm Pro 3.0 for just $10 CAD and I was wondering if it was worth the upgrade from the free version. I checked on the Zone Alarm site and the next version (4.0) has already been released, but for $50 USD which is about $69 CAD. Does anyone know if there is a huge difference between the two versions? I'm using Windows XP home so I don't think I have such demanding needs. Also, I have heard that the Pro version is not as good as the free version. Anyone care to comment?

Thanks,

Gigi

wildcat · 07-12-03, 12:51 PM

The Pro version is More configurable. Unless you are gonna start tweaking its not worth it. Besides if your current one works why mess with it?

FrstdOne · 07-12-03, 01:09 PM

As wildcat said, it's more configurable. If you are very tight about security it's definitely worth it. I was using ZA for over a year and I've noticed an ever increasing amount of effort required on my part which became too time consuming. I lost a lot of the things the web had to offer, many pages would not load up properly and a lot of the software I use would not connect to the Internet even when granted full permission. The only way they would connect was by shutting it down. I'm now using 3 firewalls to take the place of what ZA did in one, XP's (never count on Microsoft for security), the one in my router (only does packet filtering), and one from TrendMicro. If you go to http://www.grc.com they have a couple of utilities that will test your firewall out. ZA is without a doubt the best but you give up a lot of funcionality for it. Two final thoughts on firewalls. One, Symantec's is second to ZA but eats up way too many resources. Two, a software firewall is fine but once the firewall has done its job, a hacker has had the ability to get to your system. If you're truly concerned about security, think hardware firewall (much more expensive though).

Gigi · 07-12-03, 04:39 PM

Thanks wildcat & FrstdOne for your replies. As I'm just an ordinary PC user without extraordinary security needs, I think I will just stick with the free version of Zone Alarm and save myself money and hassles. But I do have one more question though: how do hardware firewalls work?

Thanks,

Gigi

Proving_Grounds · 07-12-03, 06:02 PM

You need the PRO version if you are running a local LAN, and using nothing but ZoneAlarm to secure the network. The free version would not secure ICS (Internet Connection Sharing).

However, if you need to run an LAN at home it is better to buy a router than using software to maintain network security.

wildcat · 07-12-03, 07:15 PM

a hardware firewall basically sits between your modem and computer. Just another box that sits there that filtures the data. Once you set it up ya forget about it type thing. Ya just have to make sure your supports your type of connect aka ppoe ras or a few others out there.

FrstdOne · 07-12-03, 11:20 PM

Also, a hardware firewall very commonly requires you to work with the command line rather than a GUI.

Gigi · 07-13-03, 08:13 AM

Thanks for the explanations. I don't think hardware firewalls are something I'd like to mess with! :p

wildcat · 07-13-03, 12:49 PM

well the linksys router is actually a webpage you go to and type in your info once ya do that its all set to go