The New Kid on the Block--ZoneAlarm Security Suite
Written: Feb 17 '05 (Updated Feb 17 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Stealth Technology. Easy LAN setup. New logic reduces the need to "train" program access permissions
Cons: Like all new programs, a few bugs, but nothing major.
The Bottom Line: Great firewall. Anti-virus. Superior email protection, including blocking Phishing emails. Cookie Control. Net Blocking. Secure password storage. It has it all!
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| happy2000usa's Full Review: Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2005 F... |
Everyone, it seems, is coming out with suites to protect us. I've tried most of them, discarding them to use a group of individual programs I liked better. When Zone Labs released their Security Suite in November, my first reaction was, "And here we go again." Not so. In addition to packing the same--and more--punch in a program half the size of their competitors' products, Zone Labs has added enough unique features to set themselves firmly on the top of the heap.
The Threat
In the not too distant past, home users didn't worry about security. Before the Internet, one didn't worry about hackers and viruses. The only way you got a virus was from a disk a "friend" gave you.
Even when we attached our powerful 2400 baud modem to the Internet, who worried? At that speed, downloads took days, not minutes, and so your rarely did it. Hackers? They were after government and corporate computers, not yours. We all chuckled when a hacker transferred a few million from the Department of Defense to an ecology group's bank account, but why worry? There was nothing on our home computer of interest to hackers who--in those days--were more playful than nefarious.
As modem speed grew faster, the threats grew. The number of new viruses started increasing at a blistering pace. (Last year, there were over 12,000 new ones, three times the new viruses introduced the year before.) Even worse, hackers began to take interest in home computers. They wanted personal data. They wanted your address book. (Some companies pay a lot of cash for valid email addresses.) Those bent on initiating a denial of service attack wanted control of your machine. They did this by placing trojans on our computers. The new threat is they want your identity. (30% of all fraud reports now involve identity theft.)
So here we are. Many of us are surfing the net with broadband. While making it a much more pleasant experience than the slow page loads with dial-up, it has made the hackers' job easier. They can upload a virus or trojan onto your computer in the blink of an eye. They can download your personal data in the time it takes you to reach for your coffee cup. The only solution is a good firewall.
But that's just the start. You need a good anti-virus program that's updated frequently to stop the latest threats. (That, my friends, means updated daily.) You need a program to check your email to stop trojans and viruses, either as an attachment or embedded in the message itself. I haven't mentioned spyware or adware, but you need to stop that as well. They act like a mini-trojan, sending your surfing habits and/or personal data back to their mother. To do that, they slow your computer speed to a crawl.
You also need a program to deal with SPAM. Also, if you're like me with kids in the house, you need a program to control their surfing habits or, more likely, block those sites that would like to attract their attention--or take advantage of typing errors. (Whitehouse.Gov and Whitehouse.Com are decidedly different sites.)
You have your choice. You can go to your local computer store and buy a bag full of software, or your can buy one piece of software that does it all. While the latter simplifies your life considerably by consolidating programs, my experience has been that when buying bundled software, I'm often saddled with substandard software that couldn't compete as standalone products. ZoneAlarm Security Suite is the exception to that rule.
Heart and Soul
The "heart" of the suite is the ZoneAlarm firewall, one I consider the best available. I have written a separate review of Zone Alarm Pro 5--the Suite's firewall--should you care to peek. http://www.epinions.com/content_173793250948
In a nutshell, this firewall offers active, passive and manual protection. The active protection blocks incoming and outgoing data. The passive protection stops your computer from responding to "pings" from potential intruders, thereby rendering it invisible. Your computer is--in net jargon--in a stealth mode. The program also offers a panic mode that lets you manually stop all inbound and outbound traffic.
Over the years since it was first released, Zone Labs has labored mightily to improve their ZoneAlarm firewall. They have responded to the current threats as well as strived to make it as user friendly as possible. The two most significant changes came in versions 4 and 5. Version 4 took the heartburn out configuring the firewall to accept a LAN, making it totally automatic. Version 5 added an automatic function to grant access approval to programs that needed access to the web.
The net result is something close to a program you can install and forget. During installation, it checks for a LAN and sets it up for you. It also "trains" the programs it finds on your computer, determining which ones should access the net, which ones have no business online, and which ones should ask for permission each time they need access. What I found was particularly interesting was the first time I booted one of my programs to access the net, I got the standard placard asking for permission. The next time I used the program, it suggested I should "remember" the answer so ZoneAlarm would no longer bug me about it. (It had even pre-checked the "remember" box.)
That's not to say the program is totally automated and the user is removed from the loop. All aspects of the program, except the basic firewall, come with "on" and "off" selections. Those of us with pocket protectors can still use the "expert controls" to fine tune and adjust the program to fit our particular needs.
If the firewall is the "heart" of the ZoneAlarm Suite, the anti-virus program is the soul. Computer Associates developed it. I used their products years ago, before they seemed to drift off to corporate protection--to the detriment of we home users. Now, I'm pleased to announce, they're back. Computer Associates' Vet anti-virus, which has won many awards, is included in the ZoneAlarm Security Suite.
As with the rest of the suite, it's a "turn key" operation. After you install the suite, the anti-virus updates itself then checks your computer. After that, it checks daily for updates with no operator input--and no separate program to manage this like the Symantec approach. After installation, it is "set" to virus check your computer weekly, but you can alter the frequency and time. I do it every morning while I'm asleep.
What really impresses me is how active the anti-virus program is. It checks each file opened, including web pages, and attacks any virus found. It also checks incoming and outgoing email. ...And guess what? I also checks instant messages.
One very good point. By combining the anti-virus and firewall in one program, I gained a few percent of resources. The drain is about five percent less than when I was running ZoneAlarm Pro as a firewall and a separate anti-virus program.
Grab the Cane Pole, and Let's Go Phishing
Phishing? No, my spell-checking program hasn't died. That's really a word. Phishing is the latest game played by the bad people on the web. It involves a very official looking email that takes you to an equally official looking website. Your task, once they sucker you into their fake website, is to confirm an account by providing usernames, passwords, pin numbers, account numbers and even your Social Security Number. The name of this game is identity theft.
Good news! Zone Alarm Security Suite takes such emails and quarantines them.
I'm waiting to see what it does with the emails I receive that will make me millions of dollars. Those usually come from--supposedly--Africa and the Middle East. The promise a multimillion dollar reward for setting up a US bank account to receive a huge amount of money. Those always make me laugh. If I had some doubtfully legal money to transfer, it would be to the West Indies, not Bank of America. (Unfortunately, this scheme snagged my friend who sent them a bank account number. They relieved him of his funds.)
Phishing and SPAM go hand-in-hand. ZoneAlarm Security Suite takes care of SPAM as well, as long as you're using Outlook or Outlook Express as a mail client. The setup is automatic. All you need to do is give it permission to do its thing. It goes through your address book and places those correspondents on the "approved" list. Then it adds three folders to your mail directory: "Junk mail," "Fraudulent mail," and "Challenged mail." (The Fraudulent mail is phishing.) It also adds three buttons. One will identify a highlighted email as "junk" and send it to the junk mail folder. There a second button to "unjunk" mail that was erroneously identified as SPAM. The third button allows you to set options. This allows you to "tweak" rules and remove/add to your "good guy" list.
My favorite option is one that--if selected--sends an email to an unknown sender asking them if their email they sent you is real. And yes, you can personalize the message the program sends them.
I personally don't have much use for the SPAM or Phishing protection because my ISP does a nice job of weeding out the junk before I ever download it to my email client. Consequently, I keep this function turned off as it eats a few percent of my resources.
Block That Kick
Okay. This may not be football, but there are certainly many people on the web trying to kick things to me that I don't want. Spyware. Adware. Tracking cookies. Banners and animated ads. Pop-ups. Pop-unders. A few years ago, you had to hunt to find a program to protect yourself. Now everyone seems to have jumped on the bandwagon. Even Yahoo offers to block banners and pop-ups… and they make money from their advertising.
ZoneAlarm includes three separate privacy functions. The first blocks cookies, those little text files that allow you to shake hands with sites on the web. You can select from three options: allow all cookies; allow normal cookies--the ones that allow a frequently visited site to recognize you--but bans third party and tracking cookies; and the final setting blocks all cookies.
Part of this privacy function allows you the opportunity to check for tracking cookies and spyware. This is done on the web and to use it, you have to use Internet Explorer or Netscape. It doesn't work with Firefox or Opera. Consequently, I don't use this aid except as a back-up to my normal adware and spyware removal program.
The second privacy function blocks banner ads, animated ads and pop-ups. It also has three settings: allow no ads, including banners; block all pop-up, pop-under, and animated ads; and allow all ads. Sometimes this can be a pain with other programs as it blocks a pop-up you want to open--such as a multimedia display. I've not experienced this problem with ZoneAlarm.
I have noted that occasionally I run across a website that doesn't open or fully display its contents. I can adjust the ZoneAlarm privacy settings--usually to allow third party cookies--to get it to display, but why would I want to do that? If they're trying to palm off a tracking cookie, there's nothing on their site I need to see.
The final privacy protection function allows the user to opt into "Mobile Code Control." This allows you to block a wide range of website content like Java and Active X scripts as well as MIME. This is fine and dandy unless you like to play games on the web. Most of those require Java or MIME--or at least my crossword puzzles do.
The Sound of One Hand Clapping
The ZoneAlarm Security Suite includes a web filtering program intended to keep the urchins out of harm's way. Not only will it keep the kid out of porn sites, there's a whole list of places you can block. Among them are sites that sell weapons or teach you how to make bombs. There's also a logic capability you can activate that will block similar sites not on the list.
My first reaction to this was wondering how many milliseconds it would take a teen boy to disable the feature. Then I remembered that--though I've never used it--ZoneAlarm can be password protected.
I've reviewed many of the child protection programs and have never been impressed. (I'm a firm believer site blocking should be done at the ISP level.) Compared to the standard fare available on your computer store shelves, this feature of the ZoneAlarm Security Suite is head and shoulders over any of the others I've tried. It's simple to use, simple to configure, yet extremely effective.
Beyond the thousands of sites I don't want my kid visiting, I always worry about my kid instant messaging on the web. There are too many predators out there. I suppose my constant lecturing about not releasing personal information could be considered another form of child abuse, but it's necessary.
What few realize is that every instant messaging program can be "lurked." My kid and his friends may think they're alone while IM'ing, but there could be someone else present, someone who doesn't IM, but takes notes. The ZoneAlarm Security Suite has got you covered by encrypting all of the popular instant messaging program entries.
The IM protection also blocks SPAM and other attacks.
A Love-Hate Relationship
As I mentioned earlier, I've always been a strong supporter of Computer Associates products. The VET anti-virus included with the suite is extremely effective. I keep a floppy full of viruses to check such programs, and it caught every one of them. The online scans I've done haven't discovered anything CA has missed. I have all the options I need and do a scan each night and an update daily.
I do have a personal problem with the incorporated anti-virus that wouldn't affect most. I'm an old aviator--set in my ways--and as such, constantly scan icons looking for problems. (This is why I hate "idiot lights in cars.) I've done a lot of twitching since I started using ZoneAlarm Security Suite. Why? There's no separate icon for the anti-virus program. When I don't see an anti-virus icon in my tray, I have this momentary fearful feeling that I'm not protected. I have to open the ZoneAlarm main panel to ensure the anti-virus is alive and well.
While I love the incorporated automatic updates that cover all aspects of the suite--including the anti-virus--I still wish I could run the programs separately. That's because I have a unique situation where I am often disconnected from the net and don't need a firewall. In fact, I routinely shut it down when I'm disconnected to save resources. Unfortunately, shutting down the ZoneAlarm Security Suite also shuts down the anti-virus protection. I need that running as I'm often dealing with files on CD's sent to me by others. That leaves me with two choices. I can run a separate anti-virus program or I can check the CD before shutting down ZoneAlarm Suite.
And that brings up another minor irritant--to me. Other anti-virus programs have a feature that allows you to "right click" a file to check only that file for viruses. With this anti-virus program, you can right click and scan, but it will check your entire drive, not a single file. The only way I can reduce the time to check a file is to reconfigure the targets in the anti-virus setup. (E.g. reconfigure it to only check the CD drive and not the hard drive.)
There's also a few things they might add. In addition to being able to check a single file with a right click menu, I liked my previous anti-virus program checking my boot sector while booting the computer. I also liked how it let me create emergency disks to scan the computer outside of the Windows environment. Neither is a deal breaker as far as recommending the program. It's a wish list.
Further, the program does not quarantine as do most of the others. I like that capability. What it does do is "treat" viruses--rendering them ineffective--or, if that fails, give you the option to repair or delete. I just wish that, while it was trying to fix the file, the program isolated it. Quarantine also gives you the capability of sending a virus to the anti-virus's maker, in the event you get one that needs further attention.
On a more serious side, I have run into a few program conflicts with the anti-virus. The first and most significant was my computer got into a loop when I first installed ZoneAlarm Security Suite. Everything went fine until it asked to reboot during the installation. When I did, it rebooted to a point, then rebooted again--and again--and again. It turns out that deactivating my old anti-virus program wasn't good enough. I had to remove it from the drive entirely before the ZoneAlarm Security Suite would load. After uninstalling the old anti-virus in the Safe Mode, everything worked as advertised and the program installed normally. NOTE: My old anti-virus was a brand new version and Zone Labs is "fixing" this, saying they've tested it with most anti-viruses--including the older version of that program--without running into this problem.
With the anti-virus program running, I cannot use DiskKeeper to defrag my drives. It hangs up. Since you do have an option to turn off the anti-virus on the ZoneAlarm control panel, you can do that while defragging and that solves the problem.
I've also had a problem with the computer freezing if the anti-virus scans my backup image files. DataKeeper created these. The fix here was to exclude those files from my automatic scanning and scan them separately. (It works if you only scan those files.)
The bottom line here is protection and this anti-virus program does an excellent job. It is particularly good for users who are "computer challenged" or those who want to "set it and forget it."
Support
Support is a biggie with me. Maybe it stems back to a bad experience with Windows 3X where I spent an hour teaching DOS commands to a Microsoft tech, and I got to pay for the telephone call to boot. One could write the greatest program on Earth, and I wouldn't recommend it if there were no good tech support.
Such is not the case with Zone Labs and their ZoneAlarm products. In my experience, if I send an email with a problem, I get a response the same day--if not the same hour.
Support costs money and as a rule, I don't expect much out of companies offering free products, such as the great free ZoneAlarm firewall. Zone Labs, over the years, has been the glowing exception. They've offered a good knowledge base and FAQ. More important, when those don't work, they answer emails and the phone. Those folks in Redmond should take note of how customer service is supposed to work.
Zone Labs has been recently acquired by Check Point Software, a leader in its own right, primarily in corporate security solutions. Often, when companies merge, the "down-home" atmosphere gets lost. I hope Zone Labs is able to maintain its current high level of response to its customers.
Worth the Price?
That's for you to decide.
To some, $69.95 might be a bit pricey. True, the cost is competitive with those companies offering similar suites, but why spend the money when there are excellent free alternatives? Zonealarm's free firewall provides a lot of protection, though it lacks a lot of whistles and bells available in the PRO version--among them all this automated setup capability I've grown to love. Free anti-virus programs--like AVG--do a credible job as do the free adware checkers on my computer. My ISP does a great job sorting out the junk mail and checking for viruses. So, why buy something that is redundant?
Two reasons. First, I'm paranoid where my computer is concerned. I can never have too many programs protecting me. Second, ZoneAlarm Security Suite puts all of your protection in one place, and it's like consolidating your bills. You no longer, unless you want to, have to click a myriad of icons to check the status of your protection. Of more import, the ZoneAlarm Security Suite offers several features over and above even those offered by ZoneAlarm Pro.
You are getting a top of the line anti-virus program that sells for $24.95. IM Secure is included, a program that protects instant messaging and retails for $19.95. To buy surfing privacy protection equal to those offered in the Suite would be in the $30 range. Have you priced anti-SPAM programs recently? As near as I can tell, when you add ZoneAlarm Pro, their best firewall that sells for $49.95, you're getting $150+ of software for thecost of a $70 Suite.
Did I mention ZoneAlarm firewalls are currently protecting over thirty million computers? No wonder the "middle of the alphabet" companies are scrambling. I've tried their suites. They're bloated, being twice the size of Zone Labs' offering. As such, they eat resources and, frankly, don't get the job done as well.
Recommendation
The ZoneAlarm Security Suite has been out for two months. New programs normally have me recommending a "watch and wait" approach. In this case, I make an exception to the rule. First, the programs in the suite have been around as standalones for quite some time and have proven themselves. Second, even if problems did arise, ZoneAlarm's technical support is excellent.
I've tried several of the all-encompassing suites. Despite my twitching about not having a separate icon and control for the anti-virus program, I can honestly say that with ZoneAlarm's Security Suite, I feel much safer than I did with the others. Maybe it's the firewall, which I still consider the industry's best. Maybe it's because I've always trusted Computer Associates' anti-virus programs. Whatever it is, I strongly recommend this program as an all-in-one solution to your security needs.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
happy2000usa
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Member: Wayne Arnold
Location: Tracy, California, USA
Reviews written: 97
Trusted by: 171 members
About Me:
Writer, editor, beta tester, pilot, traveler. I'm an easy mark, always evaluating new software.
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