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Seems the latest Zone Alarm Pro incarnation--5.1.001 Beta--is something to avoid. With the exception of one user's review, reports are uniformly negative. ZA has gone from doing one thing well (firewall), to a number of things poorly. The long and short of it seems to be, stick with version 4.5.
Good morning, IronMan... excellent advice indeed. I tried the newer version, and quickly got rid of it and re-installed my favorite version 4.5
That's so irrating when Zone Alarm takes a good version like 4.5; and tries to add too much unnecessary "fluff" and junk to it.
Good ole' version 4.5 has always worked well for me.... gonna stick with it.
Take care!
~Tommyo
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Strange. . . When I was at the BetaNews site earlier this morning (6:30 EST), all of the user reviews, except one, were negative on ZA Pro.Now they're almost all positive, and by some of the same names. Go figure!
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Eh, I'm still using a 5.0 version. I guess I should be worried.
Lets hope that zonealarm's next big release will get a much better response from the public.
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Laura, if you haven't already had problems with 5.0, chances are your PC will be fine. I never updated. When I started reading all the bad press a couple of months ago, I simply kept 4.5.
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Thanks Ironman. Zone Labs business decision to offer a "security suite" has left me out in the cold. Version 5.0 caused my antivirus program not to work and simple program connections to drop. I visited their forum and saw many others that were having the same problems that I had. I unstalled 5.0 and used my backup cd to roll back to version 4.5.
I have used ZA for years. I became a paying customer to support what I considered an essential service for all of us. All I wanted was an easy to use and excellent firewall. When the pro version started being offered with privacy and ad blocking features, I switched to Zone Alarm plus, because I just wanted a simple, easy to use software firewall with no bells and whistles. Zone Alam plus is no longer offered or supported as an option.
I have a couple of old computers that have limited performance capabilities. I have used Sygate and Kerio with no problems on these machines for some time. I participated in the Kerio beta program and never had a problem.
I have notified Zone Labs using their customer survey and mail of my observations and opinions. I have received very prompt courtesy replies from them. Perhaps, I am in the minority in my ideal of what a firewall should be. It is quite possible that their decision to get into the "security suite" business in order to compete with Symantec, Trend Micro and Network Associates is the way to go and is the future. All I can say is, the switch to Sygate and Kerio is now completed, and I no longer use Zone Alarm.
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Is it possible that software developers let go by Microsoft for poor performance were hire to support and enhance Zone Alarm?
The moment I upgraded to ZA 5.x, my system began to crawl, really bad. Only after I removed that version and re-installed ZA 4.5 that my system began to perk.
The fiasco is that they don't admit to their error. Did they have a change in management at ZoneLabs?
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Capt, like you, I've used ZA for years and for the same reason: I want an effective nuts-and-bolts firewall. No need for it to be festooned with features I don't need or, worse, duplicate features already provided by other utilities.I'll probably stay with 4.5 for a while longer. But I can see the day ahead when ZA's going to be replaced by Sygate, Agnitum, or Kerio.
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I used to use sygate last year, but heard so many good things about ZA, so I bought it and have been using zone alarm since last August. Since then, I've had no problems.
Now, for a while, it has been telling me to upgrade to the new version, but obviously I'm not going to do that till I hear only positive things about ver 5.
I'm think of going back to Sygate, but Sygate is not as user friendly as ZA is to my recollection. Is Kerio a better option?
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IMHO, nothing is quite as user friendly as Zone Alarm. I think that both Sygate and Kerio have made things easier for new users. With a little bit of study and by using the Sygate and Kerio forums you will quickly find out that both programs are easier to configure using your own rules than Zone Alarm. "The Kid" has a link to the Bell South ISP, that offers some great configuration advice for new users of Sygate. Steve Gibson was on Leo Laporte's radio show yesterday and they talked about this very Zone Alarm issue. He has been a long time Zone Alarm supporter, but he now recommends Sygate.
Iron man mentioned Outpost. I found that the free version to be so much different than the pro version, that I would only recommend the pro version. The tests at http://www.pcflank.com/ seem to back up my experience with Outpost. There is more than just a couple of features left out, or not enabled like Zone Alarm, Sygate and Kerio, it is an entirely different program between the free version 1.0 and the paid for version 2.0. If I was going to drop the dollars for a new software firewall, I think Look n'Stop must be considered.
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Capt, it's been a quite a while since I tested Agnitum, so I'm sure your observations about it are true. At the time of testing, it was no worse, nor better, than any other free firewall available at the time.My only hesitation about Kerio (the new version which I tested recently) is its appetite for memory. Compared to the older 2.x version, the recent Kerio offers no better port-stealthing, just more bells and whistles. I want nuts-and-bolts protection without the song and dance. :)
You mentioned Steve Gibson--a great resource of all things computing. If only he and Fred Langa were to combine their knowledge and resources. Killer!
As for firewalls, Sygate seems to be the logical replacement for ZA.
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Your observation about Kerio with it's new privacy stuff is well taken. I wholeheartedly agree with you about Steve Gibson and Fred Langa. IMHO, anyone that does not subscribe to Fred Langa's "Langa List" is missing out!
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Is there a link out there to 4.5, Im runnung 5.0.590.43 so far problem free, I do though how ever hate the "Welcome to zone alarm, let us hold your hand through configuration almost web style menus" and have a copy on disk of zone alarm 1. or 2. something which was a quick easy to read streamlined application.
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