Customer Reviews
Zone Alarm; Once a great program, now not so good. 
2008-08-19
Having used Zone Alarm since it was owned by a small company in San Francisco over 4 years ago I have seen the product decrease in it's ability to function severely over the years. Apparently ever since an Israeli corporation took over things started to change. Even for free I would run, not walk away from Zone Alarm ! I switched to Kapersky. Hope my input helps
Not for Windows Vista!! 2008-08-06
I had this on my Windows Vista Ultimate and it makes everything slow on my dual core processor. Not only this it made my computer not able too connect to the internet! DO NOT USE Zone Alarm for Windows Vista at all!
There are other Free Programs much better than Zone Alarm. I Use AVG 8.0 now and its Much better!
Falling from the top 2008-07-11
I have been a long time customer of ZoneLAbs and have ALWAYS depended on the quality and intuitive UI of the firewall.
Unfortunately, the version 7.xxx 3-license security suite has let me down and moved me away from the product (I hate paying for bad software).
My experience reflects an easy install and configuration, just as in previous versions. I installed a license on Windows 2000 Workstation, on XP Media Center Edition, and Vista Business.
The Windows 2000 had been with ZA for YEARS. After a couple of months, I was suddenly unable to get email from my ISP. I shut down ZA and no problem. I un-installed and cleaned out the ZA per tech. support help and re-installed. Everything worked well for about 2 weeks and then it began blocking applications randomly (except ping!). I replaced it with Symantec and it seems to be doing well.
The Vista worked as expected and had no problems, however I wiped it out and installed the 64-bit SP1 version (so I could actually USE the 4GB RAM installed). ZA has dropped the ball with the 64-bit world. It seems they are getting out of the business (after all, all CPUs are 64-bit now, the system vendors will catch up soon and install the 64 bit OS's). I replaced ZA with Norton (granted, a 32-bit version) and I have no problems.
The media center IS a nightmare. Yesterday, it suddenly stopped letting ANY traffic through (except ping!). No email, no Internet, no web-enabled applications! I dutifully un-installed and tried to re-install, got the infamous (and quite common) "You do not have access to make the required system configuration". This has been around for several versions and they have not bothered to fix it ( I tried logged in AS administrator, and as an account in the Admiinistrator group). I wiped the registry and the file system, and it just won't let me re-install. Now I am shopping for virus scanning software!
An interesting side note: while I was trying to determine why the firewall was not allowing traffic out, I noticed that the license expiration was in 158 days (roughly 8 months after initial installation!). Seems they can't count either!
Bottom line, it appears that CheckPoint has ridden the cash cow down and doesn't seem to have the testing resources or inclination to keep the product up to the old ZA quality levels.
I don't have time to spend trying to get the one piece of software that you MUST have to install and stay working correctly. I have to say goodbye to ZA.
Wishing there was a zero star rating for this 2008-05-31
I have used Zone Alarm since it was freeware and until very recently, didn't have a complaint. I ended up with a virus on my network, even with ZA on all four computers. I thought this was nearly impossible with all of the security installed and running 24/7. I switched to full system checks, hoping that it won't happen again. However, this has intensified my dislike for ZA, since running the virus checker took over 9 hours on one computer and is still running on this one, 23:07 hours after I started it. I do not have *that* much info on this computer, it has only scanned 36,000 files in that time!
Everything takes much, much longer than it should. Simply booting the system takes 5-8 minutes to complete, from pushing the button to the desktop loading. Opening IE takes around 30-45 seconds and then you have to wait for the home page to load, which takes a few more seconds, if it doesn't crash first. You never know if a program is loading, you just click and walk away, hoping it will load by the time you grab some water, check the mail, answer the phone and get back to the computer chair.
I'm not exaggerating in the least on any of this, it's utterly ridiculous.
Zone alarm 
2008-05-19
Works great. I did have some of the problems that others did so I just uninstalled it and downloaded the free 14 or 15 day trial then entered my license. It worked fine.
zero, Zero, ZEro, ZERo, ZERO Stars! OMG! 2008-04-20
Zonealarm Internet Security Suite is your comprehensive, all-in-one Internet security suite. Give yourself the most secure protection in the industry with this tightly-integrated set of advanced security layers. Working together, they prevent online threats from getting on your PC. The robust security features are what any computer security expert would want, but the suite has automatic functions that make it simple enough for novices to use. Surf the Web in peace, knowing that Zonealarm Internet Security Suite removes even the most persistent, hard-to-find spyware that infiltrate your PC at the core level.
3-user license. Prevents the redirecting of your browser to websites that distribute spyware Any spyware already installed on your PC will be blocked from contacting websites to exchange information, give out your personal data, or get updates Manage and blocks pop-up ads, online profiling, cookies, cache and scripts Vista compatible
Love This Software 2008-04-10
I've been bogged down and beat up by Norton Anti-Virus, in particular Norton 360. What a resource hog, and tough on older operating systems. Trend Micro which I wanted, would not run on my older machines. Trend Micro has a smaller foot print that Norton 360. All my machines have multi-user environment, that Norton could not be made to understand. For a multi-user environment, this product is tops. I have had no annoying pop ups or slowing up of system. Everything has been good on even my oldest and slowest machines.
THE WORST EVER! 2008-04-08
DON'T BUY IT - POWER HUNGRY - LOCK UPS - MAKES YOUR COMPUTER WORTHLESS - I USED IT ONE DAY AND COULDN'T UNINSTALL IT FAST ENOUGH - I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH BAD THINGS ABOUT IT - WHAT A WASTE OF $50
JAMES
A solid, feature-packed and comprehensive security suite... 2008-04-05
It surprised me to see so many negative reviews of the ZA Security Suite. I have been using ZA since version 4 and the latest, utilizing Kaspersky's antivirus engine (one of the absolute best out there) is the best yet. I have used Norton and McAfee's security suites in the past, but in my opinion, Zone Alarm tops them both in keeping your computer secure. As with any new version security suite (from any vendor), I stayed away from upgrading from version 6.5 to 7 until they had come out with the first update to version 7. Since installing version 7.0.337, then 7.0.462 and now the latest, 7.0.470, it has gotten better and better. The resource usage on my memory has dropped considerably and it still has the best software firewall in the business - my computer is completely "stealth" when interrogated using [...]. As an IT consultant I have installed it on dozens of computers and other than a very rare "hiccup" (usually when upgrading instead of doing a clean install on a new version - a quick reinstall clears it every time), it has been rock-solid for all of them. The low-resource-usage is also very important since many of them don't have "new" computers with loads of memory (by any stretch of the word!). To those who have "slammed" this program, I can only guess that you were unlucky on the initial installation because if it doesn't install "cleanly", it - like any other security suite on the market - WILL slow your computer to a crawl until you can uninstall it. A fresh reinstall will sort it out easily enough. Give it a shot - you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good it really is!
Security is gold 2008-02-24
I bought this product last year (soon will be up for renewal, which I will gladly do). I use it to protect the few Windows machines that I have (normally I use Linux). I have a masters degree in security, and did a lot of research on this product before I bought it. There is a lot of value for the money, and it contains features that are simply not available in a lot of security suites.
Virus protection - does a very good job at handling viruses, worms, and trojans. My wife owns and administers an email list with thousands of users. Zone Alarm has handled all the garbage that came through.
Firewall - Probably the most impressive piece of this software. The firewall is very strong, and is easily configurable. It also notes new networks, and will place those into either trusted or untrusted zones as you request. This is great for laptop users who are on multiple networks when traveling.
Intrusion detection - Great feature that most others simply do not offer. Zone Alarm keeps a tab on your Ethernet, and will notify you and/or block any unauthorized attack against your system.
Identity theft protection - Zone alarm comes with (at least mine did last year) a one year subscription to identity theft protection services. There are two services provided. The first monitors the internet looking for your credit card numbers. If your numbers appear somewhere they shouldn't, they notify you. Also another service provides you assistance if your identity has been stolen. I can't say how good these services are, as I haven't really had to use them.
Spyware protection - Scans your computer for spyware/adware and eliminates it. Great service, since most windows users are simply choked with this stuff. I would recommend using at least one other free spyware checker along with this one, no matter what you are using. It pays to also use spybot and/or adaware.
Probably missing some features. I know some users have blamed Zone Alarm for bogging down their computer. Can't say I can blame Zone Alarm for this. The program IS doing more than most protection suites, and Windows is proprietary, meaning writing software for Windows is somewhat of a crapshoot. Can it bog down your computer? Sure. So can any of the other suites. I have yet to find one that people haven't complained about this issue with. Then again after a while Windows tends to bog down all on its own. Try Linux if you don't want your computer to get laggy and slow.
Overall great product. Giving it 5 stars because many of the one star reviews here are simply unwarranted. I recommend this product when people ask me what to use to secure their computers, since it is easy to use and provides excellent protection. There are other good names out there as well. Use a trusted name like zonealarm instead of a fly by night company that may be doing you more harm than good!
