Zonealarm new version

I use ZA Pro on Windows XP Home and have no problems with 6.0.667.000. Note that for version 6, users and now even Zone Alarm recommend a "Clean Installation" rather than "Update" (or is it "Upgrade"?) when given the choice during installation. This will require ZA to relearn all its settings but this is pretty painless. The new SmartDefense Advisor, when set to Automatic, does a lot without requiring your intervention.

Craig

Why use Windows Firewall ? It only blocks incoming traffic.

Volker, do you get a fee every time you insist no firewall other than Windows Firewall is necessary? ;-)

Yes but the smartdefense advisor doesn't work for ZA Free, AFAIK and you have to then train the firewall all over again for each and every piece of software wanting access to the outside world. I just upgraded to the latest free version (by updating) with no problems, by the way (Win XP Home).

Forget Zonealarm. You don't need it. Just use the Windows-Firewall.

Yours, VB.

I just updated over the top of the old as well - the only glitch is that "Pass Lock" does not work - doesn't show up at all in the Program_Control/Programs tab.

- Glen

Ottawa

(Remove the invalid NIT from the end of my address)

Yes. And Zonealarm is blocking only the part of the outgoing traffic of regular software programs, which let Zonealarm this control.

Any outgoing traffic of serious malware, Zonealarm cannot block. So this is useless.

This is, why the Windows-Firewall is enough.

Yours, VB.

Unfortunately not - would be nice, though ;-)

No, I just was shocked, how incompetent the "Personal Firewall" manufacturors are, when I saw my very first "Personal Firewall" with our test.

I already presumed, that there will be some flaws with this kind of software, because of so many people telling nonsense stories on de.comp.security.firewall, they were facing with this kind of stuff.

But I never thought, that it is such terrible as I had to face when I had to see all those stuff we tested. :-(

I must say, I never saw so much incompetence in one place before. The most tremendous crap I ever had to look at.

So this is the reason, why I'm trying to warn people not to use such software, which does not make your PC more secure at all than not offering servers listen()ing or just using the Windows-Firewall, but makes your PC much more insecure because of the additional attack vectors, "Personal Firewalls" are adding beside plain placebo effects and advertizing the "stealthing" and "controlling outbound traffic" monkeyshines.

Yours, VB.

Understood - but even so, isn't a firewall which at least stops some illicit outbound activity better than nothing? Cannot a software firewall, if well written, ever be of any use (for outbound protection)?

No, for security purposes, it isn't. There may be other objects to do like that, though.

Not really, because of the existence of tunneling, and the impossibility to prevent that.

You only should run software programs on your PC you're trusting in.

But of course, if the "Personal Firewalls" would be better implemented, they could have features users would benefit from. For example, they could support anonymizing systems like Tor or AN.ON/JAP, they could offer an easy way to configure the port filter in the Windows kernel, i.e. for making it easy to offer services to the local network but not to the Internet, and they could help to stop servers people are running instead of letting them run and filtering them.

But unfortunately, no "Personal Firewall" I know does that.

Yours, VB.

Lock" does not work -

Do you have the free version of Zonealarm?

The Pass Lock feature has been removed from the free version of Zonealarm 6.0, and is now only available on the paid versions of the program.

Lock" does not work -

I was suspecting that, BUT, under Program_Control/Main/Custom_Lock_Settings there is still an option to "Allow Pass-Lock Programs to Access the Internet"

AND,

when you right-click the systemtray icon, there are still two options: "Engage Internet Lock" and "Stop All Internet Activity".

- Glen

(Remove the invalid NIT from the end of my address)

"Pass Lock" does not work -

A clean install of free Zonealarm 6.0 still has these options set-able too, but the passlock function definately isnt a feature of the free firewall.

I think free ZoneAlarm 6.0 has actually the same code as Zonealarm Pro

You can upgrade from Zonealarm to the fully functional trial version of Zonealarm Pro (with pass-lock) without actually downloading any more code.

Id imagine the developers have chosen simply to disable the ability to set and read the pass-lock atribute in free Zonealarm, but have left the other parts of the interface as they are for whatever reason.

I don't think you need it, unless you're always connected to the Internet. I tried it out for a couple days, and sometimes it would refuse to unlock. I had to do an uninstall and re-install to get back on the Internet. It's not worth it to me. The fewer bells and whistles your programs have, the smoother your PC functions, anyway. Just one user's opinion.

charlie R

Silly question I guess but...

what is the pass lock?

I have installed, always a clean install never an upgrade, Zonealarm Free version and allow it to start-up at boot time but then I never do anything to it, except click allow or deny should a program I don't recognise or want request internet access.

Do I need the pass lock function as I don't think I use it, unless I'm using it with out knowing about it.

Thanks

charlie R writes

Sounds good advice to me.

I tried to buy a washing machine recently, could I get one with just a wash button, no I had to have one with 4 million different functions.

Sounds like an upgrade to version 6 is OK

nospam wrote in news:WZJtDXAGUULDFwt8 @nospam.demon.co.uk:

Tell me about it! And maybe once a year I'll change a temp setting! (Usually the only changes I make are in the water level....)

Sherry