ZoneAlarm Pro 2.6.362 - Is it still good?

2.6.362 is great if you want a bloat-free ZA. I suppose it's better to use an updated version, but I like 2.6.362 myself and have used it many times before with good results.

Taking a moment's reflection, * * Chas mused: | | I have ZoneAlarm Pro 2.6.362 on a number of older networked Win98SE | PCs that I only use occasionally and rarely use them to connect to | the web. Is it still a good program?

It is vulnerable to any trojan that can issue key commands (to potentially shut down the firewall).

When you get right down to it, if the malware is sophisticated enough, it can always get past ANY of the software firewalls. Wouldn't you agree?

Taking a moment's reflection, Kerodo mused: | | When you get right down to it, if the malware is sophisticated enough, | it can always get past ANY of the software firewalls. Wouldn't you | agree?

Certainly. But the key phrase is "sophisticated enough." The keyboard/macro protection added in later versions of ZA were in response to new trojans that could simulate key presses and mouse clicks. In that case, they are sophisticated enough to defeat 2.6.x, but not 4.x .... for example.

| > I have a NAT router and I use Kerio 2.15 on the systems that are web | > active. | >

| > Chas. | | 2.6.362 is great if you want a bloat-free ZA. I suppose it's better to | use an updated version, but I like 2.6.362 myself and have used it many | times before with good results.

Thanks, I had some nightmares with ZA 3.x and switched to Kerio 2.14. Later tried Kerio 4.x and went back to 2.15. I didn't feel like doing uninstalls/installs on half a dozen systems that are rarely connected to the web (or even turned on).

Chas.

In the 4 or 5 years I have been using ZA 2.6.88 I have not seen any trojan / virus that can defeat or shut down the firewall.

Do you happen to have any info or a URL that points to one of these types of trojans.

TIA §?

Taking a moment's reflection, snipped-for-privacy@srb.net mused: | | Do you happen to have any info or a URL that points to one of these | types of trojans.

Not off hand, but the protection against them was added to later versions (as well as other software firewalls) for a reason.

You could test Jonathan's Autoclicker. He has a version for Kerio here:

And this is for Symantec Norton: I think, it will be not too complicated to write an Autoclicker for Zonealarm also. Perhaps you want to try that yourself?

Yours, VB.