ZoneLabs Zone Alarm Pro

By: Ben Sikes

A firewall is essential on any Internet connected PC. Firewalls
control what is allowed in and out of the computer, virtually
eliminating the possibility of a hacker gaining control or of
spyware that has found it's way in transmitting any data.

ZoneLabs Zone Alarm Pro is a popular personal firewall
application - a piece of software installed onto the PC to block
unwanted connections by using:

* the Triple Defense FirewallT

* an anti-spyware system

* the SmartDefenseT service

* protection of privacy and identity

* email protection

* wireless PC security

Zone Alarm Pro is available in a variety of packages, from the
single user license to large volume license packages, making it
ideal for the home, small network or larger working environment.
The program is clearly laid out and easy to use. If a query
can't be fixed through support documentation, there are online
user forms for quick and handy advice.

The Triple Defense Firewall, as the name suggests, has three
layers of protection, providing excellent security against
Internet pests:

* defense against hackers, spyware, and Trojans by not allowing
them through

* prevention of "bad" programs attacking "good" programs on the
PC by surrounding each application with a second firewall

* deep down protection of the operating system against malicious
attacks

SmartDefense works with the firewalls, automatically updating
itself with information on new spyware programs and adjusting
Zone Alarm's security settings to match. SmartDefense examines
everything that tries to connect to the Internet from the PC to
see if it is performing a valid operation. If it is not, access
is blocked. If it does allow the connection, SmartDefense will
continue to monitor the activity to ensure it does not perform
any operations outside of it's built-in policies.

The privacy and identity protection works to stop annoying
pop-up ads and to prevent personal information leaving the
computer without permission. Email is kept secure with any
suspicious attachments being quarantined for examination in case
they contain anything harmful. Likewise, any suspicious outbound
messages are also stopped to prevent unintentionally passing on
anything nasty.

Even with all of the protection offered by the firewall, some
persistent spyware will still find it's way into the computer.
The anti-spyware system within Zone Alarm Pro roots it out,
while learning to recognize legitimate items with spyware-like
tendencies, such as the cookies for your favorite websites.

Wireless protection is crucial when out in the open on a laptop
as well as on the home network. It's easy for a hacker to hijack
a wireless connection or even set up their own. Zone Alarm can
prevent connection hijacking wherever the connection is made.

Zone Alarm Pro runs on Windows systems only, with minimum
specifications of:

* Windows 98SE/ME, 48MB RAM (some functions may be limited and
support is due to end for the operating systems late 2006)

* Windows 2000 Pro, 64MB RAM

* Windows XP, 128MB RAM

* Pentium III 450 MHz or higher

* 50MB available hard disk space

* Internet access is required for updates (Internet Explorer,
Netscape, Firefox, AOL and MSN compatible)

* POP3 and SMTP mail only

* Instant Messenger compatibility with minimum version number:
MSN 6.2.0205, Windows Messenger 4.7.0.2009, Yahoo! IM 5.5.1226,
AIM 5.2.3292, ICQ Pro 2003b, ICQ Lite 5.0, Trillian 0.74i,
Trillian Pro 1.0, GAIM 0.74, Miranda 0.3.2

About the author:
Ben Sikes recommends reading the full product review of ZoneLabs Zone Alarm Pro at Identity Theft Spy.