ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2006 review:
5 stars (Best of what I've seen) - If you want a good security progam that's not a resrouce hog this is the best of what I've seen.
I had a prior version Norton Internet Security and was very pleased with it. I ignored poor reviews and complaints about recent versions of NIS and upgraded when the older version was no longer supported. I should have heeded the reviews as all their problem became mine. It noticeably slows down your computer, your email, your web browsing...and has applicaiton errors when you shutdown/log off windows.
After one month I took a risk and purchased Zone Alarm 2006 and have been extremely pleased. No, it's not "perfect" but it works well, actually seems to catch things NIS didn't and it doesn't slow down the computer (noticeably better performance than NIS).
Like NIS it does occassionaly have some program errors when shutting down or logging off...but **much** fewer than NIS..and I think they only occur after the pc has hibernated (which seems to be a common issue with a lot of software).
The alerts that ZA pop up whenever a program first attempts to access the internet (or ZA when suspects it could compromise security) are probably excessive and somewhat cryptic for the average user....but you can tell ZA to not ask you again. And you get use to the alerts...and these days it's far better to have a security program have a few too many of these alerts than to just assume.
As a web programmer I have to use McAfee at work and it's such a hog I always have to commit the sin of turnning it off whenever I'm doing anything complex (big program builds, installs).
Everybody likes something different for different reasons. I mainly want a product to work..and to not cause grief to my computer, other programs or my work. ZA 2006 definitely meets all these requirements and has won me over.
1 stars (Stay Away!) - This software reduced my computer to a grinding halt. In the first 3 days, it locked up my computer 4 times. It constantly says that my virus protection "needs attention". When I check it out, it is turned off and won't let me turn it back on. The best thing about this software is that it has a uninstall.
3 stars (If you have a home network, be wary...) - I purchased this item, like other reviewers, because of growing dissatisfaction with another 'big name' product.
My initial impressions were VERY favourable. My PC started up much faster, shut down faster, and generally didn't seem to be labouring under such a heavy load as with Norton. I was delighted.
Then I tried to get my home network to connect to the internet, and the nightmare started. Nothing seemed to work. This surprised me, because Norton just handled the whole thing transparently with no effort from me.
Worse, when I visited the Zone Labs community discussion forum, the same topic came up with shocking regularity "CANNOT GET HOME NETWORK TO CONNECT TO INTERNET."
(Usually followed by a string of replies saying 'if you find out how to do this, please let me know too.' - but no solutions)
Oh dear.
Eventually I found out that it CAN be made to work (you have to delve around in the innards of Windows, get DNS settings, and enter them manually into Zone Alarm). OK, I'm a PC dunce. I don't even know what DNS settings are, but I assumed that once I'd gone through this procedure once, I could forget all about it again.
Not so... It seems that DNS settings change occasionally. So you need to go through the whole rigmarole on a regular basis.
For this reason, only three stars if you're a network user. But if you have a standalone, non-networked PC, then go for it. You'll be happy, and unaffected by this shortcoming. But I would echo a past reviewer's advice - visit the Zone Labs community board first, and see what long-time users of the product are saying. |
