Entered CNET Catalog: 09/14/2004
SKU: 32088
Manufacturer: Encore Software Inc.
Manufacturer description
The cyberworld is crawling with reasons to be serious about online security. Hackers, data thieves, viruses and other Internet threats work every day to make your private information their own or wreck havoc with your computer. Now you can stop virtually any online threat in its tracks with the all-in-one protection of ZoneAlarm Security Suite.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
User Rating: 
2/10
Sell the product, charge for support when it crashes!
Pros: Works great for some people.
Cons: Crashed computer, cannot remove all components.
Micahel
User Rating: 
9/10
Information and protection at your fingertips
Pros: It protects you MUCH more than the over a decade joke antivirus suite that is NEVER number 1 (yeah i bet most know which one i'm talking about w/out me mentioning it!)
Cons: It's not a "one button solves everything" suite(in a way that really is a plus for tech savvy)
User Rating: 
6/10
Overall a good internet security program
Pros: It seems to do well at protecting the computer.
Cons: aggravating popups asking for internet access .
I'm now using XP firewall and a free downloaded virus program. Probably Zone alarm would be okay if you wanted to spend the time to tweak it.
User Rating: 9/10
excellent so much better than a lot of other firewalls/antivirus's
Pros: a very well put together security suite
Cons: none so far
User Rating: 
10/10
It is the best personal fiewall(arm)
Pros: Simple installation
Cons: More click is required
User Rating: 
3/10
GO HARDWARE FIREWALL!!
Pros: ALWAYS ON, RUNNING
Cons: ALOT OF CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM, ALOT OF INCOMPATIBLE ISSUES
THE 5.0 VERSION OF ZAPRO LEFT OUT THE FILES 'HOSTING' FOR EMAIL CLEANING TOOLS
2.) SO MANY CHANGES THE GEEKS AT ZAPRO HAS FORGOTTEN THERE IS HARDWARE>>> 'ROUTERS' WHICH ARE ALWAYS ON, NEED NO UPDATES AND WORK AWESOME!!
User Rating: 2/10
The recent Suite upgrade trashed our CPU.
Pros: Worked well until upgrade.
Cons: The spyware scan caused disasterous, unrepairable crash.
User Rating: 
7/10
Great for internet security.
Pros: Peace of mine to know that I am very well protected
Cons: I have dial-up. Updates take 3 hours to download because they download the whole program with the updates.
User Rating: 9/10
More than a Firewall
Pros: A Top Fight Anti-Virus
Cons: I will let you know if anything gets by this package,thus far nothing has!
User Rating: 3/10
system error reboot sytsem error reboot
Pros: great program
Cons: great program when i can get it to turn on
User Rating: 9/10
Best security suite out there...Period.
Pros: all in one virus protection, firewall, email scanning, popup blocker, IM encrypting+++
Cons: You need to do some configuration to use Gmail
User Rating: 10/10
Number 1 All-in-One Security
Pros: Good Virus Protection, Firewall, and Spyware
Cons: A Lot of Menus (Also a Positive)
User Rating: 10/10
Very Fast and Effective
Pros: Does Not Slow System Down
Cons: Haven't Found Any Yet
User Rating: 
1/10
Terrible support and useless firewall - wish I could give it a zero
Pros: Given all the negatives, nothing positive can compensate
Cons: stops internet access intermittently and no service
Lots of people including myself and a friend are having the same problem with Zone Alarm: Seemingly random loss of internet access.
Their idea of tech support is a lousy chat bot that doesn't even work, a forum that is all but ignored and provides no useful answers and oh yeah - phone support they make you pay for.
They've built crappy software just so they can make money on tech support.
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. STAY AWAY FROM ALL ZONE LABS SOFTWARE.
User Rating: 9/10
User-friendly, stable with XP SP2, not a system hog
Pros: Lean, efficient, customizable, crisp automatic updates
Cons: logs could be more detailed
I went online and saw a lot written up about NAV being a major system resources hog, so I decided to give the Zone Alarm Security Suite a try (my Zone Alarm Pro firewall was coming due for renewal, perfect timimg).
ZA's virus scanner is much more lean & efficient. I run the "scan on access" option and it doesn't slow down the system at all -- even when multitasking with database programming and multimedia apps. The virus scanner goes through the files much faster than NAV 2005 did. Less than half the time. The ZA virus scanner also doesn't hog resources, and the computer doesn't slow down while contunuing to work. There have also been no conflicts at all with SP2 -- ZA was ready for SP2 but it looks like NAV wasn't.
Yes, my ZA also crashed on June 9 -- a case of "quick, unplug the network cord" -- If this crash was really as widespread as the other reviewer here made me think, then ZA should have sent out an email explanation to all its subscribers.
The only minor gripe I have is that I wish there were an option to set a virus database update to coincide with the automatic virus scans. If my antivirus kicks in say Monday morning but the last automatic update ran on Friday, I end up stopping the scan, running update to catch any updates, in order to run scan for viruses based on the _latest_ knowledge base. It would be handy if this could be set. It would be nice to have more detail in the log files.
Overall, ZA is an excellent product, and I recommend it over the others because ZA seems the most efficient in its use of system resources. ZA is intuitive to set up, it allows for any preferred security levels, and the help documentation has a lot of depth to it.
As security companions, I also recommend PestPatrol to get rid of spy/malware and WindowWasher to keep the computer cleaned off.
User Rating: 9/10
Way better than Norton!
Pros: Very easy to use; AV found things Norton had missed; firewall top of the line; parental control much better than Norton
Cons: Setup for cookie and popup blocking easy but some web pages not displaying correctly;
Having used the firewall before, I knew it to be top notch. However, I really trusted Norton for anti-virus protection. Still too early to tell, but the anti-virus protection on ZoneAlarm has held up great. Even better is it updates in the background much faster and less obtrusive than Norton. I also had a full system scan run earlier today and hardly knew it was running. With Norton you practically had to walk away as it was such a resource hog.
Finally, a word about web filtering (parental controls). At first I was skeptical as the ZA product is based only on categories with no ability to include/exclude specific websites. I based this on my experience with Norton, which blocked maybe 70% of what I felt it should have. I even had been researching which add on program to buy to help out. Well, there was no need. I was very pleased to find that the categories worked as expected, but the Smart Filtering (sort of a real time content analysis) works FANTASTIC. I am very pleased with the results.
The only thing I have struggled with is the settings for pop-up and cookie blocking. The interface for setting them up is easy, but I have had some difficulty sorting out what things to have on or off. Some pages (hotmail and myeBay) still are not displaying quite right. The online help tool and the user forums have been helpful.
Overall well worth the price. Goodbye Norton!
User Rating: 9/10
Great Product - Highly Recommend It - Good-bye McAfee
Pros: Extreme customization - Great anti-virus and e-mail protection - IM and Privacy protection - ID Lock for credit cards, SS#, etc. - Plays well with other security/protection programs
Cons: Expensive tech support - The customizing features may intimidate the novice PC user
User Rating: 6/10
Be prepared to tweak alot
Pros: Does what it supposed to do & easy install
Cons: Needs alot of tweaking for Outlook and HTML mail
So I uninstalled it and downloaded the 30 day trial of PC-cillin Internet Security.
Both are fine programs and appear to protect as advertised. However, I experienced several occasions when I had to tweak ZoneAlarm in order to make it work with Outlook, Yahoo mail, and Hotmail. At least there's the user forum where you can go to find answers.
However, so far I've had to do nothing to make PC-cillin work. Bottom line, I recommend PC-cillin over Zone Alarm unless you like tweaking.
User Rating: 10/10
The Best Security Software Ever
Pros: I Think It Has The Best Firewall Around, Very Good When It Coom's To System Performance
Cons: That When You Turn It Off The Anti Virus Turn's Of Itself Aswell
User Rating: 9/10
BYE, NORTON, YOU HOG !!!!
Pros: FAST, EFFECTIVE & "LEAN"
Cons: NONE TO ( YET ) REPORT
IT SEEMS, HOWEVER, THAT "THEY" ARE LIVING OFF THEIR FORMER REPUTATION. I HAVE INSTALLED Z/A AND HAVE FOUND IT TO BE VERY USER-FRIENDLY, COMPREHENSIVE, MUCH QUICKER IN THE ANTI-VIRUS SCANS AND MUCH LEANER IN SYSTEM STARTUP/SHUTDOWN AND RESOURCE CONSUMPTION.
BYE NORTON...BOTH YOUR PRICE AND CONSUMPTION GOT TO ME !!
AFTER HAVING USED THE Z/A FOR AWHILE NOW, I CAN SAY THAT I AM AS PLEASED AS THE DAY I INSTALLED IT, PERHAPS MORE. HAVE COME TO APPRECIATE THE ABILITY TO ( VIRUS ) SCAN THE SAME AMOUNT OF FILES THAT I DID WITH NORTON, IN LESS THAN HALF THE TIME. ALSO, A PLEASURE TO SEE THAT LITTLE ICON SHOWING, IN THE TRAY, THAT THIS SYSTEM IS WORKING. TWICE, NORTON, WOOSIED OUT ON ME, HAD NO IDEA UNTIL RECEIVING NOTIFICATION FROM THE WINDOWS FIREWALL POP UP THAT I DIDN'T HAVE A FUNCTIONING FIREWALL.
User Rating: 9/10
Good performance except with IM Secure.
Pros: Excellent firewall, no problemes while using. General ease of use. Does not slow my PC down.
Cons: Issue with IM Secure working with supposedly supported AOL IM version.
Over all I'd say that my experience with ZoneAlarm is and has been great. I do have an issue with the fact that the AOL messenger that is supposedly compatible with IM Secure is not protected nor is the Antivirus for Email working. I'm thinking this is because I had Norton installed at the same time installed ZoneAlarm. Sent Email to customer service regarding the IM Secure issue, if I was holding my breath while waiting of a response I would have been dead a long time ago (assuming that I didn't pass out and automatically start breathing). I am still waiting for a response to my Email. I even sent a pic of the dialog box that ZoneAlarm Pro Suite showed me when I discovered the issue.
Over all I would say that ZoneAlarm is definitely worth the money. I highly recommend!
User Rating: 1/10
Disgaraceful!
Pros: easy installation
Cons: too easy installation, gruesome API, resource intence, Lack of granularity and control, poor performance
Middle is wishful thinking - this looks rather grim
10% are those who do the job properly, such as Cisco, Kerio, Trend Micro, Agnitum, Cyberguard.
Then there are the other 90% who are in for a quick money grab - Norton, Juniper, Checkpoint, McAfee and ofcourse ZoneLabs.
ZoneAlarm Pro is a perfect example of that. With PRO extension you would expect a professional product, but what you get is half decent API, few wizards and pathetic performance.
If you still would like to go ahead and use it, do so at your own peril. But perhaps before you do, ask yourself few questions:
1. Do I want all my TCP connections to be constantly reset after certain interval?
2. Do I want my firewall software to freeze my system when I start a game, because switching screens will prevent me from creating a rule?
3. Do I want to restart my computer after every antivirus uppdate?
4. Do I realy trust the firewall's simple allow/block programs when I need to create explicit rules?
5. Do I realy need the firewall which can be bypassed using browser component?
6. Do I realy need the firewall which offers IM security, but doesn't work with Trillian or Miranda IM?
7. Do I need spam filer with the firewall which locks Outlook process even after you exit Outlook?
In the end, ask yourself: Does this product realy enhance security, when after creating this many problems all you want to do is just disable it?
Herr Garman
Network Analyst
MCSE, CCNA, CCSP
User Rating: 9/10
Excellent product I would recommend to anyone
Pros: Easy to use, doesn't slow down your computer
Cons: Haven't found any yet
User Rating: 10/10
Security and Privacy is taken to a whole new level when used with GhostSurf Platinum 2005 Edition!!!
Pros: Company stays on top of updates both firewall and virus.
Cons: Kinda plain looking also the traffic bar stays in site in the tray but it would be 10xs better if it could read traffic speed with numbers too while staying on top of web page full time on demand.
(Wish they would merge it would cut my $160 a month bill in half.)
Also a user of GhostSurf proxy for years and have been very happy with the way it hides my IP address from advertisers and hackers but more so now since they have free encrption and through anonymous hubs!!!
So both the makers of Zone Alarm and GhostSurf have upgraded to suites about a 7-8 months ago and I decided to merge both into my system for the ultimate in privacy and convenience of two top notch products.
Like others I had a problem placing ZA into my system so I used Sygate Pro for a while along with Avast and Ghost Surf Pro Privacy Suite.
So after I decided to upgrade to Windows XP CD with service pack 2 boxed version, had trouble with the download version and so I kicked all the old stuff out put my drivers back in along with ZA Suite GS Suite and Ta daaaaa!!!!!!
The ultimate in privacy security and I just loved the ease of installation I don't know why these two companys did not think of this before little ol me???
The Zone Alarm looks plain to me I don't care what color you switch to, also the bar that pops up on the screen when you pull it's main page would be better if it came with a speed read out and if you could keep it on top full time as you surf the net.
The plainess of it makes me not trust the virus side of it but so far none have gotten into my system so I have learned to live with it (I tried one of those virus testers it detected it besides I know the guys at ZA and there long time good reps on the line they are not gonna put out no junk!)
Also the guys at Tenebril could send out a few more updates to the Ghost Surfs Spyware side of it's program because I know that big money drives some small minded people to do stupid stuff in a big way.
I had a bit of trouble with GhostSurf starting up but I went into the ini file and delayed the start up and it works fine.
I called up tenebril and they have the notes so if you have the same problem they can walk you through it the phone service is around $9.00 a one time fee for life but since I am a long time cust and we swaped ideas they did'nt charge me a anything.
These two products (((combined)))) are the best thing since Chevorlet put the Big Block 454 on the assembly line!!!!
If you are a rookie combing the two products might not be for you however if you have been on the net and know what to allow and not to allow in terms of web buggs, cookies, ip addresses 3rd party cookies, headers, advertiments and you are sick and tired of at sombody trying to ram ads/pop ups unders down your throat every time you look at a site or woundering if sombody is following you on the net from site to site and you surf using Internet Explorer or even Fire Fox (altho you hafta set up fire fox manualy to work with GhostSurf) you should be able to figure out how to get the two to work togther and what to delete and not delete with the use the spyware detector in GhostSurf.
Check out the Cnet site I think they have reviews of both I just can't tell you all the great features both products have!!!
2 Big Thumbs Up and 2 Big Toes Tooo!!!
They are worth every dime and then some these two companys might find out so you guys better get your copies ASAP before sombody figures out they got a gold mine and raise the price through the roof hehehehe!!!!!!!!!
Again I must say These two products (((combined)))) are the best thing since Chevorlet put the Big Block 454 on the assembly line!!!
I feel kinda sorry for the poor ol hackers and the advertisers they won't be able to see the information I send and recieve on the internet or my ip address...boo hoo hoo..sniff..sniff....The poor ol slobs just might hafta get a real job!!!Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!
You must see to believe!!!!!
User Rating: 9/10
Beats the Others, Hands Down
Pros: Quick install, no System Degradation, and everything works!
Cons: Shut off Firewall and antivirus also shuts down.
User Rating: 9/10
It is better than Norton by far
Pros: It has an excellant firewall. It's web filtering, privacy protection, etc. work quite well and met my expectations.
Cons: Trying to get the licence from Broderbund was terrible.
That said, I found this product to be very best I have found yet. The firewell is excellant as well as its privacy protection. I have had no complaints with the antivurus portion.
The only weak point would be the popup and spam portion of the software. Nothing is perfect. But when I downloaded it for the free trial, it didn't take long for me to purchase it.
I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH IT AT ALL SINCE I BOUGHT IT. AFTER GIVING THE OTHER INTERNET SECURITY/FIREWALL SOFTWARE A SHOT I KNEW I HAD TO BUY THIS ONE.
User Rating: 
8/10
One product does it ALL.... and, well!
Pros: One integrated package - low maintenance and effective.
Cons: Difficult to find quaranteened items - poor company support.
The Firewall has never let me down; the anti-virus has been as good as gold; and the customized Program Protection feature(s) make this suite easy to navigate and customize - even for a relative novice.
Once purchased, the annual renewal is less than the cost of renewing other programs that each do only one (unintegrated) piece of the job. I recommend it heartily.
Ran the ZA Security Suite, without ptoblems for a couple of years - then, they 'upgraded' the smooth rumming version 6.1 with the new, buggy and problem-ridden 6.5. I dumped it and replaced it with Agnitum's Outpost Frewall Pro alonf with AVG Pro.
The Suites are a good idea - but when they go wrong, a Hell breaks loose on your system!
User Rating: 8/10
Works fine, no problems so far.
Pros: Nice Integrated package, excellent firewall and spam filter. Easy to install and manage.
Cons: None significant. Performance of AntiVirus segment still under evaluation (no infection so far)
Now, after just over a month of daily use, I have to say that it has performed admirably. The installation was straightforward and easy to follow. The spam filter works great with Outlook Express, making a separate folder where it puts all suspected spam for user review (you can then decide whethere it's really spam or not and add it to the allowed sender list).
The firewall portion works just as well as their stand-alone product and we have had no problems going to standard sites in normal, everyday surfing. Nor have we observed any problems with other installed programs when automatically or manually checking for updates. If you've been a user of Zone-Alarm firewall for any period of time, you'll have no problem understanding how to manage this program either.
As far as memory and resource usage, I have found ZoneAlarm Internet Security to have minimal load on the system. Naturally, this will increase temporarily during program update or virus scanning, but this is normal, expected, and no different than any other anti-virus program I have used. I read all the user comments posted up to now and I can't duplicate or confirm the problems some of the reviewers reported. Since we are on broadband, the comment regarding the autodialer may be valid, but I can't help but wonder if the user tried to adjust their connection preferences (ie, always dial, dial whenever a network connection is not present, never dial) in Internet Explorer or not.
As far as the efficiency of the Antivirus portion of the program, I cannot speak to that other than to say we have had no infection or infected alert so far. I did run several scans using other antivirus scanners just to confirm this.
For those that may be concerned about whether ZoneAlarm's antivirus may be as effective as other antivirus programs, but like the other features, I might suggest running a second antivirus program in addition. I have run as many as three AV programs on a single PC with no interoperability problems.
In short, so far, I like this program very much. When combined with a good Anti-Spyware program (I strongly recommend Counter Spy, from Sunbelt Software), a modicum of common sense & safe surfing habits, and possibly a popup blocker (Google Toolbar is pretty good, and free) most users should be able to keep their computers free of bugs.
It should be noted that my user review was on a new, clean-build XP Home machine with plenty of RAM (1Gb) and a fast processor (Athlon XP+ 3200).
When I have an opportunity, I'll also test this program in a more real-world situation, such as a machine that has been in operation for some time already, possibly already infected with spyware, slower processor and less RAM, and perhaps a less-speedy internet connection. I'll keep you posted when that opportunity arises.
User Rating: 2/10
Regularly locks up my PC during start up
Pros: comprehensive features
Cons: hard to use comprehensive features since it locks up my PC when I start up
User Rating: 
4/10
Dials on its own, no way to disable
Pros: Smaller memory footprint than Norton
Cons: Phantom dialer ties up my phone line
User Rating: 10/10
All-in-One COMPLETE Computer Security System
Pros: EASY to USE, MONITORS Everything INTERNET
Cons: Needs BETTER Customer SUPPORT Personnel Reps.
User Rating: 9/10
Best since sliced bread in my case
Pros: Minimal resources useage on Windows 98SE
Cons: None so far........
Well done Zone Labs.
User Rating: 4/10
dogged my machine down
Pros: worked well when working
Cons: had to reinstall program every other month
User Rating: 9/10
Like having a guard dog at the door...
Pros: Stop hackers, viruses, worms, pop-up ads and more
Cons: Phone support is not free
Unlike Norton and Mcafee Suites, ZASS is not a system resource hog. I hardly notice if it is running.
ZoneAlarm Internet Security Scuite 5.5 is a nearly comprehensive solution that does a good job protecting your system while connected to the internet. It is fast and has a very small footprint in memory, and is very light on resources.It has a good balance of power, speed and price.
User Rating: 6/10
Not bad needs some tweaking to work
Pros: Ok for most stuff
Cons: Doesn't like some programs that access the interent
User Rating: 9/10
A must have for any Windows user needing also needing antispam
Pros: Fast, streamlined, minimal browsing delays
Cons: No way to start the FW as a Windows kernel service, unstable antispam module for Outlook, suspicious antivirus module
The Firewall in the Zone Labs product is far more powerfull, far more stable and far less interfering with your work.
User Rating: 3/10
Has a mind of its own
Pros: Very, very secure
Cons: Very little or no support
User Rating: 3/10
Everyone thinks this is the best, but it isn't
Pros: Has a good firewall
Cons: Very poor antivirus, firewall is confusing when trying to play games
The antivirus they have choosen to bundle with ZA's firewall is very poor at best.
Doesn't do a complete scan and anything it finds it can't remove.
User Rating: 9/10
One-stop security software
Pros: Complete virus and Internet protection
Cons: Currently none
It has very bad customer service. Never reply to customers enquires.
User Rating: 10/10
Best available...
Pros: Much more efficient and faster than norton. Very customizable and easy to use. Antivirus/firewall/anti-spy combo but all are excellent.
Cons: Allowing ports could be improved.
User Rating: 2/10
Well? Its Good Looking but thats about it
Pros: Great Firewall Zonelabs has always had great Firewalls , But thats all you get buying this
Cons: When I tested the trial The antivirus lets bad viruses through like boot sector types
this is the editor opinion
Editors' rating:8.0 Very good
Average user rating:Be one of the first to rate this product!
The good:Extremely easy-to-understand interface; excellent built-in help; doesn't slow Web access; great selection of security tools.
The bad:No manual; expensive live phone support; weak spam filtering.
The bottom line:ZoneAlarm Security Suite puts Norton Internet Security and McAfee Internet Security to shame
well the editors didn't really test it then
If your a owner of this product? then just wait then you will be wishing you chose the put to shame products ? im not trying to down this product im just trying to tell the truth and help cpu users is all, Im not going to say anymore, the Sheep often do follow the flock , you a sheep?
