ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5

CNET Editors' Rating 8.3/10 Excellent Editorial policies >>
Average user rating from 20 users 8.3/10 Excellent Read user opinions >>

Product Summary

The good: Quick installation (via download); easy setup; a clean and intuitive interface; 15-day free trial available.

The bad: Live telephone support costs money.

The bottom line: A straightforward and effective firewall/privacy product, ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5 is worthy of consideration in any home or SOHO situation.

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Stephen Bigelow
Edited by: Robert Vamosi
Reviewed on: 11/09/2004
Released on: 09/04/2004

ZoneAlarm Pro (ZAP) 5.5 from Zone Labs offers the best software firewall and basic security product available to PC users today. Its clean and simple tab-based interface is blissfully intuitive to navigate, making ZoneAlarm Pro far less imposing than Norton Personal Firewall 2005 and easier to operate than McAfee Personal Firewall Plus 6.0. It also includes better tools for detecting and preventing intrusions than either Norton or McAfee. If you'd rather try ZoneAlarm Pro before you buy, a 15-day free trial is available for download; thereafter, the product will continue to safeguard your PC as a stripped-down version known simply as ZoneAlarm--no need to reinstall.

ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5 is available via a boxed CD or for purchase online with a renewable one-year download license for $49.95. Our 6.4MB installation file took less than two minutes to download via a broadband cable connection, but dial-up users should allow for more time.

With your purchase, you'll receive a lengthy key code to unlock the full product. After launching the installer, a wizard directs the installation and initial product setup, which takes less than five minutes. Installation is quick and unobtrusive, though the online product registration does request your name and e-mail address, along with answers to a few optional survey questions. If you're running the free trial version, the Pro version and its features expire after 15 days, but fear not, the stripped-down free version, called ZoneAlarm, continues to keep you protected thereafter. A brief tutorial launches automatically to guide you through the program's basics, but experienced users can easily opt out. Overall, the experience is much friendlier than that of Norton Personal Firewall or McAfee Personal Firewall Plus.

ZoneAlarm's interface is simple and direct, with virtually every feature and adjustment two clicks away.

Simplicity is ZoneAlarm Pro's strength. For example, the software won't overwhelm you with complex menus or convoluted information dialogs. Just double-click the ZAP icon in your Windows system tray to launch the ZoneAlarm interface. The main display shows the program's status and offers convenient access to features listed vertically along the dialog's left side. You control each feature by adjusting various sliders, while you can make more specific adjustments through a series of horizontal tabs. This interface format makes it easy to find your way around the program.

Firewall security can easily be adjusted with convenient sliders or customized to suit expert security requirements.

ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5 is fully compliant with Microsoft Windows XP SP2. The default security settings strike a balance between security and convenience. ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5 separates your firewall security into Trusted, Internet, and Blocked zones. For example, PCs on the home LAN or known safe locations in cyberspace may be trusted to share access with your PC, while ZAP controls outside access to your PC (or blocks it outright). ZAP requests and assigns permissions for each program the first time you use them after installation. As you might expect, each zone's individual security settings are completely customizable within ZAP, so advanced users can tailor security to their particular taste and environment. Security pros will also welcome the Expert Rules feature, which allows you to write your own exacting security settings based on specific IP addresses.

Custom security settings allow for exacting control of almost every network protocol.

Features within ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5 include antivirus monitoring to warn when any detected antivirus software is outdated. (While the Pro version includes Computer Associates EZ Antivirus software, the free version, ZoneAlarm, does not and simply checks for and works cooperatively with any previously installed antivirus utilities.) ZAP's MailSafe feature provides e-mail-attachment protection, which stops viruses and worms from spreading, while other features manage cookies to block incoming spyware, block pop-up advertising, and lock down your personal ID to prevent sensitive information from being sent out from your PC. ZoneAlarm Pro also enhances its automatic protection against advanced hacking techniques, with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) avoidance and intrusion detection and prevention--two notable features that Norton Personal Firewall 2005 and McAfee Personal Firewall Plus do not include.

ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5 passed our informal tests with flying colors. We tested our ZAP installation against Steve Gibson's ShieldsUp tool; the test reported all but the http/https ports either closed or stealthed (hidden), which was the expected result.

Zone Labs supports ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5 with a comprehensive service Web site. The site covers new technical advisories, technical notes, FAQs, unofficial forum access, a comprehensive knowledge base, and contact information for the customer service department. Unfortunately, Zone Labs doesn't offer free live technical support, not even via chat or e-mail. You simply cannot reach a live person for technical assistance unless you pay a premium telephone support fee of $2.95 per minute, available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. By comparison, Symantec and McAfee both charge similar fees for their telephone technical support.