Review by mhnstr

I purchased the ZoneAlarm Internet Suite to replace the expiring Norton Internet Security which was on my computer. I chose ZoneAlarm due to the high ratings of the firewall by PC Magazine and due to rebates.

I do believe that ZoneAlarm is a very good firewall, but there are issues that I have been having with the software that would cause me to hesitate to purchase it again. Both ZoneAlarm and Norton have the option to teach the firewall which programs should be allowed to access the internet or to make changes to the registry and which program should be prevented from doing so. Both programs popup alerts to ask the user for input. However, Norton has a much more complete list of programs which are threats and which are safe. For example, ZoneAlarm gave warning for programs such as Internet Explorer, Windows Updater, Adobe PDF and the Restore Wizard. All of these are programs that are probably on at least 90% of the PCs out there. Why didn’t ZoneAlarm add them to the safe list so that the user would not be bothered? It seems a simple thing to do to reduce the aggravation of the alerts.

On my PC I have an advertisement blocking software that I have been using for years. Norton noticed it but once I told Norton that the program was safe, Norton left it alone. ZoneAlarm gives me alerts about this program each time I startup and shut down windows. I have told ZoneAlarm that the program is trusted, but I have not been successful in stopping the annoying alerts which require me to click in a window before the computer will finish booting or shutting down.

During the installation, ZoneAlarm did not successfully install my license key and gave me warnings that my updates would expire in 21 days. I contacted customer support via email (calling them costs a few dollars per minute) and was pleasantly surprised that I received a response within hours, even on the weekend. I never got such a response from Norton or McAffe. Kudos to ZoneAlarm for have a very responsive customer support team.

In summary, a very good firewall and good antivirus and antispam product. However, be prepared for the annoyance of alerts for common programs after you first install ZoneAlarm Internet Suite. There is a bigger learning curve for ZoneAlarm than for Norton. But, be comforted by the fact that ZoneAlarm has a responsive customer support team.