ZONE ALARM REPRISE
Thanks for the comments from several about their use of Zone Alarm. It works for me. For me it was not a question about it interfering with my OS. For me, it is a problem of having become too complex. One version adds features and the next version has to ad more, etc. I just need it to monitor things that might want to escape from my machine that are improper.
I use a router/firewall and Firefox and Thunderbird and stay away from questionable sites. Never had a hint of a virus, worm or trojan in the last 5 years since going with DSL. And, now and then I run Ad-Aware and F-prot. Nothing, nada, zilch, to worry about so far (knocking on wood . . ).
So, for me, my main concern is that somehow some type of mal-ware might sneak in and try to use my machine as a server to send out unauthorized stuff. Hence, I need a simple version of Zone Alarm to run now and then as a check that my machine's install is still clean. I know I don't need to run it all the time as my router has been superb at keeping out intruders.
Version 6 nags about time limits on its trial version. Version 5+ does about the same. I found my old v2.56 (2.86 GB) which does not nag, other than its fearsome messages with confusing comments about which to click and to purchase. Otherwise, it is simple and works. So I will try it out on my 2nd, backup, drive where I experiment with softwares before installing them for real on my main drive.
I think many updates of software should be ignored as they only add extraneous features of questionable value. My $0.02. . .
What was the last good, simple, non-pushy version of Zone Alarm? |
