Same story here. I first heard about it here on FR, maybe ZL should think about writing a check to JimRob. This story is nearly a advertisement.
I did upgrade to the 'Pro' version, seems like I paid $35. For me it was worth the money, I bounce my laptop through a bunch of domains, including work, home, hotel internet, etc. The Pro package totally eliminates all of the setup hassles. Plus, I had to disable the free version in the office, now the ZA Pro package just ignores the office.
Some on another thread enjoyed this link, Gibson Research. There's a lot of insight on why you need a firewall, online test to probe your firewall, and some interesting stories of online detective work from an oldtime internet pro.
BTW, if you have a cable modem or DSL and don't have a hardware or software firewall, you may as well let your computer have sex with Haitian males in a San Francisco bathhouse, while eating imported UK cow brains.
That can't be emphasized enough. If you've got broadband and you don't have some pretty serious firewall protection, your computer will get compromised. It's just a matter of how long it takes.
I use ZoneAlarm Pro and it's wonderful. The neat thing about ZA is that it is very easy to use, and also it has unique protection against "trojan horse" control programs. By default it doesn't let any program access the Internet, unless you tell ZA that it's OK for the program to do so. If the program changes at all--i.e., it's got a virus or trojan attached to it--ZA re-blocks it and asks you to approve it accessing the Internet, so you know something's up.
Using ZA on our two Windows computers (and I have a Linux box as well), behind our cable router, my wife and I feel fairly secure. Not hack-proof, by any means, but at least we feel moderately safe from the hordes of "3r33t scr1pt k1dd33z" running around out there.
}:-)4
OK, you owe me a new keyboard, I think the monitor will be alright with some cleaning. Told some folks yesterday it was like walking out of their house and leaving the door open but I like yours much better. Permission to use?
You're right about the free advertising ZL is getting here. I read about Pest Patrol here a couple weeks ago. Downloaded the trial version and loved it. Ponied up for the full version on Thursday.
Hackers and ScriptKidz prey on vulnerabilities, most of which are present in SERVERS, not typical home systems. The average home user who keeps his Micro$oft system updated won't be vulnerable to an attack. His biggest vulnerability will still be email. Hackers don't sit around for hours trying to break "Joe Sixpack's" computer. They prey on known vulnerabilities in programs like Apache, BIND, IIS, SQL, and such.
Spend your time educating home users on the threat of emails rather than scaring them into useless firewalls. Millions of ports get probed everyday. It doesn't mean you're "under attack".
That created, for me, the weirdest, most bazaar visual you could imagine. My computer would never do such a thing.
Of course, its protected by Zone Alarm as well.