ZoneAlarm Fans...should I buy the program or use the Free Download.

[KoKo]

Need info for hubby who is on "wireless" at work and is getting 15 and more Spyware and at least 10 AdaWare alerts every few days.

He is running SpyBot and AdaWare...but he keeps picking up so much stuff he can't keep up with it.

I told him I'd heard on DU that ZoneAlarm is good. When I Gooled I found you either can buy it for $39.00 or download free.

He could do either but which is best? Does the $30. one give him better coverage. He can charge his company for the purchase so it doesn't matter about the free stuff...but if "free" is just as good then maybe he should do it. :shrug:

[mhr]

1. Free Version Works Fine For Me

eom

[BikeWriter]

6. Me too! n/t

[Robbien]

2. The guys who wrote the program

would very much appreciate the payment, plus the paid version has a few good bells and whistles. If you can afford it, buy it.

[punpirate]

3. If you look at the ZA site...

... business use requires payment. The free version is for home use only.

Cheers.

[donco6]

4. It's worth the price

Just to get rid of the annoying pop ups that ask you if you want to upgrade.

And it's a really good product.

[KoKo]

5. Okay all...thanks... I'll tell him to get it...buy it and charge it..

:-)'s and :hi: for all the advice. I'd bake you cookies but don't know how to send them....:D

[RC]

7. Speaking of cookies...

He might want to check and delete a bunch of cookies at work.

[KoKo]

8. LOL's he had dozens of "cookies" and Spyware, mucho...doesn't know

where he's getting it all from. But, he gets some "international e-mails" having to do with his business and all his contacts use "MS Outlook" for e-mail. He uses Netscape with some AOL for e-mails. He only had this problem when his company went "wireless." ???? Now he's infested daily. :shrug:

[RC]

9. Wireless, huh?

Anyone bother to setup any kind of security so someone sitting in a booth in the local cafe couldn't use the company net as his own??

[KoKo]

12. The people he works with are "clueless." They think wireless is safe.

I don't know all the details, but from what I hear from our DU techies...one has to be super careful. They don't even know if they have a firewall on the wireless. I don't even know what one does with wireless. Do individual firewalls work (which is why I'm trying to get him to download ZoneALARM) or does one need some special program in their offices to protect their wireless? He works with folks who think they know everything but are always having their computers crash. :shrug:

[RC]

15. Hardware firewall at the server and encryption of all communication.

[steely]

10. Do it NOW with the free version - you can always upgrade

later to the full version.

The sooner that better.

You may still get the ad-ware alerts since you inadvertantly let those in by virtue of surfing to certain sites, but at least you'll reduce the chances that someone could take control of you computer to nil.

[Maestro]

11. Personally

I would go with Sygate. ZA for some reason zapped much of my bandwidth. As soon as I removed it, my bandwidth went up signiticantly. I guess it was monitoring something.

[KoKo]

13. He's got a new computer so I think he's okay. My computer is older and

probably couldn't handle much. I don't have a firewall, but do use AdaWare and Spybot plus Norton with the updates. I get no spyware but do get alot of AdaWare. He's getting dozens of both every few days. So he's got a problem. He doesn't download porn or do music or DVD pirating, either.

I know because sometimes I use his computer...so he isn't doing stuff in "secret" that would pick up the garbage he's getting. :D It's got to be the wireless connection at work. They switched offices and went from a T-1 line system to wireless recently. He never got this stuff on the old T-1 line.

[masshole]

14. I discovered ZA calling out on it's own

When I ran it together with Kerio (also know as Tiny Personal Firewall).
Kerio IMHO is by far the best.
It's no longer free (30-day free trial now - $45.00 if you want to keep it)

I used Sysgate a couple years ago, it worked well I thought, but it was a hog, like ZA my system would slow way down.

[Maestro]

18. I don't even use Sygate now

I have a Linksys router connected to an old box that is my firewall.

[American Tragedy]

16. Use the trial version for a few weeks, then decide.

I really liked ZoneAlarm at first, but it inflated my CPU usage to 100% and ultimately caused my computer to crash repeatedly, even if I stopped the program and reloaded it over and over. It turned out to be far worse than any spyware or virus that infiltrated my computer.

[KoKo]

17. He decided to try the free version to see if he liked it.

So if it's works, he has the option of buying the upgrade if feels he needs some more protection.