Just bought Zone Alarm 4 Pro

[mvd]

and recommend it! I uninstalled Norton Personal Firewall. ZoneAlarm now has the expert rules capability AND good ad blocking. It also passed tests such as FireHole, which attempts to amend Internet Explorer if Explorer's an allowed application and send info. to a server.

[KDLarsen]

1. Interesting!

I've been using the free version for quite a while, perhaps it's time I buckled up & invested in the Pro version.

[mvd]

2. I think it's worth it more now than ever

I trust Pro to stay more current with new firewall technology. They say there are no updates yet for the free version.

[binaryline]

5. Just moved up from the free version

to the Pro version a few weeks ago. The ad-blocking feature alone makes it worth your while to upgrade.

[KDLarsen]

6. Okay..

... but since I use Mozilla Firebird, I have to ask: What ads? :P

[mvd]

3. However, you might want to wait until the 4th version is in stores

When it first comes out, you have to pay almost double online for protecting 2 computers. I only needed it for one.

[KDLarsen]

4. In that case...

I've got 2 stationarys + a laptop, so I think I'll wait :)

[Best_man23]

7. I have ZoneAlarm

Along with a hardware firewall router and love it.

Hopefully, all this will protect my computer against the prying eyes of Asscroft's and Poindexter's minions.

[mvd]

9. So do I

I have a router that hides my IP address, which is very nice - but they say you should still have a software firewall. After trying Norton, Zone Alarm, Outpost, and Tiny, I decided on ZoneAlarm based on features and the ease of use. Norton's ad blocking didn't work and Outpost's was strange. Outpost came in second, though.

[FlashHarry]

8. I use Tiny Personal Firewall.

So far, it seems to work pretty well––at least, according to Shields Up!

By the way, anyone know how good the firewall that's bundled with WinXP is? I'm guessing it sucks.

[onager]

10. You're Right!

Just out of curiosity, when I bought a new PC with WinXP/SP1 installed, I decided to test the WinXP firewall before I loaded up the trusty ZoneAlarmPro.

I used Shields Up and a couple of other aggressive test sites. My ISP is RoadRunner Broadband.

Results: the built-in XP firewall does a great job of blocking incoming probes and port scans. In fact, the Shields Up result on that score was identical to ZAPro: "You are invisible to other computers," etc.

However, the firewall blocked NOTHING going out! Every damn thing that wanted to connect somewhere on the net was just allowed to! Programs like BackWeb, Media Player, Real Networks Event Launcher, etc. etc. were happily allowed to go and do stuff in the background with NO WARNING AT ALL TO THE USER!

And that does suck!

[mvd]

11. Mine works fine, except for with Roxio Easy CD Creator

Allows that one through. There are questions about that at the Zone Alarm forum.

[ornotna]

12. I've been using ZA Pro ..

for over a year now. I would recommend it to everyone. The pop-up block feature alone is worth it.