I recently downloaded "Zone Alarm Firewall Freeware" and in so doing got a 15 day trial version of "ZoneAlarm Pro" which has got some extra functionality. At the end of the trial I can revert back to the "Zone Alarm Firewall only Freeware" version.
Has anyone paid the €35 for ZoneAlarm Pro? Is it worth it? At present Im still on dial up but am getting ready to go broadband.
I find ZoneAlarm free edition fine and have never needed to upgrade to the commercial version. However note that the free edition is licensed only for single PC or home/non-commercial use so, strictly, some people may not have a choice about which version to use.
Ill allow it revert to the freeware version after the trial is over.
Since installing it I have discovered the realplayer1 (which I downloaded months ago and never use) is constantly accessing the internet. Im going to uninstall it as I dont like this happening without my knoledge.
At least with a firewall such as ZoneAlarm which, unlike, say, the Windows XP basic firewall, you know what applications are attempting outward connections and you can stop them if necessary, either on a case by case basis or permanently. It's sometimes surprising when you have a firewall installed to see how much outgoing traffic (or attempts) are going on all right.