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Identity Guard Total Protection with ZoneAlarm Review: Internet Security Software |
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[Editor's note: Identity Guard is offering NextAdvisor visitors an exclusive, limited-time discounted price of $14.99 per month, down from the regular price of $17.99 per month. No code is needed, just follow any of the links from NextAdvisor.com) Identity Guard's Total Protection with ZoneAlarm really lives up to its name. This service is unique in that it combines Internet security software from ZoneAlarm with the extensive identity theft protection services provided by Identity Guard. This is important because the goal of many hackers is to access your personal information and perpetrate any number of identity theft related crimes against you. While ZoneAlarm by itself is not our favorite of the 2010 crop of Internet security software providers, the combination of the two products is a compelling bargain. Identity Guard has recently further enhanced its offering by offering a free 30-day trial of its full service, making trying it, and downloading the free ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite a no-risk proposition. Our experience with ZoneAlarm itself was mixed. It offers a sometimes confusing multi-tiered website warning/interception mechanism. While it warned us about almost every malicious site that we visited, it often used different methods. Some sites we were allowed to visit, while a browser warning told us we should probably leave. Some sites were greeted with a more severe warning that effectively stopped us from even getting to the site. We appreciate the latter response (even if the "you are now safe" message felt a little silly), but allowing us to visit a site which contains a virus with an a priori warning feels a bit negligent, particularly when the url has been known to download viruses in the past. In fact, it let two threats pass by using this soft-warning method. It may seem like an unnecessary quibble for a program that's designed for security, but ZoneAlarm's user interface feels is less user-friendly than most. There's something a little cheap in the implementation; perhaps it's a small thing, but it doesn't match the usability and look-and-feel of other 2010 security software we've tested recently such as Trend Micro, Norton, and Kaspersky. ZoneAlarm did impress us with its integrated Wi-Fi detection wizard, which changes security settings based on how well you trust the network. Its firewall was also rather diligent, detecting the activities of our remote desktop software, but was somewhat stubborn about ignoring it. This seems to be a function of the new OS Firewall which detects out-going firewall activity from programs you've installed. This can help protect you from malware or adware hidden inside seemingly innocuous programs. ZoneAlarm also offers myVAULT to protect your personal information from unauthorized access. By entering your credit card number, for instance, myVAULT will prevent unauthorized access to this data via email or web. A layer of data encryption keeps it safe. The computer and Internet security provided by ZoneAlarm is bolstered by the addition of Identity Guard's identity theft detection service. Identity theft detection services like Identity Guard help to detect that you have become a victim of identity theft by monitoring your credit file at all 3 credit bureaus (commonly called credit monitoring). Identity Guard goes far beyond other identity theft detection services by also proactively monitoring public records for any changes in your name, scanning for application or social security fraud, and monitoring the Internet's black market for any use of your credit cards or other personal information. They've also recently added anti-keylogging software, lost wallet protection (they can cancel your credit card accounts and give you up to $2,000 advance if you need it) and a Personal ID Risk Assessment. Like many credit monitoring services, Identity Guard Total Protection completes daily scans of all 3 of your credit files and notifies you of any changes. It also gives you all 3 of your credit reports and all 3 of your credit scores every quarter. If anything is found, they will alert you by e-mail immediately. They also make it very easy to place fraud alerts with the bureaus yourself if you want to take that extra preventative step. $20,000 of identity theft insurance is also included in your subscription in case the worst somehow does still happen. Identity Guard with ZoneAlarm is priced slightly differently than the other Internet security software services we reviewed. Rather than paying an annual fee, subscribers pay $14.99 per month which includes all of the features detailed above. The cost of this product is slightly higher than the other services we reviewed at about $180 per year, but it is actually quite a deal when you consider that you are essentially receiving three services, credit report monitoring, identity theft protection and Internet security software, for the same price that you would pay if you purchased Identity Guard as a standalone product. Plus, even if you choose to cancel your Identity Guard subscription within the 30 day free trial period you can keep the ZoneAlarm software (although you wouldn't receive any of the virus and spyware definitions which keep your computer safe against new threats), your 3-bureau credit report and score, and your public records report. All this alone would cost over $100 and they're willing to give it to you for free just to try the product. We have some reservations about ZoneAlarm's stand-alone efficacy. In truth it's a four-star product, but the addition of Identity Guard pushes it up to five. Overall, Identity Guard Total Protection with ZoneAlarm offers a pretty good Identity theft protection package, online and off. System Requirements: Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista |
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| Price: | Free with continued enrollment ($14.99/mo); 30 day free trial |
| Virus Protection: | Instantly identifies and protects against new threats |
| Adware and Spyware Protection: | Spyware removal; Blocks access to spyware websites |
| Identity Theft Protection: | 3-bureau credit monitoring; Extensive online/offline fraud monitoring |
| Spam and Phishing Protection: | Blocks potential spam, viruses or phishing emails |
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