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ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2010 Review: Internet Security Software |
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| Cheapest security solution; 1 year of free ID theft protection; Excellent OS firewall | |
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[Editor's Note: ZoneAlarm is offering NextAdvisor visitors $40 off of a year's subscription, bringing the price down to $29.95. No coupon code necessary, just follow any of the links to ZoneAlarm]
ZoneAlarm has released the 2010 version of its Internet Security Suite, promising Windows 7 compatibility as well as new and improved features such as Advanced Download Protection and OSFirewall. It continues to offer one free year of Identity Guard's Good Start identity theft protection services with purchase. It's an ideal combination, and with the current 50% discount, it's an incredible deal. ZoneAlarm offers a sometimes-confusing multi-tiered website warning/url interception mechanism. While it warned us about almost every malicious site that we visited, it used different methods. Some sites we were allowed to visit, while a browser warning told us we should probably leave. Some urls were treated with a more severe warning that effectively stopped us from loading the site. We appreciated the latter response (even if the "you are now safe" message felt a little silly), but some warnings of the first type came too late, since we knew from past experience that the sites contained viruses. In fact, it let two threats pass by using this soft-warning method. It may seem like a small 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 such as Trend Micro 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 like screen savers. 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. ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2010 is $49.95 with a license for three PCs, although a current discount cuts that price in half, making it an excellent deal. They will even let you try it out for 14 days, free. You will also get one year of free Good Start identity theft protection from Identity Guard if you stick with the program. Overall, we like the new features, but wish it had the virus-catching acumen of Trend Micro 2010. System Requirements: Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
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| Price: | $29.95/yr for up to 3 PCs (after $40 discount) |
| Virus Protection: | Instantly identifies and protects against new threats |
| Adware and Spyware Protection: | Spyware removal; Blocks access to spyware websites |
| Identity Theft Protection: | Free 1 year of Identity Guard services |
| Spam and Phishing Protection: | Blocks potential spam, viruses or phishing emails |
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