ZoneAlarm Pro is an internet security suite that will protect your computer from malicious users and security threats like malware by using both a firewall and a real-time protection mode. The free trial runs for 30 days after which a license must be purchased.
Installation & Requirements
If you do not want the extra software that the installer comes bundled with, like the ZoneAlarm toolbar, then be sure to choose the custom installation path and uncheck the respective boxes. Then you will have to choose auto-learn or max security mode for the application and you are done. You must have an active internet connection as the installer will have to download most of its parts as well as some required third party software like Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. The supported operating systems are Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Vista SP2, 7 and 8x.
Interface
The program’s interface is divided into several tabs. The protection is automatically enabled by default for all the security layers but you can choose to disable whatever you want. Keep in mind that the included Firewall overcomes the default one of Windows so you might want to keep one of them on at least. To check out more information about each aspect of the application, simply click on the View Details button.
That will take you to the more advanced interface of the program. Here you can navigate to the various tabs which represent specific protection aspects. Beneath each utility you will be able to see its status and its progress. For example, the Advanced Firewall menu lists the blocked access attempts. When you click on that link it will open the detailed report log with the blocked IP addresses and the time. You can also choose other log types from the dropdown list like the antivirus and blocked program connections. The log files are automatically saved to the application’s installation folder but you can change it in the Log Control settings.
Although most of the program’s protection is automatic, you can change its behavior for each tool and utility by clicking on its Settings. There you can change the security level, the exceptions, the blocked programs and addresses and more. Finally, you can use the scanning mode to detect threats in your computer. There are three scanning modes, namely quick, full and full with archive scanning. The full scanning modes take quite a bit of time but they are very thorough and should detect both virus and spyware threats so you will want to run it at least once per week. You can also schedule it to run at specific intervals. When the scanning is done you will have various cleaning options with a simple interface.
Pros
-Clean, modern interface
-Very easy to use and setup
-Multiple protection modes
-Fully customizable utilities
Cons
-The application can sometimes be resource-heavy
Conclusion
ZoneAlarm Pro is one of the safest internet security suites in the market. Although it might be heavy on your computer, it can guarantee your protection across the board with its many utilities and fully customizable tools.
