Review: ZoneAlarm evolves into full security tool

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By Lincoln Spector, special to PCWorld.com

(IDG) -- Once "just" a firewall, the newest ZoneAlarm Pro -- available now for download from Zone Labs -- offers users much more. Version 3.0 is a full-fledged security package that features cookie control, ad blocking, local area network security features and a new user interface.

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The latest version of the $50 program -- a World Class award winner in 2001 -- is still a firewall that keeps programs from accessing the Internet without your permission. But now, when you give your okay to a particular program, ZoneAlarm takes a good, hard look at it and remembers what it sees.

This feature should prevent a "Trojan horse" from attaching itself to an approved program to gain access. (There's no known case of this actually happening in the wild, but researchers have demonstrated the danger.)

New Detail, Blocking

Zone Labs has also improved the program's AlertAdvisor feature. Its advice, which pops up when ZoneAlarm discovers that someone is probing your system, is now more detailed.

The AlertAdvisor now tells you where, geographically, the probe is coming from, and can alert Zone Labs about the incident. It sends out this notification without including any information that can identify your PC.

The new version also promises to protect your system from potentially malicious ActiveX and JavaScript programs. It can't selectively block commands or determine if a particular program is dangerous, which would actually be the best solution. However, that isn't yet possible, says Frederick Felman, Zone Labs' vice president.

What Version 3 can do is block scripts from running unless they come from sites you've already signed off on, he says.

Beyond the Wall

Version 3.0 offers similar protection against cookies -- a common utility, but one that is new to ZoneAlarm. You can determine which sites' cookies can remain, how long before they're deleted, and whether a particular site's third-party cookies are acceptable.

ZoneAlarm Pro can now also block different types of advertising. You can select not to see banners, pop-ups, pop-unders, and animation. Or you can block ads that take more than a set number of seconds to load.

The program also now helps set up security for your wired or wireless networks. (Wireless networks have more inherent security issues.) The program can show you which networks are active and whether they're secure. It also has a pop-up to help you name a new network.

Felman says his company targets ZoneAlarm Pro primarily for small-office and home-office users, although he says "a large number of consumers use it, as well."

The company won't update the free version of the program until late April. However, the only significant addition to that popular free program will be the new interface.