ZoneAlarm Free Editor's Review

While more people use antivirus and antispyware software now than they used to, that software may not offer you the full level of protection you need. A firewall is the third point to your security triangle that will protect you while you surf the web. A firewall acts as a bouncer to your computer. Every time someone tries to come in or leave, the firewall checks whether you want it to or not. Settings can be saved obviously, so you won’t need to tell them that your email client is safe every time you switch it on.

ZoneAlarm Free Firewall is, in our eyes, one of the best free firewalls. It has been around for over a decade and as a result, ZoneAlarm has gotten pretty good at blocking bad data. ZoneAlarm offers paid-for versions of the firewall as well, and while most of the additional features aren’t necessary (support for example), the ‘download protection’ is something worthwhile missing from the freeware.

Pros: Gives you extra level of security you don’t usually have.

Cons: Missing download program protection that you get with paid version.

Conclusion: ZoneAlarm Free is definitely better than having no firewall at all, but it still misses some security features that would be worthwhile having. ZoneAlarm isn’t the best looking software package and can seem a little intimidating to configure for a beginner, yet these are minor flaws for an application that could potentially save you from a hacker or software intrusion.