Zone Alarm or Windows Firewall?!?

Question

Ive just downloaded Zonealarm but I did a test that trys and gets past your firewall and both Windows Firewall (Default) and the Zone Alarm one got it 100% stealth. I find zone alarm a bit annoying with all the pop-ups you get asking for access to the internet and the only up-side (that I know of) in zone alarm it checks outgoing activity.
Which one should I use?
Do I really need one that checks out-going activity?

Also can anyone tell me of any better firewalls as Im tempted to get the Panda Firewall as I trust Panda Software.

Answer 1

The outgoing activity could be spyware so it can't hurt to have it checked unless you trust your anti-spyware software 100%.

Answer 2

Yes, actually you do. If you're computer is infected with a virus, ZoneAlarm will stop your computer from infecting others.
Apart from that, ZoneAlarm is far better then the Windows Firewall. As you put it: it does have a lot of annoying pop ups, but that's only in the beginning. After a week or so, ZoneAlarm will have learned what you need when connecting to the internet, and there will be less and less pop ups, until the point where it will only give a pop up when you've upgraded an application (like Internet Explorer), or have installed a new application.
ZoneAlarm doesn't only check the outgoing activity, it also monitors inbound traffic. So if someone tries to attack your PC, or tries to overtake it without your consent/knowledge, it will block it. And is far better at doing so as the Windows Firewall can.

Answer 3

Windows firewall is a simple firewall and doesn't really secure alot of things, it does check both incoming and outgoing traffic but not real well, its sufficient if you don't do alot of downloading or messaging. Zone Alarm is a more stable and intuitive software firewall as it doesn't just automatically allow stuff to go through. The pop-ups are there so that you can configure which programs can and cannot access the Internet, and if you click on something and there isn't a rule setup for it it'll ask you via the pop-up, if you select the appropriate box (allow or disallow) and check the box to remember this setting, then it'll only ask the one time. Most third party firewalls are setup this way.
So as far as which is better, I would go with Zone alarm or any other third party firewall program as the windows firewall just isn't good enough to "catch" programs and files that shouldn't be there.

Answer 4

The Windows firewall doesn't check anything going "out" from your computer. M$ says that such things are the job of your AV. None of my clients run anything besides a good AV and the Windows firewall, and no problems so far.

I don't like ZA because even I (a network engineer since 1995) don't know the answers to the prompts sometimes. As you state, the popups are annoying.

Security is always a trade-off. How much do you want your enjoyment of the computer curtailed to be more secure? If you want a really secure computer, then TURN IF OFF! Other than that, it's all a risk-reward equation. Personally, the very minimal rewards from ZA et al aren't worth the very significant hit on processor speed, network speed and, oh yah, annoyance.

Answer 5

I use the Windows Firewall and keep all my Virus Protection and programs up to date and done this for three yrs on this XP and never had a virus and very few spywares, now I have IP7 which is even better security. I note that people who have third party firewalls have more problems than most. I never get popups either Adaware SE is also very protective of that + I have Microsoft Windows Defender, Spybot Search & Destroy, Spyware Blaster, Paid version of Trend Micro, WinPatrol and a-squared the free version & AVG Anti Virus program. Sometimes it makes a difference where you go--people who go to Gaming and Porn sites seem have the most problems, not to mention the confusion the 3rd party firewall causes...and it has always been doubful they work as they say...from what I have seen of them.

Answer 6

As far as blocking inbound traffic, Zone Alarm and Windows Firewall are on equal footing -- both will protect your system effectively.

Both are basic application layer firewalls. Windows Firewall WILL block outbound traffic, contrary to what others have posted. You won't see lots of popups asking for permission simply because it is already aware of authorized applications (mostly Microsoft but it's also Firefox aware) unlike Zone Alarm. Zone Alarm CAN be fooled by carefully crafted malware masquerading as some Windows apps; to date Windows Firewall has not.

To date, Windows Firewall has never been breached. Zone Alarm can't make the same claim though it has been quite some time since it was successfully hacked.

For maximum protection -- especially if you're on a wireless network -- I'd strongly recommend both a hardware NAT firewall (any SOHO router will do fine) as well as a software firewall on your machine.

NAT firewalls are highly effective at keeping out intruders and since they use private IP addressing on the internal network there would be nowhere for an intruder to go since private IP addresses are non-routable. At best, an intruder can launch a denial-of-service attack but won't be able to get to your machine or the data that resides on it. If you're directly connected to the internet with only a software firewall to protect you, a breach will expose your machine and all of its data. Although there is slim chance of that, it IS possible so it's best to protect youself with a NAT firewall as well.

For gateway security, my favorite is IPCop. It's a Linux-based open-source firewall that you install on a spare PC. There are a number of add-ons that you can install that will provide internet content filtering (GREAT if you have children!) as well as selectively block outbound traffic any number of ways. Check it out at http://www.ipcop.org

Answer 7

heck no. zonealarm is much more powerful than the standard windows firewall. in fact, windows firewall is regarded as useless for most. it's basically the last resort in case you can't figure out how to download a firewall from the internet.

Answer 8

Zone Alarm everytime....Just click allow or deny click the box when they pop up. Once is all you have to do this. If you not sure just deny it by not checking the box, it will ask again.

Zone Alarm is all you need firewall and anti-virus plus spyware...

Answer 9

*YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE*
Microsoft firewall, now checks incoming and outgoing traffic. It was updated about four weeks ago. I also use Windows Live One Care, like Andy Bee is using, and it does work great. You can use it on three computers. Zone Alarm is also a great choice, I used it before I got WOC..Just use your own judgement, but I have not had any problems, when I used zone alarm, or now, while using WOC..good luck..

Answer 10

Both ZoneAlarm and Windows firewalls are good but not the best!

Here is what I use: http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Also, check this out: http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

Answer 11

Yes you do need one that checks out-going activity. You could get some adaware or something that gets in your system and tries to phone home or send whatever information it can get out to someone else. Windows firewall can not prevent that since it does not monitor out-going connections.