For this week’s Freeware Frenzy, I will be examining ZoneAlarm Firewall version 6.1.737. I recently had some issues with spyware which proved to me that no matter how many programs you have to get rid of it, preventing it is step one. Since Windows Firewall clearly failed me, I chose to look elsewhere for protection. So I found Zone Labs. They offer numerous programs for internet security, but it was their free firewall that caught my eye. So I jumped on it.

After installing, you complete a survey, and choose if you want IE to have immediate access to the internet. Then you’re up and running. The first thing you will notice about ZoneAlarm is that you cannot open the programs that need the internet at first. ZA will alert you and say that a particular program is trying to access the internet. You simply select “Remember this setting” and “Allow”. Once I got my frequently used programs set up, such as AIM, Winamp and IRC, I was all set. I can rest easy knowing that the programs I want to access the net are allowed and anything else can’t without my permission.