ZoneAlarm

ZoneAlarm

ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2012
Developer(s)	CheckPoint Software Technologies LTD.
Initial release	16 February 2000; 11 years ago (2000-February-16) (2.0.26)
Stable release	10.1.065.000 / November 9, 2011; 13 days ago (2011-11-09)
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Type	Personal Firewall, Free & Pro
License	ZoneAlarm Free: Nagware Other editions: Shareware
Website	www.zonealarm.com

ZoneAlarm is a personal firewall software application originally developed by Zone Labs, which was acquired in March 2004 by Check Point.^[1] It is chiefly notable for the "Global Virus Alert" scareware popup which ZoneAlarm used to try to get users to switch to their paid security suite.^[2] The popup was turned off by the ZoneAlarm marketing team after an uproar from disgruntled users, many of who uninstalled the software.^[3][4]

Features

ZoneAlarm includes an inbound intrusion detection system, as well as the ability to control which programs can create outbound connections. As of June 2011^[update], the newest release is ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2012. ZoneAlarm was formerly known as Zone Labs.^[5]

Unauthorized web access

Even when all settings to automatically connect to the company's offices are turned off, ZoneAlarm Security Suite (the paid version of ZoneAlarm) will still send information over the internet.^[6] This can be blocked by adding the following to your Windows host file:^[7]
# Block access to ZoneLabs Server
127.0.0.1 zonelabs.com

See also

• Comparison of firewalls
• ZoneAlarm Z100G
• Check Point
• Check Point Abra

References

1. ^ "Check Point acquires Zone Labs". 2004-03-29. Archived from the original on 2011-06-30. http://www.webcitation.org/5zpeGiwv7. 
2. ^ Leyden, John (2010-09-20). "ZoneAlarm slammed for scarewarey marketing". Theregister.co.uk. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/20/zonealarm_scareware_flap/. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
3. ^ Protalinski, Emil (2010-09-22). "ZoneAlarm caught using fake antivirus scare tactics". Arstechnica.com. http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2010/09/zonealarm-caught-using-fake-antivirus-scare-tactics.ars. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
4. ^ Pegoraro, Rob. "ZoneAlarm gives people a new reason to hate security software". Voices.washingtonpost.com. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/09/zonealarm_gives_people_a_new_r.html. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
5. ^ "Graphic Resources: ZoneAlarm by Check Point". Zonealarm.com. http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/company/aboutUs/pressroom/graphicResources.jsp?dc=34std&ctry=&lang=en. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
6. ^ ZoneAlarm phones home InfoWorld. 13 Jan 2006. Last accessed 16 Nov 2011.
7. ^ Is your firewall spying on you? InfoWorld. 22 Jan 2006. Last accessed 16 Nov 201.

External links

• Official website